Children’s programme receives international funding

A small European country has awarded a Belizean children’s group with forty thousand dollars. Through the San Marino Permanent Mission to the United Nations, “My Neighbours and Me” based in Lake Independence was recognised for its extraordinary contribution to children. Today the group’s director Herbert Wiltshire told us how the money will be used.

Herbert Wiltshire, Director, “My Neighbours and Me”
“My Neighbours and Me” was formed out of a concern for children in our neighbourhood, because when we looked around in our neighbourhood there was no visible outlets, no visible positive outlets for children to go and reach their full potential. So we decide to form something that the children could have been engaged positively.”

“The funds will be used to assist us in reaching more children, to also get onboard some technical persons as in terms of the different artistic areas that we are looking at which is dance, drama, music, arts, and of course, sports. As in terms of the millennium development goal that says that we want to achieve universal primary education, we are contributing to this by–upcoming we will be providing three books scholarships for primary schools students from within the programme.”

“My Neighbours and Me” provides a safe space for children between the ages of five and seventeen years old to interact in a positive manner. The group was formed in April 2005 by Herbert and Ashman Wiltshire. The brothers’ initiative has been supported by the UNICEF Xchange movement that operates throughout the Caribbean Region.