Holy Cross Anglican School

The new rainwater tank at Holy Cross Anglican School

For all those who spoke with Francis and Vernon, founders of Holy Cross Anglican School, you will know that they have long wanted to collect the abundant rainwater that San Mateo receives and use it in place of the much more expensive town water supply we currently use. Yet for a vision that sounds so simple, this one remained elusive... until now.

The full team - St Helena's, All Saints, Grace Church, Water Missions, Holy Cross.

Thanks to a huge collaborative effort, Holy Cross is delighted to be a recipient of a rainwater storage and purification system from the Belize Chapter of Water Missions International. This system collects water from the roof our our new toilet block, feeds it into a 10,000L (2,640 Gallon) storage tank, then an attached system purifies the water, removing any bacteria and contamination so the water is safe for drinking. This purified water is stored in a smaller tank then pumped to the kitchens as needed for drinking and cleaning. The system is amazing - completely self contained and runs by gravity and solar operated pumps so there is no ongoing cost to the school. We hope that this system can supply the total water need of the school for at least 6 months a year, hopefully more. WOW!!!

But the gift of water was only part of the gift Water Missions International gave the school and the community. Each day the team was here, they ran activities in San Mateo, either announcing the project, doing health and hygiene classes with the children, doing classes with the women and also celebrating the installation of the system. Throughout these activities they shared a simple yet powerful gospel message - just as water is life, Jesus is the living water that gives us life. Just as water needs to be filtered to removed contamination, so too Jesus died on the cross to remove the contamination of sin from our lives. They prayed with the community, shared stories, encouraged and celebrated.

Health and hygiene training in the school cafeteria

One of the things that made this project special was the  way many groups came together to make the project possible. The project was made possible by Grace Church, Yorktown, Virginia who had visited the school a year ago with a team and were moved the the water situation in San Mateo and the school. They began exploring options and discovered Water Missions Belize, who were able to provide the expert staff and design for this project. Also partnering with the project was St Helena’s, Beaufort,  South Carolina who also had a partner relationship with All Saints in Belize City. It may sound confusing but bringing this diverse group together was incredible, especially seeing the Belizean youth partnering with the American youth and realizing they were capable of making change in their own country. 

Community celebration - fun songs with the local children

A huge thank you to all who made this possible for Holy Cross School. We are truly thankful and humbled by your generosity.

Hello friends and family,

I am writing to you to ask you to support Holy Cross Anglican School (HCAS) in the Global Giving Green Open challenge. To give you a little background, HCAS is a school in San Mateo, Ambergis Caye, off the coast of Belize. In Belize, even public education is not free. HCAS, which is funded through donation, provides pre-kindergarten through eighth grade education to 500 students. These 500 kids are the most disadvantaged on the island and would not have the opportunity of education without HCAS. Not only do these kids receive schooling at HCAS, but they also receive two meals per day; sometimes the only food they eat.

HCAS was selected as one of 20 organizations to participate in the Global Giving Green Open challenge. San Mateo is currently powered by diesel generators, making it extremely difficult and costly to consistently operate the volunteer built dental clinic and computer lab. Through GlobalGiving.org, we have the opportunity to install a combination of wind generators and solar panels. This will provide reliable, effective energy and help bolster Holy Cross Anglican School. HCAS is the only school on the Island with a computer lab this robust and large and opens its doors to adult education programming to serve the greater community. Both the dental clinic and computer lab are huge resources to San Mateo.

Through the Green Open challenge, HCAS has a HUGE opportunity to become a PERMANENT link on the GlobalGiving.org website. All we need is 50 different donors and a total of $4,000 in donations. For only $10 dollars, you can provide enough electricity for one computer for one month. For $75, you can provide enough electricity to support the dental clinic for one month. We only have until July 30th to complete the challenge, so please act quickly if this is something you feel you can support.

HCAS is a school that I fully support and believe will impact and improve the lives of thousands of children and the greater economy of Belize. By providing renewable energy to HCAS, we can help sustain this incredible place. I sincerely thank you for your thoughts and any (tax-deductible) contributions you can make to HCAS.

Lauren

Dear Friends, Holy Cross Anglican School was honored by a visit from the Rt. Rev. Philip Wright on Sunday, May 30th. Bishop Wright was here to administer the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. Eleven children were Baptized, nine students were Confirmed (our FIRST Confirmation class!!) and participated in their first Eucharist. Please see photos.

The entire Holy Cross family rejoices with the eleven children who were Baptized. We are also extremely proud of the students in our first Confirmation class. The Confirmands were prepared to receive the Sacrament by School Principal, Mrs. Grace Williams and Deacon Jan Lamb from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Durham, NC who has been volunteering as school Chaplain since January.

Bishop Wright presented copies of the New Testament (donated by friends like you) to each family who had a child Baptized. In addition he gave Study Bibles ( thanks again to our friends!) and wooden Crosses to each student who was Confirmed. What an incredibly special day!!!

UPDATE ON THE SUMMER 2010 CORPORATE DONATION MATCHING PROGRAM..........

Great news...we received a commitment of an additional $5,000 to be used as part of the corporate matching funds. Many thanks to our good friend in California!!! That brings our Corporate Match total to $20,000.00 USD!!!!!! PLEASE take this opportunity to make a donation to Holy Cross Anglican School knowing that your contribution will be DOUBLED!!! We are hoping and praying to raise $40,000 in desperately needed funds to help support our Feeding Program and building program.

All donations sent to the Holy Cross Education Foundation by credit card or check receive an equal amount from the Corporate Matching Program. All money will be given to Holy Cross to cover the school’s Feeding Program, operational and construction expenses.

The children of Holy Cross really need your help! We are committed to continue the Feeding Program which provides a healthy breakfast, mid-morning fresh fruit snack, nourishing lunch, purified water and daily vitamins to over 500 children every day who might otherwise be malnourished. The kitchen staff does a wonderful job keeping costs low but we still spend $1US per child per day. That adds up to a lot of money!!! Holy Cross needs every penny of that potential $40,000 (and tons more!) to remain the state-of-the art educational facility you helped to create. Without your contributions, we cannot be supportive of our children who are hungry, in need of uniforms, shoes, school supplies or sick. Please don't let us down. Tax deductible contributions can be sent to:

Holy Cross Education Foundation
7550 Corporate Way
Eden Prairie, MN 55344

OR, made via credit card on the Foundation's web site: www.hcefoundation.org For additional information, please feel free to contact the Chair of the Foundation Board: Brian Ostenso at bostenso@aol[dot]com

MORE GOOD NEWS: The results of the National Exam for Standard VI students (PSE) are in. I'm thrilled to report that 30 of our 37 Standard VI students passed the exam and several came within a point or two of passing. We are overjoyed with our passing rate of 81% - a great average!! Of course we always aim for 100% but several of these children came to Holy Cross with no knowledge of English - quite a hurtle to overcome in an English speaking country. Congratulations to teacher, Mrs. Joy Elliott and the many volunteers who helped tutor these young folks.

STATE-OF-THE-ART BATHROOM FACILITY: Construction continues on our new bathroom complex. (Please see photo). We are counting the days until 26 toilets and 2 large trough urinals are ready for action. Many thanks to the Episcopal Church Women for their generous grant which provided the money to get this project underway. And, a huge thank you to the many volunteers who have worked and continue to work in the hot Belizean sun to make this incredibly needed facility a reality. When completed, Holy Cross will have the most environmental friendly bathrooms in the country. We are thrilled to be ecologically sound and to get rid of the huge lines at potty break - smile.

Registration is well underway for the next school year. Once again it looks like we'll have a 'full house' and be forced to turn children away. That is the hardest thing in the world to do. With your help and continued support we hope to soon have the money needed to buy land fill. Once we can fill more of the property we can look to building a much needed pre-school and additional classrooms along with a playground...Church....art and science classrooms....and...and... The dreams for Holy Cross continue to grow. Please join in helping make them come true!!! Many thanks and blessings, Francis

Support Holy Cross Anglican School in San Pedro www.holycrossbelize.org

Responding to the urgent needs in Haiti, the students and staff of Holy Cross Anglican School have been working hard to raise money. On Friday, January 22, two fund raisers were held at the school. The first, a Rags Day, raised $512.05BZ. Later that same day a Cheap Sale of donated items generated $155.00BZ. On Sunday at the Family Worship Service, the offering of $199.80BZ was also earmarked for Earthquake Relief. In total, Holy Cross will be donating $866.85BZto the nation of Haiti.

Today Holy Cross Celebrated the donation of a new industrial stove with a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by lunch prepared by Chef Victor Nal of Sunset Grill.

Preparing and serving breakfast a fruit snack and lunch daily for 500 kids is no small feat - even the busiest restaurant in town does not serve that many daily let alone 5 days a week. Holy Cross School and kitchen staff headed by Miss Rosalia is very grateful for Chef Victor's training help in the kitchen.

Chef Victor is a frequent volunteer with the Feeding Program at the School and was recently selected Belize Chef of the year for 2009.

The stove is a gift from Tony and Ginger Rogers of Texas who volunteered at Holy Cross this past summer. Ginger was helping with literacy and remedial reading and Tony with building. They asked the school what was needed most and they went back home and raised the money for an industrial stove.

Ginger and Tony got the stove got to Amarillo Texas to the Word at Work Ministry to Pastor Tim Tam. Transportation from Texas to San Pedro was generously provided by Belize Natural Energy Trust headquartered in Belmopan. Sterling Vorus of Island Ferry stepped up and voluntered to get the stove from Belize City to San Pedro.

Among the people who came out to celebrate were officials Sylvia Baumgart Laasner and Deborah Sewell from BNET were.

Miss Roselia and Chef Victor - Stove donated by Ginger and Tony Rogers

Dear Friends of Holy Cross, The Holy Cross Education Foundation has been established as a 501c3!!!!!!! Now you can make your TAX DEDUCTIBLE contributions to that organization.

Please send your check made payable to:
Holy Cross Education Foundation and mail to:
Holy Cross Educational Foundation7550 Corporate Way, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Your donation is tax deductible. The federal tax ID is 27-0626278.

Many, many thanks to Brian Ostenso and the folks at Stephen's Episcopal Church in Edina, MN who labored long and hard to make this happen. Of course you can continue to send donations straight to Holy Cross Anglican School, San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Belize. The only difference is that contributions to the Foundation are tax deductible.

Blessings, Francis

Sandra bringing soccer-balls from kids in Canada

They sold chocolate bars to help cover the cost of overweight luggage