School burgled; PACT lends a hand
Another theft, this time in Belize City, has not been followed by an arrest … but as News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports, all is not lost at Salvation Army School.
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
It was through this newly repaired window that school officials believe a thief, after cutting the bars and bending the louvers, entered their kitchen on Tuesday night and stole an assortment of meats, vegetables, and school supplies.
Capt. Anthony Sanchez, G.M., Salvation Army School
“They left with some chicken, some conch, some books that we use for our reading programme, along with some crayon, pens, and things like those.“
And that wasn’t the first time that Salvation Army has been targeted. Last August, the institution suffered a major loss in another series of burglaries.
Capt. Anthony Sanchez
“Some time last year in the summer as well they broke into our school and they take away several of our furniture that was donated to us by the Social Investment Fund: the chairs, the table for the teachers, blackboards, and benches as well.”
Since then, management has upgraded the classroom doors and locks, and reinforced their burglar bars by adding another layer of steel mesh. And while those precautions were not totally successful, today the school received some much needed support from an unlikely source.
Arreini Palacio, Communications Officer, PACT
“You usually link PACT to conservation activities and a part of our mission is to give back to the community and that’s exactly what we’re doing now.”
”The Protected Areas Conservation Trust is giving seven hundred dollars worth of food, reading and writing materials back to the Salvation Army, as well as five hundred dollars for the improvement of the safety and security of the area.”
General Manager, Capt. Anthony Sanchez, says they will use the money to add mesh to the bars on their feeding centre to make it harder for burglars to gain access.
Capt. Anthony Sanchez
“I just want to ask the public to please keep on eye on the school, especially the neighbourhood, and if they see any break-ins or if they hear anything to please contact the nearest police station.”
“The students suffer because we have to find out best way to get back the stuff and if we don’t get it then the children cannot eat as well. So for the thief or thieves, I’m appealing to please let us survive for the benefit of the children.”
The Salvation Army School enrols two hundred and fifty-eight students, approximately fifty of whom benefit from its feeding programme. Kendra Griffith Reporting for News Five.
