![\"belize.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/belize.jpg\" "\\"belize.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nAs part of the UM Study Abroad program, the students traveled with Kim
\nShackelford, associate professor of social work, to the town of San
\nPedro, a popular tourist destination. There, they taught
\nSpanish-speaking children living on the outskirts of the island to
\nspeak and read English.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe spring break trip made such an impact on the Ole Miss group that
\nseveral months later, they are still reaching out to raise money for
\nSan Mateo schoolchildren with poor eyesight. The students were eager to
\nmake a difference in the community as soon as they arrived, Shackleford
\nsaid.\n<\/p>\n
\n“I went to Belize with 12 students I didn’t know and within a
\nweek, I knew they were very service-oriented,” she said. “They worked
\nhard in a difficult situation.”\n<\/p>\n
\nBlair, a nursing major, and Diamondhead native Rebecca Werner, a
\nsenior engineering major, are among the students raising money to help
\nbuy eyeglasses for needy children at Holy Cross Anglican School. Both
\nmembers of Delta Gamma sorority, they are selling calendars created by
\nDelta Gamma sister Christy Sims, a senior business administration major
\nfrom Madison.\n<\/p>\n
\nBlair and Werner said one of their main jobs during the week was
\nto assist with screenings of students at the local eye clinic.
\n“We asked if we could go help because Delta Gamma’s philanthropy is
\nService for Sight, so helping at the eye clinic drew our interest,”
\nWerner said. “We didn’t really have any introduction to people at all.
\nWe just told them we were there to help, asked them what we could do
\nand told them where we were from.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThe children’s screenings concluded that 35 of them \u00a0needed glasses, Shackelford said.\n<\/p>\n
\n“Our students went with the children being sent to the clinic for eye
\nexams,” Shackleford said. “The students learned that even though the
\nexam proved the children needed glasses, the parents could not afford
\nto buy the glasses. One pair costs $40 if they use donated frames and
\nover $120 if frames are bought new.”\n<\/p>\n
\nBlair said her experiences at the clinic prompted her to find more ways to help the children.\n<\/p>\n
\n“Before we went on the trip, we had talked about the idea of using
\nService for Sight to help these kids. I thought it was neat that the
\nopportunity arose and we jumped on it,” Blair said. “It was neat how it
\nworked out because before we left the clinic, we spoke with the
\ndirector, who told us more about the funding that comes into the clinic
\nfor screenings and exams. That sparked our interest in continuing our
\nefforts after we got back home.”\n<\/p>\n
\nBlair and Werner said some of their fondest memories of Belize
\nare from working with the children, including Alexis, who was upset
\nwhen he found out he needed glasses.\n<\/p>\n
\nBlair persuaded Alexis that needing glasses wasn’t such a bad thing.\n<\/p>\n
\n“He wasn’t thrilled about that at all,” she said. “I didn’t realize
\nthere was such a stigma there against glasses. When he found that out,
\nhe was sort of in denial until I put on my glasses and convinced him
\nthat there was nothing wrong with them.”\n<\/p>\n
\nWerner said volunteers are in high demand in the San Mateo community.\n<\/p>\n
\n“One child I worked with didn’t have an easy time focusing; he always
\ngot distracted,” she said. “We had to make it fun for him to learn.
\nIt’s a lot like what our children face here. Hiring teachers is a
\ndifferent process there. There is a huge need for extra help.”\n<\/p>\n
\nBlair added that the children need more individual attention.\n<\/p>\n
\n“One-on-one time with them seemed to make a difference because they’re
\nin such big classrooms all the time, and they don’t get as much
\nindividualized attention as they need,” she said. “They’re doing well
\nto be enrolled in school where such a low percentage of people continue
\ntheir education past the eighth grade. There’s great need there, even
\nif it’s just letting someone know you care.\n<\/p>\n
\nShackelford said she was pleased with the effort all the students gave.\n<\/p>\n
\n“It made them think about what service they can do and showed them that
\nthey really can make a big difference in a week’s time,” she said.\n<\/p>\n
\nBlair said the appreciation of the students and parents stood out most to her.\n<\/p>\n
\n“A girl we had spent a lot of time with that week named Irene made us a
\nhomemade card and made sure we got it before we left,” she said. “It
\nwas just her thanking us over and over for being her friend and being
\nthere for her. Even though we were only able to be there for four days
\nwith her, she was incredibly thankful. For me it was seeing how
\ngrateful they are for everything.”\n<\/p>\n
\nSeeing how the residents did so much with so little gave Werner a new perspective.
\n“It’s an eye-opener to see how people who have so little have so much
\nbecause they’re so incredibly grateful and thankful all the time for
\neverything,” Werner said. “Just the simplest act of kindness we gave
\nthem – hanging out with them or going to play soccer with them during
\ntheir break – meant the world to them. I think relationship-building is
\nsomething I learned. You can go anywhere, and whether there’s a
\nlanguage barrier or not, you can still connect with people.”\n<\/p>\n
\nThe UM Study Abroad program and Shackelford have planned two more trips \nTo learn more about contributing to Delta Gamma’s Service for Sight project, contact Rebecca Werner at rawerner@olemiss.edu<\/a> or visit http:\/\/www.olemissdg.com<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nFor more information on the Department of Social Work, go to http:\/\/www.olemiss.edu\/depts\/
\nto Ambergris Caye: a three-week Wintersession trip that is offered as
\nan elective social work course for all UM undergraduate and graduate
\nstudents, and a service-oriented trip during spring break 2010 open to
\nall majors. To learn about these and other programs, go to http:\/\/www.outreach.olemiss.