Posted by student LINDSEY BARNETT – I’m pleased to report that my project is progressing nicely. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Clinton School alum Dr. Gary Wheeler. Dr. Wheeler completed a thorough health needs assessment for Bella Vista, Belize in 2007 for his IPSP project. This summer Dr. Wheeler returned to follow-up on his 2007 report and to meet with officials about improving Bella Vista’s water access and quality. Joining Dr. Wheeler was his nephew, Zach Wheeler, a recent graduate from the engineering department of Virginia Tech. Zach was exploring ways to improve sanitation in Bella Vista.
During Dr. Wheeler’s visit to Belize we combined our efforts as his interests in Bella Vista provide a real-world example for my work aiming to inform Peacework of ways to strengthen their Clean Water Initiative.
We’ve had the opportunity to meet with many invested stakeholders including local government officials, people in various ministries, and officials with the Social Investment Fund. We’ve begun a dialogue with the chairman of Bella Vista, a member of the Village Council and the chairman of the Water Board. Also, we have supported Bella Vista’s officials in drafting a proposal to the Social Investment Fund, an agency that works with outside funders and the Belizean government to fund large-scale projects in communities.
Collaborating with Dr. Wheeler has provided insights that will be invaluable to my project. I hope that every one of my classmates has partner as wonderful as Dr. Wheeler in their work.
During my travels, I’ve also been able to visit with students and professors from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville who are working with the Peacework Village Network. There are more than 40 students completing exciting projects in Belize. Some of these projects include the expansion of school gardens, counseling workshops for young students, community beautification, and perhaps the most strenuous of all, a repair of the Steadfast community’s water filtration system by the engineering students.
I accompanied these students to their worksite in one of Belize’s jungles to find them hauling 40-60 pound bags of gravel and sand up a steep hillside that I could barely traverse without any additional weight. Almost unbelievably, the students said that this was actually easier than their first project which included hauling bags of concrete weighing 110 pounds up an even steeper hill in order to build a dam.
These students have spent four weeks in Belize completing their projects in addition to the semester-long interdisciplinary elective that students completed in preparation. Being able to observe the University of Arkansas group and their excitement, as well as the communities’ enthusiasm, only provides more evidence of the importance of service learning. The entire group of students will be returning to Arkansas this Saturday.
An example of the storage containers found throughout Belize’s countryside. Found outside of Santa Cruz, Belize, this project was funded by the Social Investment Fund, the United Kingdom, and the government of Belize.