BAPDA President Kenrick Theus Passes at 55

Kenrick Theus, the President of the Belize Assembly for Persons with Diverse Abilities (BAPDA), has sadly passed away at the age of fifty-five. He was on his way to Brazil for a disabilities conference when he suffered a major heart attack upon landing in Panama, which tragically took his life. We spoke with Kenrick’s brother, Michael Theus, about his passing and his tireless advocacy for people living with disabilities.

 

Michael Theus, Brother of Deceased

“From my knowledge, what I was made aware of was that he had travelled to Panama to get a flight to go into Brazil and some business for the organization BAPDA. Upon landing in Panama he had some medical issues and that led to a massive heart attack which took his life. That is what we know today about that this passion is all about. Growing up on Dean Street with our grandparents, it was a strict upbring and that shaped us. Unfortunately for my brother in November 2012 he lost his first leg to diabetes and five years later he lost his second leg. That led to some advocacy for him. Eventually he started dabbling in a lot of different things to keep himself from not getting bored or depressed. He spent numerous days and times getting certified in all different kinds of  fields. I know there are going to be many students who are going to be shocked since he lectured at CET dealing with persons in culinary arts. He also managed numerous hotels in Placencia, the Placencia Hotel comes to mind, San Pedro all over. He spent his time getting himself accredited and learning. On his wall you will find numerous certificates that he attained over the years. Eventually after losing his feet he migrated to Chetumal and then came back to Belize and started to advocate. I was a city councilor serving with the Belize City Council. He started pushing for advocacy with disabilities. Eventually he became a member of BAPDA and I saw he rose to leadership position in BAPDA, hence the reason why he was travelling to Brazil.”