Mary Open Doors Update!

Along with all of the other service-learning groups, those of us working at Mary Open Doors (Jordan W., Storm L., and Hayley W.) have had a very busy couple of weeks! We have been working almost every day to develop a campaign titled "Domestic Violence and the Link to HIV/AIDS" which will be distributed to the rural villages in the Cayo district of Belize.  Domestic violence is a HUGE problem in Belize, as approximately 7 in 10 women report being abused in a past or current relationship.  Similarly; the HIV/AIDS rate in Belize is currently over 2%, the highest in Latin America!  So far, we have created:

-A flyer to advertise the date/time/location the presentations
-A PowerPoint presentation which defines domestic abuse, explains women's rights in Belize, describes the importance of a safety plan, informs women about the link to HIV/AIDS and lists all of the available resources in Belize
-A pamphlet with information about domestic violence and the link to HIV/AIDS and available resources
-An emergency contact card (with a list of relevant organizations and phone numbers) which will be handed out at the presentations

Since about half of the villages surrounding San Ignacio are primarily Spanish speaking, we also have been working to translate everything into Spanish. Luckily we have some Spanish speaking friends around town!

Jordan working with our friend Johnny to translate the pamphlet into Spanish 

The first presentation is scheduled for Thursday March 22nd in the village of San Antonio. We have been working very closely on this campaign with the two women who run Mary Open Doors, Mrs. Carmen and Mrs. Anna. They are both very passionate about this project and help us in any way they can.  Below is a picture of the three of us working with Ms. Carmen outside of Martha's (our usual breakfast spot)

We are also starting to sell raffle tickets to help Mary Open Doors raise money for a carnival/fair they are going to be throwing in May. This carnival will help raise awareness about domestic violence in Belize.  Unfortunately we aren't going to be around for the event...but we trying our best in the next couple of weeks to fundraise for them.  We are also attempting to create an AlertPay account (a program similar to PayPal) so that they can easily access (much-needed) donations.  We've got a lot on our plates but we're really excited about our project we can't wait to see how the first presentation goes on Thursday! We've been working hard and we're learning a lot so until next time...Thank you for your continued interest and support!

  From left to right: Storm, Hayley, and Jordan at our "home away from home" Mary Open Doors