James Gibson's fundraiser for Belize Vision Trip

James Gibson's fundraiser for Belize Vision Trip December 2019

Belize

by James Gibson

$2,100

Amount Raised

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About this Fundraiser

Thank you for your participation in a Help One Now Vision Trip!

Family Empowerment Belize

The Work

It has been Help One Now’s aim to come alongside high capacity local leaders who are already working to transform their communities. We partner with these leaders to provide the resources to dream big, and impact even more lives!

Nigel and Julie Miguel are such high capacity leaders. Through their organization, Water Walkers International, vulnerable youth are being empowered economically, socially, and spiritually.

Water Walkers primarily works to empower children through education programs. They target children from vulnerable families to ensure they have a foundation for a better future.

Their program focuses on increasing literacy, as well as computer proficiency. They believe “an educated person with technological skills can better compete in the workforce and make positive contributions to our great nation.” Mentorship also plays a key role at Water Walkers, where each youth has a positive adult relationship to support and encourage them toward their fullest potential. On top of that, children are able to exercise their creativity by participating in sports, music, and dance! Water Walkers provides nutritious meals 5 days a week to the children in their programs, knowing that for many this could be their only nutritious meal of the day.

Family Empowerment

Along with the great work they are already doing, Julie and Nigel are adding to their tool-kit to fight poverty by coming into partnership with Help One Now and launching a Family Empowerment Program in Belize City.

Family Empowerment is the perfect fit to come alongside the work being done through Water Walkers. Nigel and Julie are already working hard to see children thrive, and together we dream that the next step will be to empower their entire families.

To date, we have enrolled over 400 families in our Family Empowerment Program in Ethiopia with an average increased income of approximately 300% — and many of these families now have 2-3 years of self-sufficiency under their belt! Not only does the program help families to thrive, but it ripples outward into the community as families grow their businesses, create even more jobs, and pour into the local economy.

In 2019 Help One Now is expanding this program beyond Ethiopia, into communities communities all around the world! Join our Help One Now Family to see empowerment take place in Belize City.

A few things to note about this trip:

Airfare and all expenses on the ground (meals, lodging, transportation) are included in the trip price, but any other costs associated with your trip would be your responsibility (those costs may include spending money, or appointments at a travel clinic before your trip, for example). We do allow our trip participants to fundraise through their registration pages in order to make those trip costs more manageable!

Those traveling are required to carry a passport with an expiration date further than 6 months away from the date of travel. Should your passport have already expired, or should your passport expire within the 6 months after your intended trip dates, you can mail in your old passport to get it expedited and renewed. HERE is where you can find more information on how to renew your passport.

If you are under the age of 18 and are traveling without a parent or legal guardian present, we will email out a form to get signed by parents or legal guardians, giving permission to travel out of country with the team!

In addition, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends various vaccinations for international travelers depending on your destination country. Please visit a medical professional or a travel clinic as soon as you know you are traveling abroad, as they may recommend particular vaccinations or medicine based on your destination, some vaccinations are not always immediately available, and some vaccinations need to be administered over the course of months. **Please ensure you are up to date on all routine vaccinations. These vaccinations include a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and a flu shot! Most of you are up to date on these anyway!**

Belize currently requires the Measles vaccination for entry into country; we recommend the Hepatitis A vaccination, and a Typhoid treatment (pill or shot) as well.

Some travelers choose to receive the Cholera, Hepatitis B, Rabies, and Yellow Fever vaccinations, but REST ASSURED: we know these lists may seem overwhelming, but all of these vaccinations are entirely optional and are merely precautions!

We’d love to encourage you to familiarize yourself with Help One Now’s philosophy regarding international mission. In preparation for your potential Learning Journey, please try to read Doing Good Is Simple by Help One Now’s founder Chris Marlow. Another great resource is When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

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