I spoke to Cullen earlier and he said north of the bridge is pretty wet many boats got sunk and sand was washed away. Not gone that far yet and will post pics as soon as I do.
To find out a bit about how Albert hit town last night please go to tacogirlblog.
Here are a few pictures of the School and San Mateo area.
November 21, 2007
Happy Turkey Day! Yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Belize with a traditional turkey meal and all the trimmings - stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie - my mouth is already watering. But before we all start celebrating, I hope you'll spend a few minutes catching up with Holy Cross Anglican School and our 450 students.......
To tell the truth, for the last few months we’ve often felt like we were living in ancient Egypt at the time of the ten plagues. First there was Hurricane Dean, then Hurricane Felix, then the erosion of our precious landfill, then torrential rains, then days of the highest tides in recent memory, then textbooks didn’t arrive and didn’t arrive and didn’t arrive, then mud, - thick, sink to your knees mud, then LICE, on hundreds of little heads and a few adult heads as well – ugh!
Thanks be to God, in the midst of the ‘plagues’ were numerous joyful moments which served as much needed reminders of God’s presence with us. Many thanks and blessings to the volunteer dentists who filled lots of little teeth, pulled a few and applied 132 sealants….the visitors to San Pedro who tucked some much needed school supplies into their vacation suitcases…the medical group who distributed food sacks to residents of San Mateo…the volunteer who left her gently worn tennis shoes for a needy student…Cindy and Richard from the Diocese of Northern Ohio who paid their own expenses to volunteer at the School for three months…David and Ryan who baked fresh scones for the Halloween party…mission teams from Wyoming and Illinois who shared their time, talents and treasure…the Prime Minister of Belize, the Honorable Said Musa, who visited and made a $1,000US contribution for land fill…the teachers and students who made Culture Day a memorable event…the staff of Belizean workers headed by Mr. Freddy and Miss Rosalea who made sure everything broken was fixed and that three nutritious snacks/meals were served five days a week….to Madeline a teenager in North Carolina who raised $2,500 for the School and to many of YOU who continue to support Holy Cross Anglican School with your financial gifts and prayers.
Our most incredible moments occurred recently on Sunday, November 18, 2007 when Bishop Philip Wright welcomed 31 folks into the Kingdom of God at the first Anglican Baptism Service in San Pedro! Numerous students from Holy Cross along with several parents and younger siblings received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Bishop Wright joyfully conducted the service, celebrated the Holy Eucharist and was amazed at how many children and adults he baptized.
This incredible service was brought about by the parents of Holy Cross students who continued to ask when their children could be baptized. What a glorious day for the Church of Christ and the Anglican Diocese of Belize! Since November 18 was also my birthday (don’t ask how old!), I considered the Baptism Service a miraculous gift from God and the best birthday present EVER!!!
Now that Thanksgiving is here, Christmas is just around the corner and gift giving is on everyone’s mind. I’m inviting you to honor your friends and relatives who already have everything they really need with a contribution in their name to Holy Cross Anglican School. Many of our students truly need so many things and your financial gifts are desperately needed to:
fund the School Feeding Program which provides a high protein snack and milk for breakfast, fresh fruit mid-morning and a full plate of food at lunch for over 400 students each school day. Cost is running only $1US per student per day but that adds up to over $2,000US PER WEEK;
provide transportation for our Special Education students which costs $75US per week;
pay the $200US weekly salary for our School nurse and counselor;
cover the cost of purified water in every classroom which is approximately $175US per week;
purchase tons of land fill which cost $110US for 7 cubic yards of sand;
assist with the cost of shoes, book bags, doctor visits and medicines;
pay for the thousand and one additional things – like electricity, Internet, toilet paper, copy expenses, research books, poster board, and on and on and on.
Please remember the children of Holy Cross in your Holiday gift giving!!! Checks may be made payable to:
Holy Cross Anglican School
And sent to:
Holy Cross Anglican School
San Pedro Town
Ambergris Caye, Belize
In the midst of this thankful season, I am reminded of the words of St. Paul in his Letter to the Philippians, “I give thanks to my God every time I think of you which is constantly in every prayer I offer…” You are the lifeblood of Holy Cross Anglican School - without your prayers and financial support there would be no school, no feeding program, no vitamins, no chance for a better tomorrow for many children in San Pedro. From the bottom of my heart, I thank God for each and everyone of you!!!
Blessings, Francis
Things are looking so much better for us all on Ambergris Caye today regarding Felix.
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200706.html
We are still taking necessary precautions and wacthing the storm track.
Thanks for all prayers well wishes and donations.
We were all glad to wake up this morning and see that as of right now we are in better shape that we were last night regarding Felix. Please keep those prarers coming folks school starts Sept 11th and we have a lot to get ready before then especially with the storm action.
The school is in preparation mode as best they can for the hurricane.
Just a reminder to tune into reef radio for updates. Jim Janmohamed will be speaking at some point during day, he is head of NEMO here and very solid information. http://reefradiofm.tripod.com/
I am also doing updates on my blog http://tacogirlblog.blogspot.com/ so people can check or write comments in regarding people, information. I will be posting pictures as well..
11:55 am
Just spoke to Francis, Holy Cross School is boarded up and anything that could be put in plastic garbage bags was. Mr. Freddy and his family and all work crew have evacuated.
The teachers have all left the island and gone various places such as Orange walk and Belize city, but none went south.
Francis and Vernon will be staying on the Island at the Belizean Shores with a few other people which I will post in my blog shortly.
Water is due to be shut off at 10 am tomorrow, Paul heard this in reef radio this morning.
Dear Friends, I am writing once again to ask for your prayers. It seems unbelievable that another hurricane - this one named Felix - is taking aim at Belize. We are stunned and frantic and relying on God's grace and mercy. Please surround all our children and Holy Cross Anglican School with your love and prayers. I will certainly let you know how everything is as soon as possible.
Blessings, Francis
I went to the school today to take pictures after hurricane Dean. I decided to photograph San Mateo first which is the area beside the school where many of the students live.
One one hand I was glad that I knew ahead of time the houses there were ok, on the other hand it made me sad to see the high water levels and imagine what it was like during the storm.
As I approached the bridge to make the loop around the area, I could not bring myself to cross it. That was a first for me, some of you reading this will know what that particular experience is like and after the storm the boards at the end seemed a bit more precarious than usual, although the 2 girls in my picture below had no second thoughts about it.
There has been much controversy over this neighbourhood. I feel it is important for people to see pictures so that we can generate awareness and be able to help the people living in San Mateo have a better neighbourhood. Holy Cross school is helping their kids get a good education and proper nutrition, and would like to see all the families in that area doing well.
The school survived Hurricane Dean, Miss Linda showed me a picture of the school with a big lake in front of it, thankfully the water has gone down. The classrooms are ok and there was no leaks or water damage. Some landfill was lost and 1/2 of a septic system that was to be installed in the Office.
The Hurricane did set everything back a week for construction and now it a bit of a race to get everything finished for Sept 11th the first day of school. Holy Cross is looking for any volunteers that would like to varnish desks and help prepare classrooms for the new school year.
For the next 3 days Miss Dianne from Quick Messenger Service is doing a communications work shop for the teachers at the school.
This School year is going to be busier and better than ever.
Happy boy riding his bike
Girls crossing the bridge
Yards are very wet
No basket ball for a while - we hope to get a playgroud done at the school
A boy and his bike
San Mateo Sidewalk
San Mateo suffered a lot of water after Hurricane Dean
Too much water
Destiny still has an uphill climb health wise
Fixing wires
Yards are not supposed to be wetlands
Houses are still standing
Dock and boat
Too much water
This is supposed to be the official entry way from San Mateo to the school
This sink hole needs to be filled to help improve living conditions in San Mateo
Sinkhole is estimated 20 ft deep
San Mateo sidewalk
Road through San Mateo
Bikes
Boarded up for Hurricane Dean
These folks need help
Toy car
yards are too wet
Boat motor
Boats by the bridge
New addition to the cafeteria - screened in porch to handle additional students for lunch
Registration time with Miss Linda
Inside new addition to cafateria
Hallway to new classrooms
Inside new classes
Sept 11 is coming fast Holy Cross needs volunteers to help get things ready
New Class
The school is growing so fast
Still boarded up