Kids’ Outreach Program Continues With Ziplining Tour

Since his transfer to Belize City several weeks ago, Region One Commander Howell Gillett has been on a relentless outreach to at-risk youths across the south side of Belize City.  That provision of community services comes in many forms, including taking busloads of children on trips to the rural parts of the country.  One such adventure was an excursion to Franks Eddy where kids from various neighborhoods went zip lining at Jaguar Paw.  The activity, according to Gillett, is simply to take them out of the urban environment and have them experience a different side of life.

Howell Gillett

Sr. Supt. Howell Gillett, Regional Commander, Region One, Eastern Division

“We took, I believe, thirty kids from, and we’re strategic, from all the different neighborhoods on the Region One side of Belize City.  We took them to Franks Eddy to do zip lining.  It’s to create positiveness in the minds of young people.  It’s to open their minds to see that life is not just a shooting incident or something bad that goes on or the low availability of food in a house.  All those are negative things and you don’t want to remember those things when you become an adult, so we want to show them that there’s another side to that type of life.  So every time we have an opportunity we try to take our young people and we try to take different young people from different neighborhoods so that everybody gets a chance to go out and see life in a different setting.”

Reporter

“Sir, this is just one in a line of trips that you’ve organized for young children in the Region One area.  Are you able to say what has been the feedback of these children?  Do you see some sort of significant change?  I know it’s a little early but is there something to report from all this effort?”

Sr. Supt. Howell Gillett

“Well what I could tell you is that when I was the commander in Belmopan we did the same thing or something similar to what we’re doing, but we’re going at a faster pace here in Belize City of course because it’s a larger community and then the situation is different so we have to be moving at a faster pace.”