| Bird Watchers Contribute Books |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Friday, 09 February 2007 | |
 This afternoon a group of bird watchers did more than just admire the species in Belize - they made a significant contribution to education by donating several boxes of books to three rural schools in the Orange Walk District.
We met the group at San Roman Rio Hondo where we found out that this is the seventh year that they have assisted hundreds of primary school children.Bert Frenz and his wife Shari have been visiting Belize for over seven years and have camped in many areas across the country to observe Belize’s diverse bird culture. But they are not alone, as the couple brought along several groups in a Birding and Nature RV Caravan.
 Bert Frenz – Donor“My wife and I lead a group of birders that come to Belize, and we have now for seven years and we travel here in RVs, so we travel through Mexico, come here and we stay in different campgrounds in the country. The main interest is in seeing the wonderful birds that are in Belize and we have with us this year twenty-two people.” Today CTV-3 found out that the couple does more than just appreciate the beauty of Belize’s birds. They and the group accompanying them also use the opportunity to help schools with limited resources in the country. Bert Frenz – Donor “We see a lot of need in countries like Belize and Mexico and we want to help out and wanted to find something that was good for them, that would help them that would help them improve and become more skilled. When we talked to the teachers we found out that books are one of the hardest things for them to get – they’re expensive. They usually have to come from England or the United States so it’s very expensive to ship them here and because of your tropical climate they don’t last very long as well. And it’s one of the things we can easily get with little or no expense on our part and since we’re driving all the way to the country, it’s something that we can transport for you, and it doesn’t have a freight charge.” This afternoon the couple, along with the group they brought this year, visited San Roman Rio Hondo where they donated several boxes of books to students who were excited to receive them. Bert Frenz – Donor “This is actually the seventh year. The original idea came from one of the people traveling with us who had a contact in Belize that asked us to bring some books. And when we found out from other principals of schools the need for childrens’ books particularly, the ones that they learn how to read, we decided to do it every year and we’ve now done it seven years and with the ones we bring today, I think we’ve brought about 7,500 books to the country.” Dalila Ical – Reporting “Altogether in seven years?” Bert Frenz – Donor “Yes. And this year I think we have more than ever. We have, I think, 1650 or 1750 books. Most of them are reading books, the type of books a person learns to read the first time, when they’re just beginning through maybe, fifth, sixth grade. They’re the ones that teachers can read to them, parents can read to them if they take them home, books they can keep in the library and use for future reading. And some of them actually come from teachers in the United States who used them when they were teaching, and so they would be good for the teachers to use as guides for teaching science and mathematics and other things.” Dalila Ical – Reporting “You said you get some of the books from teachers in the US. Where do the other books come from?” Bert Frenz - Donor “They come from our children, and our grandchildren. They come from schools such as these. There’s a school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that has collected books for us, and the fifth grade class alone collected 550 books in one year, and I have those with us today. Some of them come fro libraries that no longer need the books. They come from garage sales, almost anywhere we can find them.” Also present for the donation was principal of Santa Martha Government School Julio Escalante, principal of San Luis RC School Felipe Marin and principal of San Roman RC School Santos Nah, who all said that the donation will go a long way in helping the school. Felipe Marin – Principal, San Luis RC “Es Mucho, significa mucho para mi escuela en el sentido…en vista de que nuestra escuela es pequeña verdad, esta bajo y corto de recursos y aparte de eso nuestros ninos necesitan leer mucho para que puedan superar porque en las escuelas tenemos algunas problemas en el reading skills. Entonces eso va a mejorar el nivel, va hacer que los ninos lean y estoy guarantizado que va ser de gran provecho para los ninos.” Julio Escalante – Principal, Santa Martha Government “Algo para complementar el trabajo que estamos haciendo en la escuela. Por ejemplo todos las escuelas rurales tenemos un problema para leer y escribir, entonces con estos libros les va ayudar bastante ya que las escuelas no tenemos esos recursos. Y ahorita tenemos un pre-school de nombre “Nikki” que estamos ayudando y con estos libros les va facilitar mucho mas. Santos Nah – Principal, San Roman RC “Reading books we will have our children use them which we will have our children use them in our reading periods which we have in our reading program.” Dalila Ical - Reporting “Is this assisting the school significantly in regards to limited books that probably you guys may be facing?” Santos Nah – Principal, San Roman RC “Yes it will help us a great deal. We don’t have alibrary in our village and it’s something we would like to work on.” “We want to say thank you for Mr. Carballo for his assistance and the good people who are donating the books to our schools. Thanks so much, it’s so much appreciated.” Bert Frenz – Donor “It’s a privilege to bring the books. It’s good to see that they are put to good use and it’s an easy thing for us to do. We love doing it.” The District Education Office assisted the group in identifying the three schools. According to Bert Frenz, after the years of visiting Belize and bird watching, he is now writing a book on how and where to find a diversity of bird species in the country. |
