On the Bright Side of BHS Robotics Ailing Coach
This week, we welcomed the returning student delegation that represented Belize in Geneva, Switzerland for the First Global Robotics 2022 competition. The robotics team brought home gold and the country was alive with pride. But if that’s not enough, Sabreena Daly brings you a story of triumph under the celebration of a win for Belize. On this week’s look on the bright side we met Godfrey Sosa.
School spirit and civic pride are ringing through the halls of the Belize High School thanks to these young champions. Their return with gold medals from what is described as the Olympics of robotics has turned into a week of celebration and recognition. The delegation of technophiles includes juniors, seniors, as well as an information technology teacher who shares the same interest.
Jamie-Lee Usher
Jamie-Lee Usher, Principal, Belize High School
“Godfrey was on the staff with me since 2010. We have been working together in improving IT curriculum closely since then. It’s been a joy to see and hear his ideas and watch them realized through our students.”
Benny He
Benny He, Student, Belize High School
“I think teacher Godfrey is a very hardworking and smart person. He always pushes us and tells us to keep on working. I really appreciate the fact that he always pushes us. Even within the competition, every round that passes, he always tells us keep on going. He always tells us fix our mistakes and I really like the fact that he pushes us that much.”
Godfrey Sosa Sr.
Godfrey Sosa Sr., Father of Godfrey Sosa Jr.
“I will tell you he loves his job that I’d say boy, school noh start but he’d say no, I have things here that I need to get done. I want to have the best for my students. So, I always try to be there for them and give them the best that I have because I don’t know how long I will be here. But I want to offer to them the best that I have. I love him for that.”
Godfrey Sosa’s determination to succeed in the classroom is to be commended. What many don’t know is that off the clock, the man that’s given his life to technology is also relying on machinery to save his life.
Sabreena Daly
Sabreena Daly
“This is the K.H.M.H. Dialysis ward. This is also the place where Godfrey has been taking dialysis treatment for the past eleven years. This is a litre of water. In the time span of two days, Godfrey and other dialysis patients are only allowed two litres of water between their treatment to avoid strain on their organs.”
Godfrey Sosa Jr.
Godfrey Sosa Jr., I.T. Director, Belize High School
“So, I come for dialysis three times a week. I come on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for four hours for the day. That remained consistent since 2011 so I try not to break that trend. The end result is, if you don’t get dialysis you will die. I think the longest would be seven to eight days.”
In 2005, Godfrey was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that attacks his organs. He was getting ready to finish college and enter the world of work. He found out that his kidneys were failing by happenstance. With no second thought, his father offered a kidney to his only son.
Godfrey Sosa Sr.
“That’s my life because I gave him another chance at life. When they told me, “Mr. Sosa, are you still going to go through with this? You can change your mind, you know?” I said no I am not changing my mind. They said it’s fifty-fifty, you may not come out. I said no problem.”
But the exchange of the organ would only return his life to normal for a few years. In 2011, that donated kidney would fail him as well. And Sosa, now a working man, would have to grapple with the idea of unemployment as a consequence of his health condition.
Godfrey Sosa Jr.
“You question a lot of things like why am I going through this again. I thought this was it. When I found out I had that, I was only one year at the Belize High School. And you could imagine getting a news like that and having to tell your boss knowing that the end result could be that they could let you go. But they never did. I’m grateful that they gave me that shot to still do what I do.”
Jamie-Lee Usher
“From the start, he was very open with us in terms of his dialysis treatment and what we have managed is a computerized schedule that allows us to very easily adapt his classes around where he needs to be and he more than makes up for his presence at the treatment when he’s here on campus.”
Benny He
“Learning of his condition, it wasn’t the best feeling because knowing that he’s been there with us for so long. He’s been here from when the school started and pushing us for so long that it’s honestly not the greatest feeling learning about this.”
Justin Zhou
Justin Zhou, Student, Belize High School
“I Know he’s very hard working and even though he has dialysis to do, I know he tries to work with us and help us in his best way. I really appreciate him and I think I we all appreciate him as a teacher and as a mentor.”
So, while we celebrate a win for Belize and an institution of excellence, we celebrate the will of persistence in times of uncertainty. Beyond that, for Godfrey Sosa, it’s a celebration of purpose in life. Looking on the bright side, I’m Sabreena Daly.
