Belizean-American Woman Looks Back on Community School

Bernadette Griggs

A Belizean woman, who grew up in Hopkins Village and made the news earlier this year when she won the Business Journal C.F.O. of the Year Award in San Diego, has looked back on the community where she grew up in Belize. Bernadette Griggs handed over thirty tablets to Holy Family School in Hopkins Village earlier this week. Griggs, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the Jewish Family Service, a non-profit charity, says the donation comprises tablets, as well as laptops.

Bernadette Griggs, Belizean –American Donor

“It’s comprised of 30 tablets and there were additional tablets – five that are going to a different area, and then there were a total of three laptops from kindergarten up because it’s important for all levels to really get familiar with technology. The principal has come up with a plan for distribution. The most recent distribution were 10 tablets given to school to the students in the various grades. It was a student that received the laptop. He is already in high school, but these were students that did very well in last year’s – last school year, I was raised in this village, graduated from that school and went to Ecumenical High School from there. And, you know, we took the time to reward those students who have done very well. And I did have a conversation with the principal with that process. We know that there are some students who are not excelling because of the fact that they may need technology. They may need the tools that they do not have. So, in the conversation, the principal and I have agreed to issue some tablets for those students who are not excelling as well to get them to where they need to go. So those are students that I know are going to continue to be left behind if we do not support them with the technology need.”