Senator Elena says Children’s Parliament Gives Hope for Future Belize
Last Friday, we covered the Children’s Parliament at the National Assembly in Belmopan, where young people were engaged in a debate on vocational education development. It was a success to say the least, but one student who stood out for Union Senator Elena Smith was Student Area Representative for Belmopan Maria Cal. The visually impaired student argued for and on behalf of differently-abled persons and was a shining star for her past teacher, Senator Smith. Over the weekend, the union senator shared with News Five that it was a proud moment for her.
Elena Smith
Elena Smith, National President, B.N.T.U.
“I was very proud yesterday and not just because of the way the children performed, but of the example that they are setting. And I hope that those in the House pay attention to how the children took on those responsibilities without behaving the way they behave. But also if you saw, Maria was in that set. Maria was one of my students at Saint Ignatius School. From then, she was just this bright child; her disability didn’t keep her back. She was a very intelligent child; she continues to be. And so seeing her in the House, seeing where we have moved and we have gone a step forward to include persons with diversed abilities really and truly warmed my heart. But I think what took the cake for me was when I listened to so many of those parliamentarians in that House yesterday referring to teachers and referring to our salary cut and increment freeze and you want to do something new, but you’ve not set a foundation and yet you want to move on. And so it shows that they know what’s going on, they are thinking logically – listen you want to do this in every district, where will the money come from? It really gives me hope that when I move out and when we as the older folks move out, we have some capable youths who can take over the roles that we are doing. And hopefully when we get to that point, we will see the change that we really and truly want to see.
