After a full day teaching and a quick rest, the three of us were looking forward to being special guests at the weekly Rotary meeting in Dangriga. Before heading out, there was the exciting event of watching Ms Grace prepare the breadfruit to bring to the pot luck dinner we would be having prior to the meeting. Everyone was amazed with the idea of a 'breadfruit' and even more impressed with its actual appearance. Watching Ms Grace expertly cut it up for frying was as Stan said, 'like watching a celebrity cook on TV'!Breadfruit in hand, we headed out the door to pick up Jenn from the hotel thinking we were heading right over to the meeting. Ms Grace had other ideas, however, and provided us all with another tour of famous spots in Dangriga. We got to visit the drum making centre which is outdoors right along the ocean on a small island connected to the mainland. We had the opportunity to meet one of the last authentic drum makers in Dangriga and see how he makes his drums. He encourages young people from Dangriga to work with him to learn the craft of drum making so that it can be kept alive as part of the Garifuna culture.
Our next stop was at a building where Garifuna dancers and drummers were practicing for an upcoming festival. Ms Grace took us in to watch some amazing dancing and drumming with moves and energy that are impossible to describe. It was definitely a highlight of our visit so far!
When we finally made it to the Rotary meeting in the office of Mr. Godfrey's tour company, we were welcomed to MORE of Marie's mouth-watering BBQ chicken, Judith's sister-in-law's garlic bread twists, salad, and of course, fried breadfruit! We are all going to be not only spoiled by all of the wonderful food, but probably a few pounds heavier as well...
The Rotary Club of Dangriga impressed all of us with the many service projects that they have taken on. Here are just a few:
- Building a new playground through District 5370's Belize Playground Project
- Helping out the Aids Centre by donating a computer
- Supporting the installation of a computer lab at a local high school
- Scholarships to pay for students to attend high school (nine this year)
- Planning to replace a roof at a local school
- Summer mentorship program
- Weekly summer reading at the library
- And, of course, hosting three educators from Alberta for the Belize Literacy Program!
Pretty amazing for a small Rotary chapter of only 11 members!
Our own Stan Bissell, member of Rotary Club of Edmonton Whyte Avenue, donated $300B toward the Dangriga club's service projects.
To top the night off, the mayor of Dangriga dropped in to see his wife (Rotary member) and daughter and invited us all to drop by his office Thursday for an official welcome. That's our lunch plan for tomorrow!
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