All About Belize

Belize is a country in Central America (south of Mexico) with a population of about 300,000 people (one of the lowest population densities in the world). It's capital is Belmopan. The country is about the size of the state of New Hampshire. It's divided into 6 districts. Corozal and Orange Walk, the districts where most of our work is taking place, are in the northern part of the country.

Belize is bordered to the south and west by Guatemala, the north by Mexico and the east by the Caribbean Sea.

Once a part of the Mayan and briefly the Spanish Empire, it was most recently a British colony known as British Honduras. Belize gained independence in 1981. It's considered a parliamentary democracy. The Belizeans elect a prime minister who leads the government. English is the official language, however, most people here speak Spanish.

Agriculture is the main industry here. Across the country, sugar cane grows as far as you can see. Over the next day or two, I'll share more details of how sugar cane grows and how it's harvested and processed into sugar.

Unfortunately, Belize is a very poor country. About 50% of the people here don't have access to doctors, nurses or hospitals. Two-thirds earn less than US$4500 each year. And most children suffer from malnutrition. Our objective while we're here is to help as many Belizeans as we can. For some that may be rescreening windows to keep out malaria-biting mosquitoes. We'll be completing 4 houses for families who need a place to live. And for many others, we'll be providing needed medical help including checkups, vitamins, medications and surgeries.