Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School Receives New Resource Center

Today, the Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School proudly opened the doors of a new, fully equipped resource centre. This invaluable addition to the institution is the result of considerable lobbying by the administration and the assistance of the Belize City Council. This morning’s ceremony was attended by the students and teachers who will benefit tremendously from the donation, as well as those who made it happen. Mike Rudon was there and has the story.

Mike Rudon, Reporting

Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School opened its doors in 1993, serving fifty-eight students with three teachers. Today the school boasts an enrolment of two hundred and twenty-three students who are instructed, guided and supervised by nine full time teachers, an administrative principal and three wardens. The spurt in enrolment is a positive thing, but physical infrastructure must grow in tandem. Faced with a critical need, the school’s Principal invited Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley to visit.

Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor

“I gave a presentation to the school children. I talked to them and principally the message of that was be the change that you want to see in the world. Be a catalyst for good and be a force for positive impact in your community. And after that presentation the Principal walked me around the school and identified some challenges that they had. Typically when I do presentations at school we would engage with the school in relation to what do they need, and one of the things that they identified was the renovation of the resource centre, and I could have seen also that they were trying.”

One thing led to another, and to this momentous day in the history of the school.

Amelia Bencomo, Principal, Buttonwood Bay Primary School

“Today, this day, this tenth day of December 2014 marks a very important achievement as we are gathered here to celebrate the official opening of our resource centre. This used to be a classroom, but became available after a missionary team donated an additional classroom building. This was one of our goals, to develop a resource room where a reading reinforcement program will be set in place for students who can read and those who are still struggling as well as for teachers who may want to conduct research to enhance their lessons.”

The entire project was done by a department of the City Council informally called the paint-up crew. That group conducted an entire floor to ceiling renovation – including electrical work, lighting, fans, chairs, shelves, windows and doors – much of the materials donated.

Darrell Bradley

“We also got a significant contribution from the Central Bank of Belize. The Governor of the Central Bank dealt with this matter personally and I was very appreciative that when I wrote to him and asked for six computers they said they would entirely jump on board with the project. So essentially what the City Council did is that we had our people come in and we just gifted the school with a resource centre.”

As impressive as the new resource centre is, the total cost of the renovation was only about ten thousand dollars, not including the computers and accessories. It isn’t the first time that the City Council has stepped in when there is a cry for help and a very worthy cause.

Darrell Bradley

“The City Council has been doing these kinds of projects over the past two and a half years since I’ve been Mayor. We’ve done this at St. Catherine, we’ve done this at Excelsior, we’ve done this at the Salvation Army and it’s one of I think a significant benefits of my job that we get to interact meaningfully with young people and we get to do projects like this. One of the big joys of today was just seeing the young people coming in the lab and engaging with the new computers, the internet, how the place looks and just ensuring that they learn in an area that is comfortable and that is motivating and stimulating to them.”

The school’s motto is – I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Today there is reason for the school to be thankful for their faith and perseverance. Mike Rudon for News Five.

With this goal achieved, the school’s administration is already looking at future projects, including more classrooms, a cafeteria, additional sporting facilities and a fence.