Hello to all
I wanted to let you know that we are working on a project to rebuild the Sittee River school library and create some healthy activities for the children duringthe summer.I am hoping you canhelp me identify people who are willing to help, especially locals who may not know us. There are a number of types of help that would really be "helpful" - some of them involve neither your time, nor your money, so read on....
The bad news: During last years devastating flood most of the library books were ruined, and we are in the position of having a library with NOT ONE STORY BOOK for children. Isn't that sad???
We would really like to find some US contacts that will assist in rebuilding the library. Library book sales in US are awesome, and I am pretty sure I can get a good deal on shipping books if shipped out of Houston or Mississippi- so if you know of any church, rotary or nice people that might raise a few bucks to buy some books for our kids, please let me know. In the meantime we are trying to get an interlibrary loan from the Hopkins library which is awash in books... And we are writing a proposal to SIP - If you know of any other local NGOs that might consider helping us rebuild the library, please advise.
We will also be painting the library and shelves, as they are icky. In addition we are hoping to put some animal, bird and fish images on the outside of the school which will be used to give lessons in natural history.It is our hope that we can have some very good localteachers come in to teach about the wonderful natural treasures in Belize, as well as the threats and solutions to Sittee River. So we need any partial cans of colored paint you may have lying around, as well as books about natural history. We also need paintbrushes that can be used for art (small ones) and large ones for painting the library
The good news: we have a volunteer teacher coming from the statesfrom April to Dec. She will be coordinating a summer program, which will be educational and fun. We are using local volunteers who have historically had a reading program, and we are adding more art and crafts and sports as well. Sittee River Village has a very willing group of local volunteers, that are mostly moms, who have assured me that the teens will also be willing to help with the summer program. But we have also found men who will help with the sports program too.
So we are looking for materials for the craft program, and simple sports equipment like frisbies,soccer balls, base ball equipment
Here is how you can help:
1. If you have visitors coming, please ask them to bring supplies for the summer program like (This does not cost you time or money)
o jumbo coloring books, crayons, colored pencils and colored markers
o colored construction paper, glue stix, glitter paint
o stickers - small, shiny, suitable for boys (eg trucks) and girls (eg flowers, butterflies) This is the currency of little people!
o BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS (school ages are pre-school to age 13)
o Craft stuff: beads, feathers, pieces of leather, pop sickle sticks, plastic straws, plastic plates,
o poster paint, small brushes,
o paper - for drawing and painting- like the jumbo art books or poster paper on a roll
o paint brushes
· sports equipment- any simple outdoor games would really be appreciated
· puzzles, checkers, domino games for the library
· Paint brushes of all kinds. Again in the states packages of small foam brushes and larger paint brushes for exterior painting are CHEAP CHEAP- so if you have visitors, please ask them to bring a few with them...
If you think you can assist in any of the above, could you please let me know- If you have visitors, please check with me and I'll let you know what we need as I am hoping that over the next months there will be supplies coming, and I will do everything I can to avoid duplication or waste. Finally if you would like to help for an hour or more, please let me know what you would like to do. It is our intention to include any people who have an interest whether it is time or money, so your contribution would be very gratefully accepted.
Mardi Collins
Sittee River
Tel (501-)665-6543
Sittee River Village
Belize, CA