Belizeans Helping Belizeans

Belizeans Helping Belizeans

By: Justin M. Vera

            One teacher from Mount Carmel High, eight students, and three teachers from John Paul II Junior College went on a one week mission trip to the rural village of Aguacate in Toledo to serve their fellow Belizeans.

            They all traveled early morning on the 20^th of January, 2019. Despite the several hours of travel, their spirits were high the students were excited when they experienced firsthand the phenomenon of the car being pulled back by the hills super high concentration of metals that cause the strange magnetic field. Everyone was excited when they entered the village, immediately interacting with the residents. Their curiosity peaked as they heard their guide explain various things about the community.

            The visitor experience however would soon end. The following days were all hands on deck. Groups were formed and distributed to the three main tasks for the week: Rehabilitation of the green house, Painting of the lines on the basketball court, and sandpapering and varnishing of their tabernacle.

            The individuals were able to go into the homes after a job well done to dine with the locals and share not only in their food but also with their stories.

            One Ms. Brania Tzib had this to say: “The experiences I had on the mission trip are so indescribable. I never knew how much patience and flexibility I would have when it came to serving others. Each time I learn something new about myself, I like it. The people are so happy even though they don't have much. They are so peace full, they care so much for one another that I would really like us to be more like them, more open to new things to collaborate with one another for the betterment of society.”

            This mission trip is the first of many to this village. It has been the first of the 2019 year. There is another upcoming in May. The school that provides this experience is John Pual II Junior College.

            John Paul II Junior College is a tertiary institution in Benque Viejo, Belize, offering a two-year associates program that engages students in a profound dialogue with the greatest thinkers in the history of Western civilization and promotes an authentic Catholic culture. John Paul II Junior College forms the person intellectually, spiritually, and morally. This formation produces free, virtuous, and professionally competent persons who can direct themselves to their proper end of attaining true happiness and thus contribute effectively to the authentic good of humanity.

            This reporter highly recommends the place. Join the school that does not consider it’s applicants as students, but as family. 

John Paul II Junior college is a school transforming young people that transform a nation.