Belize

                          Water Missions Belize
                       Location: Placencia, Belize
                     Number of Systems Installed: 2
                            Number of Staff: 4

Language- English, Spanish, Kriol
GDP Per Capita- $8,300
Population- 307,899
Poverty Level- 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
Religion- 50% Roman Catholic, 27% Protestant, followed by Spiritism

Climate- Subtropical in the lowlands, temperate in the highlands.

Brief History- The history of Belize dates back thousands of years. The Maya civilization spread into the area of Belize between 1500 BC and AD 200 and flourished until about AD 1200. The first recorded European settlement was established by shipwrecked English seamen in 1638.

Great Britain first sent an official representative to the area in the late 18th century, but Belize was not formally termed the "Colony of British Honduras" until 1840. It became a crown colony in 1862. The official name of the territory was changed from British Honduras to Belize in June 1973, and full independence was granted on September 21, 1981

Project Bella Vista is the first project for Water Missions Belize. The small village (4500 residents) is located in the Toledo District just 7 miles to the west of Independence. Our plan is to install our water system at the local school, where 1020 children are starting school this fall. We just got started in July and plan to provide Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects designed to establish baseline statistics and provide sustainable access to safe water and sanitation to the children and residents of Belize. Our second project slated for later in the fall is in the Cayo District in the Western part of the country. The small village of Billy White is located just a few miles from the Guatemala border.

Water Missions Belize Website

To donate funds to our Belize Country Program, please go to my.watermissions.org/donate and designate Belize Country Program.