School is Out and Rainy Season is Here

It is a bit hard to believe that we have passed our 1 year mark here in Belize!  Quinn's last day at school was last Thursday.  He did very well, receiving the highest marks in his class (his teacher said it was double-checked as a lot of Belizean parents do not like the white kid having that honor, particularly when the principal's son is in his class.)  We are proud of how well he adjusted and does despite being teased often and called "White Cheese."

I finished my first year on the P.T.A.  The fact that I was elected is a funny story in itself (I did not understand what they were talking about in Creole at the time and was more than surprised when they called me to the front to give my acceptance speech!).  It has been a very good learning experience for me.  I was asked to participate in the graduation this week of the Standard 6 students (equivalent to our 8th grade).  As I sat there during the ceremony, it was striking to me how difficult it is for a Belizean child to receive an education in comparison to one from the U.S. and how this graduation is more consistent with how we view high school graduation.  Although education is provided through the Standard 6 grade, each student is responsible to pay school fees and have a uniform and basic supplies. The fees are not high - about $20 U.S. per student -  but this can be a huge amount for a family with 6 or 7 school aged children out in a village.  High school is on a merit basis and due to the costs, is unobtainable for a lot of Belizean kids.  According to a recent report, primary school enrollment is 90.3% of eligible students while high school enrollment is only 44.1% of eligible students.  Unfortunately, the drop-out rate in high school is quite high with only 51.3% of the 44.1% enrolled graduating.  Many young people that I have spoken to here (including our clinic employees) would love to obtain a full education, including university, but are unable because of the costs involved.

Quinn's teacher at a school gathering
(we were truly blessed to have her for Quinn this year)

Quinn doing science 

We are looking forward to our upcoming break in the U.S. in August and starting to think about how to approach this next year.  We are still struggling with the bureaucracy and protocols dictated by the Ministry of Health.  It is difficult to not only practice medicine with the limited resources we have but then it can become incredibly frustrating to be restricted by politics.  We have started working with the Ministry of Health on a concerted project to address the severe malnutrition of the children in the most remote villages by deworming them, providing vitamins, nutritional education, and soy protein supplements.  Our treks into remote villages have been hampered a few times already this rainy season by flooding.  The water often rises quickly and fortunately often regresses quickly but it does make certain roads impassable for hours at a time.

Rainy season flooding of Blue Creek

The bridge in Blue Creek allows access to many of the other villages

The narrow cement bridge going into the village of Aguacate was about 4 feet under water today.  Even with a snorkel on our Land Cruiser, we dared not try it.

We are currently in the process of looking for nurses and pharmacist volunteers to serve with us for at least a year.  Natalie, our pharmacist, finishes her promised year here in September and will be moving back to the U.S.  Celia (our RN) has been here since March 2012. She has agreed to stay until mid-December but would then like to move back to the U.S.  She helps us in clinic but is mainly responsible for the numerous home-bound patients that we have in the Punta Gorda area.  It looks like we might have a nurse lined up from Australia to join us in December but we have not found another pharmacist.  If anyone knows a pharmacist who is interested in volunteering with us for 6-12 months or longer, send them our way!