ICA hosts Helpage seenagers in Christmas programme

We’ve spent much of this week touring the city, visiting various Christmas parties held for hundreds of Belize City children. But today, I attended one event that was organized entirely for the children at heart.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It may have been just one hour of the day, but it was clear that more than one hundred seenagers thoroughly the afternoon?s entertainment. The special Christmas treat of music and dance was hosted by the Institute of Creative Arts and the National Institute of Culture and History.

Leroy Green, Programme Director, ICA/NICH
?First of all it?s to show appreciation to the elderly people of our society. Secondly, it?s to extend Christmas greetings and the Christmas spirit to the elderly of our community. Third, it?s the promote part of NICH?s mandate to showcase creativity and talent among our young Belizeans.?

Some of those young men and women included members of the Phoenix Performing Company. The eldest of the guests, one hundred and two year old Viola Myles, says she is not sure if she will live to see the next Christmas, but offered this special message to all Belizeans for this holiday season.

Viola Myles, 102 years old
?To be happy and jolly and to look to Jesus always and everything will go right.?

Jacqueline Woods
?What will Miss Viola be doing this Christmas??

Viola Myles
?I had to much work doing that when I going finish.?

Jacqueline Woods
?I know you love to bake your cake, will you still be doing that??

Viola Myles
?I noh baking none this year, I give it out. A lady, she promised to give it to me.?

Myles, who will be celebrating her one hundred and third birthday in two months time, was rewarded during the performance for her longevity.

The entertainment not only came from the performers on the stage, but guest Euphemia Bennett shared her fond memories of Christmas when she was a child…and as we found out, some things never change.

Euphemia Bennett
?We hear seh Santa di come, but we want know where Santa wah come from. They tell we seh if you goh sleep soon Santa wah come dah night and if you noh goh sleep Santa noh di come. So now you going to your bed very, very soon…?

The senior citizens were all given gifts of corsages and snacks. Programme coordinator Leroy Green says the second annual Outreach Christmas Show was a resounding success, and as we found out, organisers plan on keeping the young at heart busy throughout the year.

Leroy Green
?They are a troupe of performers who we started in April of this year and outside from performing here at the Bliss and outside, I think since we formed we have done forty-something shows and apart from that they go out into our primary schools and some high schools and they teach the arts to our school students also. So they are performers and they are expressive art teachers.?

Today’s guests were all members of Helpage Belize.