Brianna Bennett - Channel 5 Belize

Who Cares for Strays in the Absence of an Owner?

Every day, Belizeans come across stray animals wandering the streets, often hungry, injured, or pregnant, relying on human kindness for survival. Unfortunately, help is hard to come by for these creatures, who are frequently viewed as nuisances and public health risks. Humane societies across the country are striving to address the problem, but with limited resources, the situation is becoming increasingly dire. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with more details.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Belize faces a significant issue with stray animals. Across the country, thousands of pets are abandoned or left to fend for themselves on the streets. As these strays scavenge for food, they often scatter trash, and tragically, many fall victim to traffic accidents daily. The responsibility of managing this growing problem falls on the shoulders of dedicated volunteer teams. Liam Woods, a volunteer at Belize City Animal Aid, shares insights into the crucial work his group undertakes to address this pressing issue.

Liam Woods, Volunteer, Belize City Animal Aid

“We do a whole bunch of work. Scattered, would not be the word, but something similar. cause we all have our jobs and responsibilities, school and so forth. So we tend to go every Saturday to our foster home. We take care of all the animals that we have up for adoption, cause we have to maintain them. Bathe them, take care of their ticks and fleas, monthly preventatives, and heartworms. Food is a big issue actually. On our last bag of dog food today. So we’re looking for donations or else we’ll pull from our fund, which the funds are low.”

Just this week, dozens of animals were rescued and are in desperate need of a forever home. When animals become strays, the likelihood of them getting pregnant or impregnating another animal increases; further exacerbating the issue.

Liam Woods

“I’d say, it’s really bad. Because, and it’s not even people’s fault. The thing is, spaying and neutering is an expensive procedure. And to do that you require responsibility and care for your animal. And that’s why one of our main objectives right now is to restart the program with the spay and neuter clinics for a heavily discounted price. That’s just a bit problematic right now because we have issues finding and sourcing doctors. But yes, I’d say it’s quite bad, the abandoning and neglect.”

To prevent this, the BCAA requires that those looking to adopt animals from them to have a fenced yard.

Liam Woods

“We are really against tying animals because that’s a whole different issue in itself. Thank you. But just keep them enclosed, because once a dog goes and hits a female, they say that males can smell it from miles away, and they will pack her, and then the pregnancy will just continue and continue.”

Woods pointed out that the window between rescuing an animal and finding a foster home is shrinking, as funds and space become increasingly scarce. Presently, the Belize City Council does not directly handle the rescue of stray animals. However, in the unfortunate event that an animal is run over or dies by other means, the sanitation department steps in to ensure proper disposal of the body. Sanitation Manager, Simeon Alvarez, elaborates on this process.

Simeon Alvarez, Sanitation Manager, Belize City Council

“Our sanitation department’s role is just to ensure that we remove the carcass whenever we get a call or a request. That means we only remove the animals in they have died. In respect to the amount of stray dogs, it’s directly the responsibility from the Public Health Department and the Ministry of Health. They normally collaborate with the council and do dog eradications I think quarterly.”

Previously, animals were rounded up and euthanized by the council, but the program was put on hold after backlash from various humane societies.

Simeon Alvarez

“However the Humane Society, I think, had an issue with it. I believe they wrote the council one time and they wanted to see how we can improve and enhance the eradication of dogs. I think they prefer we rehabilitate the dogs them and try to find Owners or some persons who will want to adopt the stray animals rather than eradicate them the way we do.”

To some, euthanasia might appear to be the easiest solution, especially for those who feel threatened by stray animals or find them a nuisance on their property. However, since this issue largely stems from human actions, humane societies argue that these animals shouldn’t be punished for circumstances beyond their control. Despite their best efforts, the noble aim of saving every animal is a challenging goal for these groups to maintain.

Liam Woods

“That is very extremely difficult for all of our volunteers collectively to do. Because as you mentioned, we all have our own jobs, our responsibilities at school, issues at home, everything we have to take care of. And we’re living in a society where you have to work you need to do that out of your free time, and free time is very limited, an issue that we’d really like to resolve throughout these coming years is to gather more volunteers, people interested, outreach, as I said, to help us with this issue.”

As the problem persists, the teams dedicating their time, energy, and resources to save and dispose of these animals, hope that more people can come together to find a solution fair to both the animals and the people living in their shared habitats.

Simeon Alvarez

“Stray dogs compound the waste management stream in respect to that, even the mental patients, the people that dig up the garbage like I said, stray dogs. The increase of that definitely affected our city tremendously. And I believe we need to find a solution for it sooner or later with the human society.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

Rising Belizean Reggae Star Phynxxx Offers Insightful Advice for Aspiring Musicians

One of Belize’s rising reggae stars, Jeremy Lizama, better known by his stage name Phynxxx [Phoenix], is creating a buzz on social media. His music, a vibrant blend of Caribbean rhythms and relatable lyrics, has struck a chord with audiences across the region. As he gears up to release new tracks, Lizama reflects on his newfound success and shares some valuable advice for aspiring musicians.

Jeremy Lizama, “Phynxxx”, Reggae Artist

“Don’t stop. Be committed, be determined if this is what you want to do. Sometimes you got to go through some crazy hurdles to really just stay focused and believe, because sometimes it’s so easy to say, this isn’t for me, I’m wasting my time. I’m not getting the feedback I want. I’m not getting the love I, thought I would have. I thought this was my hit. This is supposed to be my hit. Because you invest so much in your music. When you hear it, you’re like, this is my hit. This is it. I’m going. But you won’t necessarily get that reaction. And a lot of times, for me as well, it’s been the songs you don’t expect to hit. Which is one song called Only One. And it’s been, Blowing up recently on TikTok. I keep getting notifications. I think it’s at like forty-K or something like that views right now. So I’m like, Whoa that’s a huge leap for me. I’m used to like five-K or maybe 10k. So to go from that to just all of a sudden, like thirty, forty-K is it’s crazy and it can happen. You just gotta work and not stop.”

An Online Option for Primary Education in Belize

Many tertiary institutions in Belize are still finding their way through the transition to fully online education. For secondary schools, the challenge of offering a virtual option is even greater. Initially, we assumed that primary-level education in a virtual setting was non-existent. However, we stumbled upon a school that not only offers this service but does so with an innovative twist that piqued our interest. This month, our ‘On The Bright Side’ series shines a light on unconventional education. This week, we feature La Isla Carinosa Academy, one of only two fully online primary schools in Belize.

Sabreena Daly

In 2020, our dependence on technology became indispensable as the world abruptly transitioned online for work and education. Since then, many have adapted in various ways—some reverting to their pre-pandemic habits, while others have embraced changes that could forever alter our lifestyles and work environments. While many have resumed traditional methods, a significant number, particularly in the education sector, have fully embraced this digital transformation. So when we discovered that there was a primary learning institution in Belize that transitioned to online learning and stayed there, even after having the option to return to face-to-face learning, that sparked our interest. And to speak to the persons guiding this process, you’d imagine, we had to jump online as well.

Eryn Peters was only six years old when she made the switch from traditional classroom learning to online education at La Isla Carinosa Academy. That was four years ago.

Eryn Peters, Student, La Isla Carinosa Academy

“In standard one, we have learned a lot more information than I have gotten in face to face learning and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but when I go over to other schools and ask what they’re doing in their classroom, they tell me something that I’ve already learned in my class, even though we’re in the same classroom.”

She embarked on her online learning adventure in Standard One, while her mother, a dedicated teacher at a traditional school, courageously chose to keep her daughter in this innovative and unconventional educational path.

Reena Peters, Parent
“To me, it helped the children to be more prepared for the future especially in this era in technology. They probe the children to think outside the box, to be creative, to be free thinkers, critical thinkers. And, I love that about the way they deliver their lessons. And so I thought tha La Isla Cariñosa is the perfect place for my child.”

Dr. Alberto August, a passionate career educator, has devoted his entire life to the field of academics. In 2015, he realized his dream by founding an educational institution on Caye Caulker. When the pandemic struck, Dr. August was quick to adapt to the changing landscape of education. Since then, his academy has seamlessly transitioned to a permanent virtual platform, now enrolling over fifty students from within the country and abroad. This innovative online learning model has become an invaluable and far-reaching resource, offering primary level education to a diverse student body.

Dr. Alberto August, Founder, La Isla Carinosa Academy
“It started out as a physical school on Caye Caulker in September 2015. We had practices, for example, away from the traditional. We had no bell, so we had clocks. We had no lineup, so the children learned orderly how to go to classes and how to respect each other’s space. We didn’t have a roll call of attendance. We had a small class size. We had technology embedded and we didn’t punish children. That was one of our big things. We focused on positive reinforcement besides punishing children. We got enrollment from Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo; all six districts. As a matter of fact, some of our enrollment were students from Guatemala, from Mexico. From the United States, we had students in our program. Yes. So it was that. And that was how we delivered across, not just Belize, across the region.”

The teachers at La Isla Carinosa are equipped with specialized skills tailored for online learning—a challenge that many traditional educators would have faced during the Covid Pandemic. Tanisha Lawrence has been an educator with La Isla Carinosa Academy her entire teaching career.

Tanisha Lawrence, Teacher, La Isla Carinosa
“The major difference is, getting to meet all the different people from around the country, having all of those, you know, personalities, those lives in our classes as well. I honestly don’t see it as very different because It’s the same amount of work. You still have to do the same planning, you still have to do the same reflecting, you still have to do the same amount of work. But. It comes with experience. This is my fourth year teaching online and everything is just super easy now and I get to enjoy it more.”

Dr. Alberto August

“I have a group of wonderful experienced teachers, and one thing that I found was key to that is the constant connection. For example, at our school, we have a CPD session weekly. That was something we started in 2015. Even today, this week, we have a CPD session where we train our teachers. It’s not just a meeting for a meeting sake. It’s sharing strategies. Sharing research, sharing ideas to develop our lesson, our lessons, our school. And so we have weekly PD sessions, which, which most schools in my, in Belize do not have.”

You might wonder, do these students genuinely feel a sense of achievement and fulfillment within this distinctive educational system? A LICA education could be the perfect fit for those eager to leverage the benefits of technology-driven learning. While students may not meet face-to-face, their connections transcend physical boundaries, creating a global community. The school’s motto serves as a powerful reminder of the core values that guide our interactions and how we should treat one another.

Eryn Peters
“Based on my experience, I would say that it’s very fun and I think that it would be a nice adjustment to any child that’s in primary school to do online primary school because during online primary school everybody, they’re so nice to you because our golden rule in the entire school, basically our motto is Be kind to others and be treated how you want to be treated. So, knowing from that, you can know that it’s a very kind and sociable experience and environment.”

Looking on the Bright Side, I’m Sabreena Daly.