Social Interest Organizations hold 1st NGO Fair

In Belize City meanwhile, the Constitution Park was not only a place for playing and relaxing… it was also a place for learning. From nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, fourteen social interest organizations set up information booths and participated in the first ever NGO Fair, organized by the National Committee for Families and Children. Monitoring and Evaluation Program officer at N.C.F.C. Paulette Wade told us why they hosted the event.

Paulette Wade, Monitoring/Evaluation Program Officer, N.C.F.C.
“At N.C.F.C. we get a lot of requests that do not relate to us. People would come and say to us, could you send a program officer to the school to do good touch, bad touch. We do not do good touch, bad touch. Good touch, bad touch is a service offered by NOPCAN. Sometimes they come miss you know my teenager daughter is pregnant and I would like to get her in some kind of educational schooling. Again, we don’t do that then we would send them to YES. Or sometimes they ask us if we offer counseling. We don’t do that, so we always have to be forwarding, forwarding, forwarding and when we have our NGO meetings, that’s the same thing they are saying.”

“Today’s NGO fair should serve two purposes: It is an opportunity for the public at large, especially primary school and high school student to understand what each NGO offers, the services they offer and also how to access these services. Today is December fifth, which is international volunteer day, so some organizations like Red Cross and B.C.V.I. are looking for volunteers because a lot of the services they provide depend upon people’s assistance so they are looking to recruit people this morning also.”

The N.C.F.C. is hoping the NGO Fair will become an annual event.