Machetes for Peace

Over this past weekend volunteers with machetes in hand gathered at San Jose Village in the Orange Walk District to harvest two acres of sugarcane as part of Harvest for Kids, an initiative that falls under the Belize Camping Experience. Director Alexander Perez coordinates such events to raise funds in order to continue providing summer camps to at-risk children. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo reports.

Hipolito Novelo, Reporting

Thirty-seven machetes, wielded by volunteers, were used to harvest two acres of sugar cane on Saturday in San Jose Village in the north. ‘Machetes for Peace’ is the brainchild of Alexander Perez, the Director of the Belize Camping Experience. According to Perez, twenty nine tones per acre of sugar cane was harvested and delivered to the mill.

Alexander Perez

Alexander Perez, Director, Belize Camping Experience

“We put the sugar cane on fire and that scared the guts out of me. There were nine farmers that came to put this field on fire. I was amazed by it and I was frightened by it because the reason you put the sugarcane on fire is to burn all the leaves and trash, dangerous snakes. It makes the field clean. We went the following day. There were twelve farmers who came and arrange the field consecutively because everyone had to chop sugarcane at the same time. People from all over, Orange Walk, Corozal, Chan Pine Ridge, Yo Creek and the committee from Harvest for Kids from Blue Creek came out and brought out there machetes. People from Corozal came.”

And they came with one goal- to help the children who benefit from the Belize Camping Experience which was established eleven years ago.

Vickey Chan

Vickey Chan, Representative, Belize Camping Experience

“We do summer camps through the entire time of summer. Last year we did twelve camps and we manage to reach one thousand and forty five children. But this year we have planned twenty camps in total and if we do the math it is going to be almost two thousand children that are going to be reached. We do summer day camps. All of the camps are different. We do sports camps so we teach them sports disciplines. Other ones are fun camps and we teach different things. We do songs, games and we teach them different object lessons. We let them do hands on activity and to learn something good at the end of the day.”

The monies raised will be used to keep the camp going. Hipolito Novelo, News Five.