Laguna is a rural traditional Kek’chi Maya village of approximately 300. Laguna School has 91 students in the Belizean equivalent of grades K-8, and since 1999 has participated in the School Feeding Program. Seventy students receive a lunch three times a week, and they would like to provide a hot meal daily. Early last year, Plenty assisted the school by upgrading its water system, prior to which teachers and students had to haul water by bucket for from the nearest hand pump, about 100 yards from the kitchen.

The remote, ocean front Garifuna village of Barranco has 50 students in its primary school. The Garifuna people have been proclaimed a World Heritage Culture by the United Nations. Plenty has had a long connection with Barranco. Most recently we upgraded this school’s water system, and worked with their volunteer cooks to demonstrate ways of preparing high protein soy foods in their lunch program. Due to its location and resource availability, Barranco school has only been able to provide a hot meal to its 50 students, once a week, but would like to do more.

One dollar a day would subsidize the cost of one hot lunch. Fifty dollars would cover an additional day of meals for all the kids at Barranco school, and $70 would cover Laguna. $100 a month per school would help cover the cost of technical assistance work for their garden. We are looking for donors who are willing to commit these amounts per month for 2003. This is a great project for a school, community group, church or family. In exchange, the schools will send periodic letters and photos. This is people to people peacemaking at work! Please contact Plenty for more info at plenty@plenty.org or send us a note with your donation.