Angelus Press lends a hand to hopeful school

You may not recognise the name of the school but today it received the kind of support that is crucial to its survival … and that of its students.

Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
If these young people were not here, it is likely that at some point they’d wind up in trouble with the law. And while attendance at Living with Hope Preparatory School does not guarantee success, it does offer at least a chance.

Natalie Lino, School Manager
“Living Hope school caters to students who fail P.S.E., who drop out of high school and who basically failed the system. … Our school is a net and I believe that without us being here these students would just be on the streets. It’s a very important role that we play.”

These students attend two years of classes that help them pursue a secondary education.

Natalie Lino
“We are hoping that after two years with us, that the students would be able to cope with high school material and be able to do all the work in the high school setting.”

Living with Hope is a government assisted school that was established eight years ago by a group of concerned Belizean women.

Natalie Lino
“Who saw the need to take an active step in saving the lives of these children instead of letting them become a statistic, a number, giving them a chance to get an education and get them back into mainstream education.”

It was out of that concern that the Angelus Press Limited decided to adopt the learning institution and donate a year’s worth of school and office supplies.

Trudy Cutkelvin, Marketing Coordinator, Angelus Press Ltd.
“When we got the letter from Living Hope, we were very touched because I didn’t even know there was a preparatory school like that here in Belize. And to know that it is difficult for schools that make the money in the sense of like registration-wise, they can do fundraisers, it’s hard for them and we always here it, they cannot meet a lot of their expenses. And we thought, imagine a school like Living Hope that isn’t making the money from the students, because most of the time their parents can’t afford it. So we thought this was a great school to make sure that they have quality products.”

Natalie Lino
“I am excited about this because the students who they come, sometimes they don’t have all the equipment that they need to do the courses that we have here. And having paper, art supplies, having the equipment, even exercise books will help, will help them to achieve their goals.”

Both Trudy Cutkelvin and Natalie Lino hope that the assistance will motivate other businesses to further help the students and the school.

Living with Hope also receives assistance from the Ministry of Tourism which contributes to the school’s feeding programme. The school also receives financial donations from organisations and private individuals. In addition to providing an education for children, the school also offers adult classes.