March 5,2010
Dear Friends of Holy Cross Anglican School, I am happy to share the following article written by recent volunteer Dr. Eric Fee. Holy Cross is so thankful for the many volunteers and mission teams who share their time, talents and treasure with the children of Holy Cross. We are also incredibly thankful for each of you! Your prayers, financial contributions, gifts of school supplies, shoes, back packs, teaching aids and books are a blessing to all of us. With your continuing support Holy Cross will continue to be a beacon of light, love and learning to the disadvantaged little ones of San Mateo. Many thanks and Blessings, Francis
Our Church at Work
In January 2010, Cindy Lee Hall and I traveled to Belize, Central America. We boarded a ferry for a bumpy 2 hour ride across the beautiful Caribbean Sea from Belize City to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. Our final destination was the tiny village of San Mateo that had been built upon unwanted government swamp land by the hearty people of this welcoming country.
The purpose of our visit was to work with the students and teachers of the Holy Cross Anglican School (www.holycrossbelize.org). Literally, this school has been created like a seed sprouting from the ground! And, it continues to grow with the support of the San Mateo community and the worldwide parishioners of the Anglican/Episcopal church. For those of you who have contributed to this ministry (www.hcefoundation.org) I assure you your monies are being put to great use.
In addition as a family physician, I explored the health care needs of the school and surrounding community. Despite the lack of abundant health care that we are accustomed to in the USA, the Belizean healthcare providers and people make excellent use of their limited resources.
This island does not have a hospital or emergency room or urgent care. The ability to transfuse blood, provide intravenous fluids, perform surgery or obtain a CT scan does not exist. We sadly learned of 2 children who had recently died from infections stemming from simple cuts due to the lack of appropriate antibiotics. In the face of this harsh reality, you quickly learn to appreciate the gifts bestowed upon us at home.
Belizeans and those serving the church's ministry are working feverishly to overcome these challenges. Holy Cross Anglican School is growing both in its physical plant and student population. A community health center with a domestic violence safe house and student health center is moving from the planning stages to the groundbreaking ceremony.
We plan to return to Belize on an ongoing basis as part of the Episcopal church's ministry throughout the world. And, we thank God for giving us the ability to do so.
Eric C. Fee
