Calcutta

Calcutta Village is one of the villages we may one day look back on and see the greatest amount of change. In our March 2009 visit to Belize, we met a 27 year old teacher from a local high school in Corozal Town. Born and raised in Calcutta, he shared about the difficult times for him growing up. He said out of 20 students in his class, he was the only one not to use drugs as a child. The effects have been damaging and hope rests in the hands of those who could enter in and reveal another path for the children of Calcutta to pursue.

With a mostly East-Indian population, Calcutta has a different look and feel to it compared to the more prevalent Mayan and Mestizo communities surrounding it in the North. We have heard of more broken families and more violence than most villages we work in. We have also witnessed this rougher way during our time each summer in Calcutta starting in 2007.

Where can hope be found? Just like most children in Belize, the Calcutta children burn for football. The teachers of the primary school believe it is the only way to get them to focus in class. One teacher admitted to us, “we can’t even get them to focus in class because all they think about it is football”. Then they proceeded to talk about the change in behavior and the attitudes of some of their toughest children. “Because of your camps,” they said, “we have seen a positive change in them”. And with a school program on the heels of starting within their school, we are hopeful of even more positive change. We are hopeful that instead of one man like Matias coming through, we will see the majority of children seeking a better path than drugs, alcohol, and violence.