Children who are afflicted with physical disabilities have a difficult time trying to live a normal life in Belize, and one reason is the lack of rehabilitation services. It’s one problem that CARE-Belize, a new non-governmental organisation, hopes to address. CARE stands for Community Agency for Rehabilitation and Education for persons with disabilities, and today […]
The admonition to stay away from drugs is a pretty straightforward one. But never underestimate the creativity and dedication of the students and faculty of Wesley College when it comes to getting the message out. Patrick Jones reports. Patrick Jones, Reporting They’re only play-acting…but the message is right on target. Drugs hurt, and they kill. […]
In a nation whose economy is subject to a high degree of foreign penetration, Belize’s credit unions stand out as a bastion of local ownership and control. This morning credit unionists from all over the country gathered in Belize City for their annual convention, the culmination of Credit Union Week. Gilroy Graham, President, Bz. Credit […]
Recently released statistics indicate that the district in Belize with the most poverty–and the only one where poverty is actually increasing–is Toledo. And while it may have been a coincidence, an activity was held in Punta Gorda today which demonstrated that despite a lack of cash, the growing and eating of local foods can help […]
With its headquarters spread along a once controversial piece of real estate surrounding the opposition party’s headquarters, it’s difficult for Youth for the Future to do anything quietly. But quiet progress is exactly what the initiative’s leaders say it has accomplished over the last twelve months. News 5’s Patrick Jones reports from the foot of […]
Although the Belize Police Department is organised as a national force, the nation’s municipalities are increasingly working with local police detachments in an effort to improve law enforcement efforts. Last night in Belmopan the City Council convened a special public meeting to address the escalating incidence of crime in the nation’s capital. Guest speaker was […]
Do you know any person who has been silently helping others in the community but has not yet been recognised for the work? Well, the First Caribbean International Bank has launched an initiative to reward those ordinary people who work selflessly to build their nations and neighbourhoods. This morning the project dubbed “Unsung Heroes” was […]
Redistricting: it’s a subject that does not sound very exciting…but when the new electoral boundaries are finally drawn, you can be sure that the noise from the public, politicians and news media will be deafening. In an effort to keep citizens informed from the start, the Elections and Boundaries Department on Tuesday hosted a half-day […]
This evening the Young Women’s Christian Association celebrated another achievement in its ongoing efforts to educate youths. This time fifty children will benefit from the Y.W.C.A.’s first day care centre. The centre, which was constructed at a cost of over one hundred thousand dollars, consists of an activity room, a toddlers resting area, infant resting […]
The Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pope John Paul the Second, has been nothing if not consistent in its stand on matters of sex and reproduction. But as anti-AIDS campaigns in Belize and elsewhere grow in size and specifically focus on the use of condoms, the church has grown increasingly uncomfortable. Our own Bishop […]
Earlier in this newscast we looked at an organisation that works to build character and provide marketable skills for Belizean youths. Another institution that deals with young people in Belize lies less than thirty miles east of the Belmopan 4-H headquarters. That’s where I was this morning, at the Youth Hostel, looking for the children […]
Chief Justices of CARICOM have forwarded a recommendation to their respective governments that the scheduled November fifteenth inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice be pushed back. Chairman of the Caribbean Conference of Chief Justices and Heads of the Judiciary, our own Dr. Abdulai Conteh, made the announcement this afternoon. The Chief Justice was briefing […]
With an average of seven fatalities per month, traffic accidents have become a leading cause of death in Belize. In an effort to improve one stretch of road that seems particularly hazardous, the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Inter-American Development Bank, I.D.B., have signed a million dollar project to provide for routine road […]
The Radisson Fort George Hotel today stretched out the hand of corporate assistance in the fight against AIDS. During brief ceremonies this morning the staff of the hotel’s Stone Grill restaurant handed over the proceeds of a fund raising drive to the Alliance Against AIDS. The cheque was for twenty-one hundred and eighty-three dollars. Executive […]
As anyone involved with a non-governmental organisation will tell you, accessing funds to support their programmes is as much fun as a beach party on a rainy day. But for four N.G.O.s, the next three years will be less stressful financially. The government of Ireland, through its Agency for Personal Service Overseas, today entered into […]
It’s Senior Citizens Week and since all of us, barring disaster, will one day reach that magic sixtieth birthday, it would be foolish–not to mention ungrateful-not to big up our favourite folks. Patrick Jones has more. Patrick Jones, Reporting Their footsteps may be a little slower, but the spirit of these seenagers is as electrically […]
When the meeting opened it was not known that before the day was out a taxi driver would knock down a little girl in Hattieville. But the tragedy on the Boom Road only served to emphasise the importance of what was taking place at the Belize Institute of Management. In that meeting, what was being […]
The brutal murder in Orange Walk and other recent killings across the country have left many citizens wondering just what our once peaceful society has turned into. This morning News 5’s Jacqueline Woods hit the streets to find out how the city’s shopkeepers are reacting. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting While there is no consensus on exactly […]
Students and teachers got a head start on their Independence Day holiday…and for those in Belize City, the only price they had to pay was a march in the hot sun to sit in an even hotter auditorium. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was with them every step of the way. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Thousands of […]
But while it’s one thing to plot strategies to deal with the economic impact of the AIDS epidemic, it’s quite another to experience the harsh reality of living with the disease. Thirty-three year old Herman Bain was diagnosed with HIV two years ago. Today, he is still coping with the discrimination from potential employers, and […]
There was a parade today in Belize City–not terribly unusual during the patriotic season–but this morning’s revellers brought experience as well as enthusiasm to the streets of the old capital. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting This time it was not a bunch of excited school children parading the streets, but men and women old enough to be […]
This year, the organisation known as CARICOM is celebrating its thirtieth birthday. Officially created on the fourth of July 1973 in Chagaramas, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean community has survived three decades, overcoming numerous obstacles to achieve significant accomplishments for the benefit of the region. To mark this important milestone, the secretariat has planned several […]
Opening ceremonies are taking place at this hour in Belize City for the first Black Summit. Organised by the UBAD Educational Foundation and the World Garifuna Organization, over three hundred people have signed up for the weekend event, which has as its primary goal to assess the current state of Afro-Belizeans and suggest ways of […]
It is a demographic fact that over the last forty years the ethnic mix of Belize has been steadily changing, with the proportion of Afro-Belizeans steadily falling to the point where today people who describe themselves as Creole or Garifuna make up only thirty-one percent of the population. Mestizos weigh in at close to fifty […]
According to the Minister of Transport, an average of seven Belizeans per month lose their lives in traffic accident, most of which could be saved by a combination of safer driving, better roads and simply by wearing seatbelts. This week the ministry is focussing its efforts on reducing that grim statistic and is taking aim […]
