Liberty Children’s Home seeks expansion of services
Belize has no shortage of children in need of care; what is in short supply is the means of helping them. One relatively new source of refuge and renewal can be found in Ladyville … and today the press—including News Five’s Marion Ali—was given a tour.
Marion Ali, Reporting
After almost three years of operation, Liberty Children’s Home in Ladyville is looking to become not only self-sustainable, but expand its services. The institution offers a home to children who have been neglected or abused, while providing pre-school education and day care to the very young residents of Ladyville. Now, they will reach out to other disadvantaged young people.
Delfena Mitchell, Dir., Liberty Children’s Home
“Have something here so those children with disabilities that are just at home just locked away at home, they have some place that they can come and have some socialisation, some form of stimulation, physical therapy, occupational therapy. They have a place here they can come to, Liberty for the day. Something that will help them improve their quality of life.”
Director of Liberty Children’s Home, Delfena Mitchell, says this new service will come with its own distinctiveness.
Delfena Mitchell
“One of the things we’re working on is our sensory stimulation room. It’s gonna have things in there that will stimulate all five senses, music, sounds, touch, different textiles touch, sight, colourful, bright, things for the sight and hearing. I guess the only thing we won’t be doing is tasting, but who knows. Then we’re gonna have people that will work with music and dance therapy, things like that to get them to open up and get some stimulation.”
But getting things off the ground is more difficult than meets the eye.
Delfena Mitchell
“We need monthly groceries, something like klim, ovaltine, rice, flour, the basic staples, we’re asking for donations to help with that, monetary donations to help with some of the utility bills and the day to day operational costs. We need two computers, desktop computers, we need two office chairs; we’re expanding, we also have a clinic here on the compound where we have a doctor that comes and work once a month, doctor Eck from the Universal Hospital, but there are some things that we need also with that. We need some minor medical equipment like an otoscope, stethoscope.”
“We have a school bus that was recently donated to us from the Dream Centre in Sand Hill. It’s a bus that holds sixty-four passengers and we’re very excited about it because it’s something that we really needed to be able to take the children to school. We can use that bus to go into the community and pick up disabled children when we get our programme on the road and bring them here because many of them don’t have a way to get here. And also, we can use the bus for outings, take the children for outings. However it’s very expensive to full the bus so we’re asking for donations to help with the fuel for the bus also.”
The pre school section takes a slightly different approach than most others.
Dacia Tillett, Principal, Liberty Learning Centre
“In this school we use the Montessori approach, the first ever in Belize. It’s an approach that … it’s like an experimental approach where the kids get to use concrete materials. They can apply their senses. We use a lot of hands-on activities, also it fosters independence. The kids get to learn things and do things on their own. The teachers here is a facilitator, just go around and guide them through their learning. What I like most of all, they develop a love for learning.”
The residential section is for children who have been abused.
Delfena Mitchell
“The best thing would be if they were reunited with their families or maybe go to extended family members. Ninety percent of the children that are here at Liberty right now are available for adoption or fostering. So if anybody is interested in children they can contact Social Service and tell them they’d like to foster a child or maybe adopt a child or even provide some respite care for a child where they would take the child for a weekend and take them into their home and socialise with them.”
In an effort to become more self-sustaining, Liberty has also begun its own gardening and animal rearing. Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.
Liberty will be engaging in a number of fundraising efforts, beginning with a flower sale on March nineteenth at Brodies parking lot on the Northern Highway, followed by a booth at the National Agriculture and Trade Show. The climax of the celebration will take place on August ninth with a social fundraiser at their campus on Stork Street in Ladyville.
