Our Work in Belize
Our Club is actively involved in our Rotary District Belize Playground project. We contribute $3000 per year, as well as the sweat equity of our members, to install playgrounds throughout Belize. We work directly with the communities to ensure that the projects are sustainable and maintained, and that they promote long term community development. Belize is a country that has much hope of moving from a “have not" country to a developed country, with careful assistance from Rotary and other groups. Through this playground project, we bring hope and happiness to children and their families.
The initial project was a joint project of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Glenora, the Rotary Club of Nisku Leduc, and the Rotary Club of Sherwood Park, in partnership with the Emmanuel Foundation for International Community Development. The Emmanuel Foundation supplies materials for re-purposed playgrounds, which are redesigned to suit the Belize locations for both community sites and school sites. Funds are raised through several clubs in our district, and these funds are matched by a Community Initiatives Project grant from Government of Alberta. The playground materials are then shipped to Belize, and Rotary volunteers from Canada and Belize work together to install the equipment.
In August, 2009, Rotarians and their friends came together to load equipment and materials for two complete playgrounds into a container for shipment with an expected arrival date of early November, 2009. 
Rotarians and volunteers then traveled to Belize, set them up, sanded them, painted them, and dedicated them to the San Ignacio school. Local citizens joined in, putting work and commitments aside to unload heavy pipes and pieces cheerfully. It is difficult to explain the camaraderie, joy, and sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that one experiences through a project like this. That first playground, in Bullet Tree Falls, is still in pristine condition.
Rotarians and volunteers then traveled to Belize, set them up, sanded them, painted them, and dedicated them to the San Ignacio school. Local citizens joined in, putting work and commitments aside to unload heavy pipes and pieces cheerfully. It is difficult to explain the camaraderie, joy, and sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that one experiences through a project like this. That first playground, in Bullet Tree Falls, is still in pristine condition. 
Since that time, we have successfully installed 18 playgrounds in Belize and Honduras, working in partnership with many Rotary and private sector partners in both Alberta and Belize.
For a great sense of the adventure, check out this blog: http://belizeliteracy-playgrounds.blogspot.ca/