You Will When You Belize…(song by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey)

It’s already Thursday, and I think I have yet to blog about my service experiences, so here it is.

While here, my typical day during the week starts out at Mercy Kitchen, a soup kitchen that serves the elderly breakfast and lunch. In the early mornings I would help prep the food in the kitchen and also talk to some of the elderly people who come to the kitchen to eat. The first day I met a woman named Miss Gloria, who is 79 years old and walks a pretty good distance every day to eat and hang out at the shelter. While we were talking she mentioned that the following day she was supposed to go to the City Council because they’re trying to demo her house. She lives alone with her dog, and her house suffered major damage due to an earthquake awhile back and she can’t afford to fix it. Basically a portion of her house cracked and is caving in, and she’s lived like that for years. If they take her home, she has nowhere to go. It’s terrible.

After that I went along with a couple guys from the Kitchen to deliver meals to the elderly folks that can’t make it to the Kitchen. The Kitchen delivers to the same 39 people every day, Monday through Friday. Going along I was able to see much of the city on the south side. We met folks who lived in pretty decent conditions, and others who were barely surviving in the worst conditions. There was a woman who lived in the basement of a house, in a room that was about the size of a supply closet and had no water or electricity. Her neighbors upstairs have to bring her water so she can bathe and have something to drink. And yet even in her circumstance, you ask her how she’s doing, and her response is that she’s not so bad, and thanks to the Lord she’s still here. And that was a similar response we got all across the board. The people’s faith in God is so strong here that even in the worst of the worst conditions, they believe and have accepted that it is God’s will that they are in this position, but He has brought them this far and for that they are thankful.

In the afternoons I’d end up at the YWCA and work with either young girls (13-19) or little toddlers/preschool kiddies. Yesterday Bev, Mariza and I taught a class on sex education. Awesome right? Haha, more like AWKWARD. But the presentation actually went really well. The girls were really receptive and many participated in the discussion, which was opposite of what we thought was going to happen. Teen pregnancy is pretty high in Belize, but it was good to know that the girls were listening to what we were saying and asking the right questions. After the class, Bev and I went over to the daycare and played with babies and toddlers. They were some of the cutest kids ever! Boogers, sweaty palms and all. So so cute!!

There’s so many things I’ve learned from this trip: Belize, its people, its culture, and even more the strength, resilience, and spirit of the human heart. It’s truly humbling.

I could go on and on, but it’ll have to wait until we meet in person. 

This has been such an awesome experience for all of us. To have this opportunity to serve the community here in Belize has been a privilege. Lord willing, I hope to do something like this every year, Belize or elsewhere.

Til next post,

Di

Sidenote: The food here has been amazing. Please note that my next post shall strictly be about food in Belize. This goes out to all you food lovers out there.  ;-)

Lovemaking (Day 3)

On Monday, Miss Clara from the YMCA came over and hung out with us. We discussed possible topics for the sex education lesson that the YWCA asked us to teach the adolescent girls today. A lot of the issues that the girls face are not only due to a lack of knowledge of the biology and function of their bodies, but also the misunderstanding of the emotions and function of themselves as whole individuals; as ladies, as women, as girls. Basically, we need to teach them that females are strong, powerful, resilient, intelligent, and worth more than society (especially here in Belize) makes us out to be.
We were assigned to teach the Life Skills class this morning to the first and second year students. YWCA is a two year technical/vocational school for at-risk females ages 13-19 (e.g., dropped out of school, live in group homes, etc.). Our lesson covered the topics of hormones, lovemaking vs. sex, and hygiene. It was amazing that we were allowed to talk openly about sex and condoms, especially in a society (and school) that is so strongly Christian (which frowns upon premarital sex and contraception). Our class lasted two hours. They were eager to tell their stories, ask honest (and sometimes outrageous) questions, and just educate us on the sex culture of Belize and how much they knew about it. We emphasized that sex is very different from love, and if they love themselves the way they had described how they show love to others, then they should trust themselves to make choices that they will not regret for the rest of their lives. I should remind you that many of these girls have behavioral problems due to life experiences; and besides the 2 girls who were obviously asleep, the other girls were attentive and participating by the last 30 minutes of our class. I know our week here won’t change the community, but I’m hopeful that our work can inspire at least one student.
Later in the morning, Di and I helped at the daycare. We tried to keep them calm while their lunch was being prepared by playing games and Di telling them a story she just made up. A lot of them were starving for love and attention. One little girl came up to me and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. Once that happened, all 13 girls did the same. It was a great feeling to be able to show affection to the babies, however, they are all currently spreading the cold to each other. Some of the babies had globs of snot just hanging out on their face. So big, I had to ask “how did that even come out of your nose??” But there just weren’t enough staff members to keep an eye on all these children. I walked around wiping a lot of snot today and used a lot of hand sanitizer.

Di, Mariza, and I walked over to a street food vendor for lunch to have panedas and salbutes. Yummy fried goodness!

When we got back to the YWCA, the preschool was on their way out for a while, so Di and I offered to come along and help keep an eye on them. There were about 40 preschoolers with eight staff members walking down the streets of Belize City. We ended up at the Coca-Cola/Guiness distribution center where we got an impromptu tour and samples of soda (great idea for 4 year olds!).

Lauren held down the fort over at the Mercy Clinic since I was helping with the Life Skills class this morning. She was told a lot of corrupt stories about the clinic and the higher-ups, like withholding supplies and resources to individuals who have nearly nothing and stealing monies that are donated to the clinic. The Mercy Clinic helps so many people and seems like it's in so much need for a lot of things because they aren't adequately funded by anyone, but selfish and inconsiderate and corrupt people in power make it so these poor and vulnerable people don't get what they deserve. *sigh*

There was a peace march that Josh and Milea went to this afternoon to show solidarity against the recent gang violence in Belize City. Just in the past week, there have been stabbings and shootings, some of which were near us. But don't worry, we don't walk outside after dark and keep an eye on each other!

Miss Clara had food prepared for us at the YMCA. Apparently it didn’t mean she was having dinner with us though (because she had a meeting at dinnertime). To her, food is how she shows people she cares for them, even if she doesn’t get to share the actual meal with them. So we brought the coconut rice, chicken, fried plantain, salad, and juice back to Hotel Mopan and the eight of us debriefed around the dinner table. It was a rare, quiet, brief moment to be able to reflect on everything that's been happening and all that we have learned.

Open the Eyes of My Heart (Day 2)

My heart aches for Belize, but is amazed by the resilience and faith of her people.

I spent the first part of the morning chatting with some clients at the Mercy Clinic who were telling me about their families and lives in Belize. One 76-year old woman told me about her nine children and the youngest four who were stabbed to death by a man who had broken into their home decades ago. The woman next to her has 12 children; six in the USA and six in Belize. She does not work and her late husband died 11 years ago during a traumatic accident involving a trailer and truck (that it was being pulled by), so she has no steady income. Her children help her when they can (enough for food), but she never tells them when she’s running out of food or needs money because she says she doesn’t want to bother them. Her eldest son works for the United Nations in NYC…and she’s here in Belize City trying to collect social security checks every month and settles for sub-standard health care at the clinic.

The next part of my day involved delivering food to homebound elderly individuals all around Belize City. I cannot believe how poor the conditions were in some “homes”. Some houses were made of tin and cardboard, had no running water, looked like storage closets, had rats running around, surrounded by gangs (they have bloods and crips, too!) and drug dealers. Not to mention the neglect and lack of support (health care, basic care). Some of the elderly we saw probably didn’t have anyone to help take care of them, even though they had amputated limbs (due to diabetes) or were bedbound or blind. It made me feel somewhat angry and sad that the world could be this unfair; that peoples’ statuses can be so dramatically different. But we asked each individual how they were doing and feeling today and each of them responded – “I do the best I can with what the Lord has given me, and I can do nothing without God!”

Truly humbled.

In the afternoon, Di, Lauren, and I joined Mariza at the YWCA. I went to help care for the babies at the daycare while they helped the adolescent girls. There were 30 babies for 2 caretakers. Obviously the children were in need of attention because when I walked in, a few of the kids came straight for me to hold my hand. Some babies in the playpen cried for me to pick them up and simply hold them. It made my heart break to think that they may have gone the whole day without much attention or stimulation from the adults at the daycare. There were just too many of them and I just wanted to love all of them.

We spent the evening with the Jesuit Volunteers (JV) assigned to Belize City. There were about 10 JVs who graduated from various Jesuit Universities in the USA who live in the JV house near St. Martin de Porres School. They work as teachers in schools and prisons, and assist in building homes for the elderly. During their two year contract as a JV, they take a vow to live simply off of $3 a day. There is no TV or internet at their home, and are discouraged from travel to/from home during their 2 year stay. Just hanging out with them made me appreciate the type of education I received from a Jesuit university, having that desire for social justice, and being a child of the Earth and a product of God.

First day of School!

It was our first day at our service placements; it felt like our first day of school! I was excited to meet new people and be in a new place, yet feared the unknown.

We dropped Mariza off at the YWCA (where Di and I would be joining her later), then walked to St. Martin de Porres School to drop off Josh and Milea…only school wasn’t in session today. Apparently, there was a teacher’s conference for Catholic schools, so Josh and Milea came with us. Lauren dropped us off first, then walked Josh to YWCA. While she was gone, Milea and Di went to deliver food to homebound individuals. I got a quick intro to the clinic, but within minutes I was assessing patients. The one nurse who works at the clinic was out sick, so the receptionist was doing all the nurse’s work (which is obviously not in her scope of practice)!
I met with about six older adults (Mercy Clinic is a geriatric clinic). I checked them in, took their weight and vital signs, tested their blood sugar (if they were diabetic), and reported any abnormalities to the one doctor who worked at the clinic.
After I walked my first patient back to the waiting room to see the doctor, Lauren walked into my exam room. The doctor told her to give a patient Voltaren 1 amp IM. Not familiar with the drug, we looked it up in a drug book. It’s an anti-inflammatory, which was supposed to be given in PO form, but we had the drug in a glass vial (with no filter needles!) to be given IM. The patient was a middle-aged man who was experiencing back, head, and neck pain after falling off his back porch steps. When I asked him how he fell, he said he blacked out; but usually he knows when he’s about to black out so he can sit down and keep himself safe. So, Voltaren will treat his neck pain; a symptom secondary to other issues, such as seizures, low blood pressure which could be causing blackouts, and spinal injuries as a result of the fall. The doctor wrote an order for an X-ray to be done, but when we asked the man about it he said he’ll get around to it later in the week. I assisted Lauren in giving the shot, but every step of the process made me nervous for my nursing license. I had to keep reassuring myself that it’s just different here and people do what they can with the resources that they are given.
My second patient had a blood pressure of 196/98. I asked her if she takes BP meds, she said yes but she “forgot” to take her water pill this morning. The doctor advised me to give her Captopril 25mg PO. The bottle was already sitting on my desk, which probably means that’s what everyone gets for high blood pressure. There were no doctor’s orders written. The best documentation I could do was a detailed scribble underneath her vitals signs. There was probably no follow up either. What if her blood pressure bottoms out after she goes home to take her water pill? What about tomorrow morning when her blood pressure is that high again? The Captopril will solve her BP issue for today, but what about the next 30 days until her next visit?
One of my last patients had a fasting blood glucose of 168. She told me she doesn’t eat breakfast on the days she comes into the clinic because she knows we’re going to test her blood sugar and she doesn’t want it to be high for us. What about the other days that she has breakfast and her blood sugar is in the 200s?
Most of these patients are healthy though, if you take a quick glance at them. They have enough to eat, most of them either walk or ride their bikes into the clinic (many are over the age of 80!), and they don’t have very many complaints about their health. But Lauren told me that many of them remain undiagnosed until it’s too late. If an older adult passes away, it’s just assumed that it’s due to old age. The top two epidemics in Belize City among elderly patients are hypertension and diabetes; two diseases that are so easily managed in the United States (with adequate health insurance/resources). Yet these are the causes of many deaths in this city. Could these individuals have other diseases or disorders that nobody knows about? The more important question is, would it be worth it to diagnose individuals if there were no resources to treat them for the illness? Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

We stopped by the YWCA after the clinic, but we only had enough time for introductions and a tour of the facility. I instantly fell in love with the beautiful Belizean babies! I can't wait until tomorrow!

Sunday Reflections

Along with every trip comes the cultural shock and realization of how similarly different life is.  It's only the first day of working in our service placements and we've already had a multitude of profound life lessons.  If it's this good thus far, we can only be eager for what happens next.


On Sunday night, a few of us went to mass at St Martin's parish.  Of course the mass was just like mass anywhere else, but the community and service was a different experience. Aside from our group and a few other tourists, it really stood out to me that the only white people in the whole chapel were the priests.  I've been raised Catholic and love everything about Jesuit ideals, but the first thing I could think of was "this must be how the whites took over the rest of the world."  I don't mean that with any sense of judgment or stereotype, but it really stood out to me that in a crowd full of dark-skinned Belizeans, Hispanics and Kriols the ones that led and stood in front were white.  


Along with that and as with every Jesuit mass, the homily was really thought provoking.  The priest talked about feeling restless and reverting that unnerving feeling of not knowing what to do life towards God.  I hope Bev doesn't mind me posting this, but she did a great reflection on the homily:


Fr. Brian (SJ) at St. Martin de Porres Church in Belize City started the homily with a story of a brother & sister fetus who were hanging out in their mother's womb. The sister asked the brother if he ever thought of life after birth or the idea of having a mother in whom they live, and he just laughed at her and thought she was crazy. Why wonder about after-birth when they are perfectly comfortable in the warm, dark womb. And how could she even think of having a mother whom they had never seen before!

The gospel for today was about the Transfiguration of Jesus; that short period of time when heaven is revealed to us. Fr. Brian (SJ) spoke of the "mountaintop" or "peak" moments in our lives that make everything so clear for us. It answers our questions, erases our worries, and makes us feel like we're on top of the world. But they only last a moment. What do we do after this enlightenment? Some people stay dormant, thinking that this knowledge and understanding of heaven will save them. But others, like Jesus, feel the need to do something for the world. After that moment of heaven disappears, it leaves us wanting more; wanting to know Jesus more, yearning for a deeper and more substantial relationship with Him. Jesus Christ left the mountaintop, walked back to Jerusalem (knowing what He would have to stand up against), and carried His cross for the salvation of the entire world.

It is our human nature to feel restless, empty, and yearning for something greater. It is only through this emptiness that we are guided to in the right direction to be able to attain what we are seeking. "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."

The brother fetus tells the sister fetus that they will have all they want, as long as they just hold on to the cord. The sister says to the brother, "there's been a lot of rumbling. Something great is bound to happen."

Do you believe?


From talking to the rest of our group and reflecting on our own motivations, it seems like restlessness and questioning how to make the most of the present moment are among the reasons why we're here.  We are eager to experience how the rest of the week can help us find this answer.

Sunday's Recap

Today we took a boat tour over to the Lamanai Ruins. To get to Lamanai we had to take a 30 mile boat ride through the New River. While on the river we saw some spider monkeys that were so friendly they came right up to the boat and we were able to feed them bananas. One of them even came up right next to my seat and walked on the side of the boat to get to the back for more bananas. Crazy cool.

Also on our way, we encountered a Mennonite community that live out near the New River. Surprisingly, there is a fairly large groups of Mennonites around Belize, however not all communities are Amish. All of them   are very conservative, but some utilize modern machines. 70% of Belize's agriculture comes from the Mennonite communities.

Once we made it to Lamanai, we had lunch and journeyed through the jungle to the ruins. We went to three temples: The Mask Temple, The High Temple, and The Jaguar Temple.

The High Temple

We climbed to the very very top of the temple. It was AMAZING. As Milea said, to stand at the top of a Mayan temple is a bucket-list type of thing to do. It's an unforgettable experience. The steps up to get to the top is very, very steep and required us to hold on to the rope while we climbed up the stairs. Getting down...that was crazy. 

Most importantly, the three of us got to take a new picture together. Here's our new photo:

Your friends...Bev, Milea and Di

Don't stop...Belize-in'! (Song by Journey)

Bev and Milea did a great job detailing what's been going on so far, so it's my job to give you the photos to accompany the stories. I'll post a blog on my thoughts later tonight.

Tourist Village, Belize City

Taking a drink with a few locals at Marlin's Restaurant...Thanks Howard, Magnus, and Albert!

While we were wandering around, we encountered Gary the Star.

Milea, Mariza, Bev, Josh, and I gearing up to go zip-lining

Buddy Junior...this guy gave us one of the most jaguar experiences ever.

We'll add more as we go along...we also got pictures from when we went cave tubing, but it's on a different camera.

Enjoy for now! We'll try to get vlogs on our blog too, if we can get the internet to cooperate (But don't hold your breath, it may come when we return).

Til next post,

Di