Lions Club raises funds for hostel
Having a relative facing surgery is hard enough, but for many hospital patients and families who live outside Belize City there is the added burden of finding a place to stay. Enter the Lions.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
Thirty years after they first started serving the community, the Belize City Lions Club is adding one more activity to its roster- a hostel for family members of hospital patients. According to chairman of fundraising for the project, Dr. Christopher Bennett, the hostel will occupy the upper flat of the Lion’s building on Princess Margaret Drive.
Dr. Christopher Bennett, Chairman, Fundraising Project
“And so now we are in the second phase where we are providing accommodations, hostel for hospital patients who come from outside of Belize City and would like somewhere to stay, patients and their relatives. And so they can stay here and be comfortable rather than perhaps sit in a chair at Karl Heusner and waiting overnight for their relative to get better.”
Bennett says that in order to take advantage of what will be a high class service at low cost, a strict system will be instituted to avoid undue strain on the facility.
Dr. Christopher Bennett
“It is really done through the hospital or through B.C.V.I. In other words, the patient is registered with the hospital or through B.C.V.I. for the surgery in which case we find out where the person is coming from, we have the date of surgery and then we advice them that we have this facility available for them.”
The fund raising drive will take the form of two dances next month, which the Lions Club is hoping will yield in excess of fifteen thousand dollars to help outfit the rooms for use at least by October. Bennett stresses that the budget accommodations will be available only to people needing medical attention.
Dr. Christopher Bennett
“If perhaps a patient has a surgery early one morning, they can come here stay overnight and then go straight into their surgery. And if needs be stay here again overnight until they leave back for their respective district.”
Patrick Jones
“Now this service is it going to be free of charge?”
Dr. Christopher Bennett
“Well the charge Patrick, will be so nominal it can be considered virtually free. And this is one of the reasons why we need to keep on raising funds to sustain a project like this. The charge will be so nominally it wouldn’t really pay for the facilities we have here. In fact we have seven rooms when completed will be fully furnished and comfortable, we will have a kitchen, we have a washing machine, a dryer, refrigerator and so the patients can be made comfortable and also provide a meal the next morning if needs be.”
No final rates have been agreed for people who want to use the Lions’ Hostel. Bennett says when it opens later this year it will mark the completion of the Lions’ Training and Resource Centre initiative. Patrick Jones, for News 5.
Two dances, on Friday September nineteenth and on Saturday September twentieth in Belize City and Cayo respectively, will be held to raise money for the hostel. Gilharry Seven and Leon Coldero’s Code 686 bands will provide entertainment at both events. For more information on the hostel project contact John Wong Sam at telephone number 223-4426.
