Mexico rewards top C.A. students
Two Belizean children are back home after a ten-day visit to Mexico City as part of an art and academic exchange with Central America. Kalyla Jones of Santa Elena Evangelical Academy in Cayo and Alma Worrell of Escuela Mexico in Corozal were chosen to go on the visit because of their outstanding artistic and academic performances respectively. This morning the two students stopped by the Mexican Embassy in Belize City to thank Ambassador Trejo and his staff for the opportunity to meet their regional peers.
Alma Worrell, Student, Escuela Secundaria Mexico
“It was a very educational, unforgettable and beautiful experience. It was something that, it will always stay with us and it gave a lot of information to kids to learn…It was like making…testing how good I am at making friendship. I mean you are just put together in one thing and it up to you to actually open up and make friends or not.”
Kalyla Jones, Student, Santa Elena Evangelical Academy
“I did a painting of solidarity and I was the first one to be chosen. And then they called us on a Thursday and said that I won the prize.”
Patrick Jones
“What is the painting solidarity all about? What did you paint?”
Kalyla Jones
“I paint three people holding hands and having a good time with nature and animals.”
Patrick Jones
“So that is your interpretation of solidarity?”
Kalyla Jones
“Yes. That’s what I did.”
Patrick Jones
“Do you like painting?”
Kalyla Jones
“Yes, I want to be an artist when I grow up…I paint at home, I have my studio with lots of paint and colourings and I did the painting with scrap paper and I cut it out, and I had painted it and then cut it out and then we sticked it unto the painting on a background and other things we sticked it unto.”
Sixteen students, two from each of the seven Central American countries and Dominican Republic, were hosted in Mexico under that country’s exchange program with schools in the region. Children from twelve schools in Belize submitted paintings for the competition. The next contest comes up in April of 2004.
