Fall in Love with Your Catholic School Walkathon 2023
Today, thousands of students, teachers, and the leadership of Catholic schools across the country participated in the “Fall in Love with Your Catholic School” walkathon. The Catholic School management organized the fundraising activity as part of its effort to continue providing quality education to the young population. News Five’s Duane Moody caught up with the parade in Belize City this morning. Here’s his report.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The Catholic management in Belize is responsible for one hundred and twelve schools, sixteen hundred teachers, and thirty thousand students. Across the country, almost all students dressed in red and carried banners and signs displaying their love for their school. The theme for the walk is “Fall in Love with My Catholic School.”
Father Matt Ruhl
Father Matt Ruhl, SJ Chairman, Bishops Commission on Education
“On Valentine’s Day on February fourteenth, thirty thousand children from our catholic schools will be walking around the country, their villages, and their towns. Whatever the case may be, they’ll try to get two dollars per walk per person. We’ll go out and get some from society, and with any luck we will get this year, we’ll make about maybe seventy thousand, which is honestly but a drop in the bucket, but it will do two things. One, it’ll be seventy thousand that we didn’t have, but it is also a solidarity of catholic schools. It is the beginning. The beginning of – and I don’t think this is too strong of a word – a revolution to reclaim our identity and our solidarity.”
In Belize City, the rainy weather did not stop the students from the five Catholic primary schools in the city and their “Little Lighthouse Walk.”
Celia Usher
Celia Usher, General Manager, Catholic Public School
“All the primary school run by catholic management was out today. We’ve been preparing for a couple of weeks, and today the kids came out. You saw them; they were having a blast. They were screaming, “I love my school!” And it is because they do. We tried to make it as best as we can for them and today was celebrating who we are and “Valentine’s Day,” we choose that. The team is fall in love with my catholic school and so we chose Valentine’s Day for that, the day of love. The route, we kept it short as possible. We cut it a little shorter because of the weather – we should have gone around a little longer – but it was for the children. It was for the children; it was their day to say I love my school and so we kept the route very short.”
General Manager of the Catholic Public School Celia Usher says that the overarching message is that Catholic schools are committed to the development of our children.
Celia Usher
“We are committed to working with the challenges, working with whatever may come up, but we are there for our children. Their education is so important and we are committed and today that’s what we are saying. We are saying that our commitment remains strong and nothing will stop us from serving our children.”
The management of the Catholic School is still accepting pledges for donations. Duane Moody for News Five.
