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    NGO donations imperative for New Horizons completion

    NGO donations imperative for New Horizons completion

    Photo By 1st Lt. Kali Gradishar | U.S. military members offload supplies donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter...... read more read more

    BELIZE CITY, Belize - If not for donations from non-government organizations, four schools and one medical facility in Belize would be receiving empty new buildings.

    The Midwest Mission Distribution Center and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -Day Saints donated school supplies and medical kits to New Horizons Belize 2014, an exercise that offers Belizean, Canadian and U.S. professionals a valuable training opportunity in civil engineering and medical care.

    "We welcome working with NGOs - non-governmental organizations," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ricardo Gonzalez, Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché at the U.S. Military Liaison Office in Belize. "It's for the common good."

    Combined with the efforts of the Department of Defence Humanitarian Assistance Program, the MMDC and LDS have helped make it possible for the school buildings and medical facility are ready to open their doors.

    "The New Horizons exercise builds the building, but the building is just a building without the people and the supplies that form the classroom," said Gonzalez. "In order for the teachers to teach their students, they need desks, they need chairs, they need the blackboards.

    "They need those materials to make it possible for the students to be comfortable, pay attention, be able to write and read. Those are the critical things that, along with the building, make teaching possible," he added.

    The MMDC donated nearly 22,000 pounds of tables, desks, chairs and bags; and the LDC donated almost 12,000 pounds of school kits and emergency medical supplies.

    The efforts of these NGOs is instrumental in assisting the schools with providing a valuable education to students of all ages, as the New Horizons construction sites encompass schools that cater to students from pre-school to high school. Their efforts will also aid with supplying quality medical care at the medical facility being constructed by New Horizons in Belmopan. A hospital in the northern Corozal district, as well as the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City will receive supplies donated by the organizations.

    "We want a country that can look forward to the future and keep rising up," Gonzalez said. "All these parts helping out, working together is critical."

    In total, more than 70,200 pounds worth approximately $135,500 was donated to the New Horizons Belize 2014 beneficiaries to fill the classrooms, administrative offices and patient care rooms.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 06.06.2014
    Date Posted: 06.07.2014 11:48
    Story ID: 132420
    Location: BELIZE CITY, BZ

    Web Views: 447
    Downloads: 0

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