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Dear Parents,
It is that time of year again when our St. Martha school children will begin their annual "Children Helping Children" drive for Hand in Hand Ministries. Sixty percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. Our seventh grade class can speak to you about the degradation felt by those who have no choice but to dine on rice and beans daily.
Each of the last two years our children and their families have raised more than $7,000 to build homes in Belize City, Belize for families who are living in the most desperate conditions – dirt floors, no indoor plumbing or electricity. Most of these families exist on less than $4.00 per day. My dream this year is that we could raise $7000.00 or even $8000.00. We who have been given much are called by our faith to share our resources.
The money raised this year will be used to build homes that are 16’X16’with a small room added for an indoor bathroom with a septic system. Families are still challenged to scrape up enough money to connect the plumbing and pay the water bill and this alone presents a serious challenge for the very poor families that we are reaching out to.
However, a clean, safe new home does help to provide some small amount of dignity to those living in extreme poverty.
Children under 15 years of age make up 40% of the population of Belize. When our children reach out to these families in a place that may seem very far away, they need to know they are making a difference. Belizean children have hopes and dreams just like our children, but they dream of simpler things like clean water, dry shelter, and an opportunity to become educated so they can bring changes to their country.
Our faculty and students are excited to know they can do something that really makes a difference. Please drop by the school and look at the pictures of the homes that have been built as a result of our previous efforts. Through our gifts and the work of Hand in Hand Ministries, we have helped to double the size of a home for Dorla and her children. We have allowed Althea and her grandchildren to be together now that the children’s mother has died. These are just a few of the lives that have been forever changed through the efforts of our school children.
Thank you so much for your support of this wonderful project. You are true examples of stewardship for your children. The values they learn from you will give direction to their lives for many years to come.