Belize Summary

In Summary…

As part of our final de-brief for the trip, the professors asked each student to share what their favorite take-away was; clinically, culturally and personally.  There were some common themes in the thoughts that were shared.  One of the first things we noticed in Belize was the diversity of cultures found there.  Many of us anticipated Spanish and native Mayan cultures, and were surprised to find a much wider assortment. The people of Belize are composed of 34% Mestizo (Mayan/European), 35% Creole (Jamaican descent), 6% Garifuna (Afro-Amerindian), Chinese, and  Dutch and German Mennonites as well as other minority groups. 

We found that the concept of time in Belize has its own benefits and drawbacks.  The slower pace we encountered there calmed the anxiety we felt at being in a different country, and helped us to relax when working in less than ideal circumstances, with unknown cases and insufficient materials. However, the Belizean’s concept of time can also be a setback, as our bus was an hour late and we had already checked out of our rooms at the hotel. (Adding in a lesson on patience…LOL)

As we experienced differences in the Belizean healthcare system, we learned that doing things in a different way is not necessarily wrong, and even presents its own strengths.  The Community Healthcare Workers are a good example of this.  The workers are selected after living in the community and getting to know the people for a minimum of 5 years. These individual’s learn on the job as they visit homes of everyone in the village, become their friends and serve as their first contact, medical or otherwise, for any concerns they may have that is beyond their own ability or knowledge. The Community Healthcare Worker is part of a network of other health care workers, and is able to seek out answers, resources or medical care for the family through that network. We had the opportunity to go on home visits together with a team of nurses and physical therapists to assess the needs in the community. Their medical documentation is centralized throughout the country to better aid it’s people. Another difference we noted was seeing the importance they placed on family and closeness that existed within their family units.  It is common to find extended families all living under one roof, sharing in the burden of supporting each other and sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. 

We learned that being able to adapt and be flexible is crucial in our work in Belize.  We encountered many differences that made therapy challenging. Some families we worked with only spoke Spanish creating the need for translation among clinician pairs. The diversity of living conditions meant that at times we were working inside at a table, and other times we were sitting in the dirt or ditch outside in the hot sun.  We found a great deficiency in available materials, especially books.  It was common for the children, even older children, to struggle to blend sounds together to make words.  When we asked the family, they reported they had no books in the home and very limited access to books at school.  Other individual’s would have benefitted from assessments such as a modified barium swallow study (MBS),  but had to make due with clinician judgements instead. 

As we worked with the families, either in home visits or in open clinics, we gained a respect for the people, and each individual family’s culture. Some of our suggestions needed to be adapted depending on what resources the family has access to, or what they thought would or wouldn’t work for their child. Whether the differences were found in their level of understanding, comfort level, or time restraints, we learned to listen to their perspectives and feedback as we planned therapy goals. 

The people of Belize have taught us much during our brief visit about the strength of families and extended families, unity within communities and pursuing one’s goals regardless of circumstances.  These are lessons we will not soon forget. 

We’d like to thank:

Texas A&M Kingsville and their Study Abroad department for making this program possible,

Chad and Ellen from Therapy Abroad for all their behind-the-scenes work and being excellent hosts.

Thank you to our supervisor’s for sticking with us, providing us the support we needed during our therapy sessions and helping us polish our report writing.




And…one big thank you to our sponsors for helping to making this trip a reality! Thank you.



AEP Texas
Christus Sohn
Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union
Maximus
Moore Jewelers
Get Air
Taco Palenque

Day 11

Day 11: Snorkeling 

 

Today is the origin story of how I almost died. Okay, I didn’t almost die but I did participate in one of the most exciting adventures of my life so far. We woke up early this morning at met for breakfast at the Coconut Row restaurant by 7:30. It was a very delightful plate of eggs, pancakes, bacon and mixed fruit until it began to rain sideways. Quickly we all rushed into the canopy of the restaurant with our plates in tow to escape the path of the rain. After getting out of the rain our spirits were further dampened by some finding out complications of financial aid for another semester. So needless to say, when we were leaving for the gulf many of us were in desperate need of a getaway, and a getaway it was. 

             We arrived at the gulf to have three motorboats waiting for us. This was scary for me because I’ve never been on a boat in my life, and I also can’t swim. Yes, I went snorkeling, and I can’t swim. Returning to the boats though, we all gathered into the boats and off we went. Traveling at what felt to be 45 miles per hour we raced through the ocean. Being on the boat you could feel every wave crash against the boat, and it was wild. Soon we reached an area in the middle of the gulf where we could stand. This is where we received our snorkeling gear and our training. For me this was the worst part. The moment my body hit the water I started to freeze up. I was shivering from both the cold water and fear. Eventually, I was fitted with flippers and a mask and put into ‘infant one” training as they called it. I couldn’t manage to hold my head under the water and not freak out. After many trials I finally was able to overcome my fear and remained calm. Once I did that, I was able to take in my surroundings. It was absolutely beautiful. The water was clear blue. When you stuck your head under the water vibrant colors met your gaze in every direction. When we snorkeled we saw all types of wildlife. The coral reef was home to many creatures ranging from gray angelfish to even a sleeping shark. We spent a good hour swimming finding lifeform after lifeform and being in awe of it all. After swimming, we then had lunch on our own private island where our guides barbequed some succulent chicken for us to munch on. Fun fact the island was made almost entirely by a man nicknamed King who shoveled sand and corral to make the foundation of it. We spent what had to be another hour and a half on the island swinging in hammocks, eating, and socking in the sun. Most people went off and snorkeled one last time, but I and a couple others decided to stay and enjoy the sun on the island some more. After a couple more hours we took our boat back which brought us right to the doorstep of our hotel. There we had our typical dinner of chicken and rice before we each all went our separate ways for the day. 

Joshua Osho

Day 10

January 9, 2020

Day 10: Transfer to Hopkins

  

We started our last day at Punta Gorda with another amazing breakfast at the Sea Front Inn. Leaving such a hospitable establishment with a great staff was hard, but we were heading to our last destination in Belize. We departed on a two-hour drive to Hopkins. When we arrived, we were blown away by the beachfront view of our new home at Coconut Row and Buttonwood. As soon as we unloaded our things, we ate lunch at The Coconut Husk Restaurant & Bar located in Coconut Row. At lunch, we were greeted with fresh coconuts filled with coconut water - they really hit the spot! 

What was originally planned on the itinerary to be a free afternoon in Hopkins, turned into a surprise we will never forget - behind the scenes, some strings were pulled and our group was able to enjoy an afternoon of ziplining at no cost to us! The beautiful scenery from the surrounding green mountains took our breath away as we glided down the cables. After spending the last couple of days doing clinical work, this was definitely the break we needed. A big thank you goes out to several people, for which this wonderful experience would not have been possible without. First, we would like to thank our professors, Dr. Eric Swartz and Dr. Christine Fiestas, for reaching out to the Office of International Studies & Programs (OISP) at Texas A&M University - Kingsville (TAMUK) to assist in funding and for coming along with us on this amazing journey. They believed that, after all the hard work that we have all been putting into our clinical work, we deserved to have a fun experience like that. Secondly, we would like to thank Peter Li, the Director of OISP, for the generous donation that funded our wonderful afternoon activity. Finally, we would like to thank Chad and Ellen at Therapy Abroad for scheduling transportation and finalizing the ziplining for us. 

We ended the day with a delicious dinner at Driftwood Beach Bar & Pizza Shack, an outdoor establishment located right on the beach. We lucked out because it so happened that they have “One Love Thursdays” with live reggae soca calypso and cultural music provided by The Larubeya Boys. It was raining when we arrived so we had to move one of our tables under the patio, but once we were finished with dinner the table was moved back out onto the sand so we could enjoy the music. One by one, people were coming onto the makeshift dance floor, including several of our students and both our professors! (Sorry about the photo quality, everyone was busy dancing!) We are definitely sad that tomorrow is our last full day here in Belize, but seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter and cheer at Driftwood was a great way to end tonight. I’m excited to see what’s in store tomorrow on our snorkeling adventure!

-Rachel Rapier

Day 9

Today we spilt up into two different therapy groups. One group went to a local preschool and the other group went to NaRCIE (National Resource Center for Inclusive Education), here in Punta Gorda. Also, after lunch, some went out and completed home visits around the area. I was a part of the group that went to the local preschool. While at the preschool we completed screeners on children that the teacher had concerns about. The children ranged from a non-verbal boy to a very talkative girl who spoke mainly Spanish.  It was a blast getting to play and work with these children and to observe them interact with their classmates. 

Afterward, we went to lunch at ASHA’s culture kitchen. Here we had a variety of local and non-local cuisine. Several ordered the whole fish, and some ordered the fried chicken. It was delicious.

Overall, today was bittersweet because it was our last day of providing speech-language therapy services in Belize. Throughout the trip, we have had some amazing experiences and have been pushed out of our comfort zones. We have learned how to adapt to our surroundings and embrace the culture around us. We have had to deal with language barriers, limited resources, and interesting places to do therapy. I’ve had the opportunity to observe people doing speech therapy in gutters, makeshift rooms with tables and chairs, and a local church. To help continue what we did in the therapy session we educated the parents and provided some with materials to help encourage communication between them and their children. The experience here has been truly one of kind that can never be forgotten. 

Below is a picture of a resource we created for a mom with a child who is hard of hearing and has no resources for learning ASL. It was composed of 300 + ASL words. The mom was very motivated to start learning and teaching her son new ASL words when we met with her.            ~Jennifer Roberts~

Day 8

January 7, 2020

Day 8: Hillside Clinic Treatments & Tour

We started off our Tuesday with a delicious home-cooked breakfast at the Sea Front Inn! Afterwards, we made our way to the Hillside Clinic to do some speech and language treatments.

One client, Moses, really stood out and got the attention of everybody! This superstar was singing and dancing and put on a show for all of us – it really brought so much joy to us all seeing him having such a great time! We were fortunate enough to get to speak with his parents after about their perspective of the Students for Global Communication and Therapy Abroad. His father described what it was like having a child with special needs and, while it can be challenging at times, it is also fun. He says that he still sees Moses as a “normal kid”. His mother went on to describe the impact our cause is making in Belize such as providing services to those with less resources and bringing people together. They stated that these evaluation and treatment camps are really bringing people and families together and essentially forming a support group. To see other people going through similar situations, being able to relate to one another, and just knowing that they weren’t alone was a great thing. They expanded by saying that it was a blessing to have people who care and are willing to sacrifice time, money, energy, and knowledge to provide such services. Honestly, hearing them say all of those kind words really reinforced why we do what we do!

After the treatment sessions, Kristine and Nadine, a nurse and a rehab director at the Hillside Clinic, took us on an informational tour of the clinic. As of this year, the clinic has provided 20 years of service in Toledo. They provide medical care in the clinic, mobile clinics to about 14 villages, physical therapy, home health, public health, and have a pharmacy for their clients. The clinic serves as a teaching site for global health students and even houses up to 17 students on-site! The clinic provides free services, but they do accept donations as most of their funding comes from student tuition, grants, and donations.

Upon leaving the Hillside Clinic, our group stopped at Cotton Tree Chocolate, otherwise known as the chocolate center of the universe. Walking in, we were hit with the sweet smell of chocolate! We were able to see the chocolate being made from behind a glass window. Needless to say, many of us left with goodies to fulfill our chocolate cravings.

We headed back to the Sea Front Inn for some report writing and an amazing dinner that really, really hit the spot! Our stay here has been great so far! The meals are always delicious and the staff are really making this stay feel as welcome and comfortable as possible!

-Lillian Vasquez-

P.S. Check out Moses on Instagram @mosesmovesmountains and also check out the song his father wrote for him on Spotify! <https://open.spotify.com/track/4eqT4FijAhDIiH4CtIbn4F?si>

Day 7

1/6/2020

Today we had to say goodbye to Chad, one of our awesome Therapy Abroad coordinators, before we embarked on our next adventure. Thank you Chad for all your hard work on and behind the scenes to make sure that we were immersed in the culture and had opportunities to learn as much as we could in San Ignacio. 

Onward, we took a bus to Belmopan to scoop up a familiar, friendly face and also a Therapy Abroad rockstar, Ellen! Ellen brought us to a local lunch spot, Hibiscus Fast Food, to grab some authentic food. Belize has not disappointed us when it comes to food and today was no different! 

Javelinas Helping: On a quick pitstop, we noticed a woman rescuing a dog. A month-long process for the woman, she has tried to rescue the dog daily, however, the dog has been to timid to go with her. Today, we witnessed the dog slowly limping into the rescuer’s cage. One of our graduate clinicians thought that it would be a great idea to help her out since she has helped many stray dogs in the area. Way to go!

What better way to spend some down time than to have a refreshing dip at The Blue Hole.  Located in Belmopan, The Blue Hole was formed by the collapse of an underground limestone cave. Surprisingly, the depth of the cenote at its deepest point measures up to 25 feet! Although a little eerie, the caves and clear, sapphire-colored water offered a glimpse of Mother Nature’s glory.

Finally, we ended up at our destination in Punta Gorda. Our accommodations for the next few days will be at the Seafront Inn, which has a breathtaking beach view! As we settle in for the night, we will be preparing for another open clinic day tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what’s in store! 

-Jakaycee Chaney

Day 6

Unlike most typical Sundays in my life, this one was a great way to open the new year. This morning I woke up slightly before my alarm went off, since I was really excited knowing that it would be an eventful day at the archeological site of Xunantunich. Although I have visited other countries in Central America, I have not had the opportunity to visit historical places. 

However, I was initially not prepared for the walk that was ahead for all of us while heading up to Xunantunich, but despite that, the weather was pleasant and it also an opportunity to interact more with my classmates and professors. I did not know anything about Xunantunich prior to visiting today but unveiling the unfamiliarity of seeing all the other structures that are associated with the main temple was really neat. I really enjoyed learning about each structure and the purpose that it served. Reaching the top of Xunantunich has definitely been one of my greatest accomplishments so far of 2020, the effort of getting to the top reminded me a little bit of how my classmates and striving for our goal of graduation this May, and to keep on working hard!

After Xunantunich, most of my classmates and I were exhausted, but we were still eager to go to the river since we had been planning to go for several days now. Although I was tired, I thought the river would be a great idea to just sit back and cool off, but things took an unexpected turn. 

I have previously been told horror stories of rivers of Central America, but my thoughts were “how bad could it really be?” or “what’s the worst that can happen?” I thought that maybe I would simply slip on a rock but get right back up and be okay. When I saw my classmates and professors confidently go further into the river, I underestimated the river current and was slowly being pulled to the waterfalls. When I reached a point of no return, our group leader Chad was helping get to safety but we both slipped and fell into the waterfall. My first reaction was to hold my breath and get up as fast as possible. For a few seconds I did think that I was going to drown… but the most important thing to do was not to panic and keep swimming. Thankfully, both Chad and I got out of the river safely, but it will definitely be an experience to remember for me and everyone that was present. I realized that I have been using the word “adventure” a bit too loosely but after today’s adventure, this is one of a kind where all sorts of survival skills were applied.    Jasmine Turcios

Day 5

Aside from the beautiful scenery, there is one thing that has really found a place in the bond between all of us here… The food! There has not been a meal that is even half bad in Belize. Every morning, afternoon and evening we have amazing Belizean homemade meals which have hints of coconut flavors and the perfect amount of spice. At every location, we get a taste of the cooks’ home with their special onion sauce that all have a unique touch to them. It’s a sure way to spice up your life!

 

The day progressed and all the student clinicians set up an open clinic at a local church in the village of Succotz. At the open clinic, we were able to provide speech and language screenings and assessments to the children and adults in the village. It was truly a great and rewarding way to end our service in the city of San Ignacio. The clinic days that we are having are giving us such a unique learning experience that I trust that I will miss this when we leave here. 

         

The picture of a playground was significant to me because it shows the rawness of the village. This is the outside of the local preschool that most children attend. I just find that there is so much happiness regardless of the circumstances and so many people can take away from seeing this  

joyfulness.       

Tiffany Espericueta

Day 4

1/3/19

The SGC graduate students posed for a quick morning picture before a long day in the village of Succoutz to complete initial speech and language screenings of children and adults and caregiver interviews. 

The hard-working team came together for a well-deserved lunch provided by Benny’s Kitchen.

SGC students and supervisors, Dr. Fiestas and Dr. Swartz, came together for a session of debrief regarding all the clients observed on the first two days of clinic. All agreed that team work makes the dream work!

Isela Marin

Day 3

Our first stop of the day was meeting with Aide. Aide is the only community health worker in her village. Her village consists of 800 individuals. Aide explained to us in greater detail what a community health worker does in their communities, requirements for becoming a community health worker, and gave us tips on how to be culturally sensitive when entering someone’s home. 

   

For our second stop, we roamed the town of San Ignacio. We were able to visit local shops, purchase souvenirs, and send post cards to our loved ones back home. As we were walking the town, we got to walk over a 70-year-old bridge that is made of steel rods. The view from the bridge was beautiful as we were overlooking a river with individuals canoeing and waving to us. As we were making our way back, we stopped at a local ice cream shop to cool off from the Belizean heat. 

Our third stop of the day included walking to Sacred Heart College (SAC). The term college here in Belize means high school because Belize was a British colony. The high school here in Belize does not have AC. They depend on opened windows and fans. Upon arriving at SAC, we set up materials as we waited for the arrival of children to come get screened and assessed. 

Adriana De Los Santos