Belize: A Young Man’s Story
by Kathy A. Sawyer
Kathy Sawyer (blue blouse) with students at Friends Boys School in Belize CityAs I stepped off the plane, I knew this was going to be a defi ning moment for me as the new Development Offi cer of Friends United Meeting. I was in Belize City to explore a fi eld site I heard much about but now was going to experience directly. I was going to hear the stories of these young boys, almost young men, who comprised the students at Friends Boys School, Belize. I was to be able to spend quality time with Mike and Kay Cain, co-Directors, and with Miss Candy and Mr. Augustine, the two teachers assisting with the work of the school.
The most surprising and revealing part of my visit was hearing the stories of these boys and of the lives they led which brought them to this school in the fi rst place. I would like to share all these stories with you so that you could understand the diffi culties they face, but I can’t reveal the intimate personal lives of individual students. In its place I have created a short generic story about Pépé that captures some of the stories of their collective lives.
Pépé has grown up in a family where no one has any formal work. He comes from a large family and has three other siblings, one just a baby, the others older. His Dad left them some time ago and in order for the family to generate income, Mom has become something of an entrepreneur. She sells confectionery on the street that she makes in her kitchen the night before. It is not very lucrative but it brings some money into the family. The children all leave early in the morning so that Mom can set up on the street early; the younger family members stay with Grandma while Mom works.
Pépé has not had it easy in school. He was bullied for a long time and his Mom was not able to solve the problem with the school. He was out of class too much as the teachers tried to fi nd something else for him to do to keep him out of harm’s way; there was also the diffi culty the school had in controlling the situation. The consequence was that Pépé became so disillusioned and unhappy with his circumstance that he dropped out.
However, following a visit from a truancy offi cer where Mom heard of this wonderful school called Friends Boys School, Pépé decided to give it a try. To his delight he was accepted! Because Friends Boys School is smaller, he can thrive more easily. Pépé says he has learned far more at Friends Boys School than he did at his other school.
He wants to be a lawyer, completing his college degree in Belize and getting his doctorate in Jamaica. Pépé has not taken his high school entrance test yet, but feels confi dent that with this new start he can make it.
This is a typical, but not actual story. I left Belize with these tales of poverty and distress in the young men’s environment and the hope that the School creates written deeply on my heart.
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