I wanted to share some pics from my recent trip to Belize for the Let Girls Learn program!
Truly a life changing experience :
After some reflection I was left with one enormous takeaway.
Early in the program back in October and November we heard story after story of extreme violence, trauma and hardship that these girls were experiencing in real time. It was really discouraging. We lost quite a few Canadian mentors in the beginning because they couldn't handle the toll it was taking on their personal peace to hear about these events. I found myself asking questions (to myself) such as "What are we actually doing here?", "How are we possibly going to help these girls or make any real impact?", and the most alarming thought... "Is this nothing more that a feel-good exercise for the privileged to feel better about themselves?
Then during my week in Belize I spend two days along side with these girls painting a homeless shelter. I have to tell you, we approached this project with the confidence of Mike Holmes and the skill level of racoons with paint rollers! The finished product was far from perfect and that's ok because perfection was never the goal.
The real impact wasn't a fresh coat of paint. It was showing the men who resided in this shelter that their community hadn't forgotten them. That people believed in them and most of all... there are people who care enough about them to show up.
And then it clicked.. that is EXAXTLY what we were doing for the girls of this program. We weren't doing this to swoop in and rescue them and solve every problem they face. We were there to remind them that they matter, that they're worthy of being invested in and there are people, both in Belize and across the world who believe in their future.❤️❤️❤️
Sometimes the greatest gift we can give is simply showing up.
See Photo album below for more pix.