CITCO teams up with Y.M.C.A. to spruce up city
Thanks to millions of dollars of investment and a resurgence of civic pride over the last decade or so, Belize City is finally beginning to lose its image as a ramshackle hotbed of crime and urban decay. Today the City Council sought to accelerate that process by involving more of the community’s young people.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It is estimated that thirty percent of the thousands of cruise ship passengers who visit the country each week spend some time exploring Belize City. While the old capital does have its charms, it is not exactly a paradise for tourists. One group, however, is hoping to make things better for both visitors and locals.
Today, the Belize City Council gave the Young Men’s Christian Association ten thousand dollars to embark on a beautification project.
Carolyn Gentle Genitty, Executive Director, Y.M.C.A.
“We noticed that in the booming tourist industry, there was a lot of general ambiance and decor that wasn’t really being dealt with in the downtown area particularly North Front Street, Albert Street and Regent Street. It was not as welcoming as one may want, especially when we are having tourists on a regular basis. So the proposal was put to the Belize City Council to see if we would be able to work together, because their job is to better the city.”
David Fonseca, Mayor, Belize City
“The N.G.O., YMCA is a very proactive N.G.O. and they were the very first to come forward to us to with a proposal that is very sound and very positive. So we jumped on it right way to get the ball going, because this is something that we have been looking for for some time and they have come up with a good plan. We have been discussing with a couple other private sectors to get it done, but they have been hem and hawing and we want to get it done.”
The work will be done in different stages. The first six months will have up to fifty youths planting, painting and generally improving the appearance of some of the city’s major streets including Albert Street, Regent Street and North Front Street.
Carolyn Gentle Genitty
“The plants, not all of them will be on the ground, a large number of them will actually be on the lampposts. We’re coming up with a format using mesh wire and the actually plants with a black bag going around the lamppost and eventually growing out and giving a general ambiance. As well as coming up with general banners that have a depiction of the Maya, a depicting of the Garifuna, the Creoles so that people see that walking along. It’s like when you’re in a different country you want to take a picture against the Chicago sign or something that says Chicago; it’s the same thing in Belize.”
Presently the city’s lampposts are saturated with political posters, but that’s no problem because the work is not scheduled to commence until after the elections. Business owners along the route will also have the opportunity, if they want, to paint their buildings. As explained by Mayor David Fonseca, the project will also address another problem in the city…the homeless.
David Fonseca
“In their proposal it was mentioned that the programme would lead to removing these people out of the parks and off the streets for a particular time in the day. We took it a bit further than that and asked Carolyn from the Y.M.C.A. to let’s consider utilizing them within the project itself and that might help them to give them back their self-esteem and their self-confidence that I believe is lacking why they are doing what they’re doing. And they will have a couple dollars in their pockets on a daily basis. They will be able to sustain themselves and not have to come and beg you or me or the tourist for that dollar everyday.”
The project will run for six weeks, and if successful, then the Y.M.C.A. will receive another donation to continue the work. The goal is to beautify twenty-five of the city’s streets. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
