Hostel residents compete in dorm decorating
For many troubled Belizean young people the Youth Hostel is either the place where you get your life back together or a brief interlude between primary school and prison. Today I visited the facility near Gracie Rock Village to observe one friendly competition that will hopefully help set the kids on the right path.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
When you look at the well cleaned rooms and decorated walls, it?s hard to imagine that these young men and women had any problems keeping their own bedrooms tidy at home… but most admit it took quite a lot to get them to actually do some household chores.
Alex Olivera, Captain, Dorm One
?My grandmother might have to tell me to tell me more than one time to get up and clean the dorm. I know here you have to learn to get up and do something fi your future and I just took this, it was not really hard, but I get up and cleaned it up and thing.?
Seventeen-year-old Alex Olivera is among the thirty-one residents sent through the court system to the Youth Hostel for rehabilitation. The residents, who are between ten and seventeen years old, have had disciplinary problems and a history of trouble with the law. One programme used to promote good citizenship is the dorm competition that encourages cleanliness, teamwork, creativity, and discipline.
Helen Rosalez, Supervisor, Youth Hostel
?If you can see the enthusiasm bubbling out of these residents, you would realise that this should be an ongoing thing. But it takes so much of your time it can take away from the other projects we have to do, so we have to set a specific time for this particular project because it?s time consuming, it?s energy consuming and they are just at it, going at it. And if you would allow them, they would just stay at it.?
The youths are given sufficient time to basically give their dorms a facelift based on individual themes chosen by the residents. The boys and girls from dorms one through five worked hard for three days putting together scenes from Under the Sea, Nature?s Best Kept Secret, Under the Rainbow of Bright and Beautiful Colours, Tourism and Culture.
Alex Olivera, Captain, Dorm One
?I can?t say we win because we have more boys weh do better than we and weh deserve [to win], although we try we best, but they have others weh try better than we.?
The institution?s management is encouraged by the effort their young residents have displayed.
Helen Rosalez
?When you go inside and look at what they have produced, you?ll be amazed at what they can accomplish together in teamwork and in team spirit. Another part of the competition is developing good sportsmanship and helping them to work together for positive things.?
Elias Hernandez, Captain, Dorm Two
?It took us a lot of time to fix everything. All of us were working together to do our best to get at least a second or first.?
Jacqueline Woods
?Why the theme, The Deep Forest??
Elias Hernandez, Captain, Dorm Two
?Because we just like the forest. Because the trees are the things that give us oxygen to breathe and we give them the carbon dioxide for them to breathe.?
Sinesio Rash, Captain, Dorm Three
?We work together as a team and some of us did the drawing, some of us did the painting, and some of just stay there and do nothing.?
Meanwhile, the girls appeared to have done far more research in preparing their dormitory for the competition.
Loretta Logan, Captain, Dorm One
?The teamwork really did help because I learn to coordinate with others and make new friends and get to know them, so it was really interesting.?
Candice Stephen, Captain, Dorm Two
?Basically, we have some little arguments, but we still get together and all the dormies did what best they could do. Different people get different things, like Creole, Garifuna, Spanish; they get different culture to do.?
On Thursday the Youth Hostel invites the public to its annual Art and Craft Display at Battlefield Park in Belize City. All items will be on sale from nine in the morning to four in the evening.
