St. John Vianney inaugurates new building

The lack of classroom space is a constant battle for school administrators across the country, but come August the staff and students of St. John Vianney in Belize City will have a little more breathing room. This morning the primary school inaugurated a recently completed building valued at almost five hundred thousand dollars. Over one hundred thousand dollars was raised by the school and its parent/teachers association, while the remaining three hundred and ninety-one thousand was provided by the Social Investment Fund through a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank. The structure measures one hundred and ninety by thirty-five feet and will house a staff room, five classrooms and two bathrooms. For Principal Felix Sutherland, the road leading up to today’s event was rocky, but successful.

Felix Sutherland, Principal, St. John Vianney
“This building was not without struggles but with God’s help we have all to achieve. Parents you know well the struggle we had, the block drive, whatever creative ways we had to do we did it and here we are celebrating the fruits of our labour.”

Oscar Alonzo, C.E.O., Social Investment Fund
“We know that education, it provides a vehicle, the means by which to escape poverty. It is not a guarantee but it provides that vehicle because with education it doesn’t only mean coming to school and learning the basics of mathematics, science, writing and reading. It also means building those traits, those character traits that will make each and every one of you students out there a responsible citizen.”

The building is dedicated to former principal Anita Wade, who retired in 2007 after serving for twenty years in the post.