Shane's Internship with the Itzamna Society

Mr. Shane helps some students
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Well I’m back from San Antonio, a Mayan village deep in the Cayo District and better than ever! I spent three weeks there working with the Itzamna Society, getting to know the community better, and helping with some local development projects. My days were spent patrolling Elijio Panti National Park on horseback and teaching young eager students to read and add their numbers. My main responsibility was to work with the village council committee, by doing need assessments and proposing new development plans. For my first project, I put together a project plan for a new public playground that was in the works. I found out later, that a group from North America had seen my plan and was willing to come down this summer to help fund and build the playground.
I hope I was as big of a help to the people of San Antonio, as they were to me. Each day and night was an opportunity to meet and talk with people who would share with me their stories and their love. My few weeks at San Antonio were a great experience in a beautiful place that I will never forget. RUFIO!

Shane Mueller
Gordon College

Stephanie's Internship at the Belize Zoo

Steph Tries Falconry
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

I did my three week internship at the Belize Zoo. The zookeepers taught me what goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to care for the animals at the zoo. I learned the daily routines of preparing food for the animals, taking food to the animals, and cleaning the animals’ management pens. The veterinarian also let me accompany him when he was tending to the medical needs of animals. He also taught me how to observe and record the behavior and appearance of the animals in order to keep a steady record of the animals’ health. I also helped the zookeepers with any odd jobs I was asked to do. Interning at the Belize Zoo was a very positive experience overall. I was able to be around animals more than any other time in my life. I was able to care for the animals and to work along side really great people. I learned the importance of working hard and building meaningful relationships along the way. I really liked that at the end of my time at the zoo the keepers trusted me more with responsibilities because they saw how much I learned. I will not forget my experience and I will not take for granted the lessons learned.

Stephanie Day
Spring Arbor College

Ruth's Internship in Local Health Care

Ruth in the Maternity Ward
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

For my CCSP internship, I spent three weeks working for the Belizean
Healthcare System. I spent two weeks at the San Ignacio Hospital (one
week in the outpatient ward, one in maternity) and a week at the Mopan
Medical Center in Benque Viejo. Both are public facilities, and are
funded by the Government of Belize. There are four resident doctors at
the San Ignacio Hospital, and a pediatrician and internist from
Belmopan visit once a week to see patients. The Mopan clinic is much
smaller, and hosts one nurse and one doctor. They have a small
pharmacy, and all drugs and services at both locations are distributed
free of charge.

In the outpatient ward at the hospital, I spent the week taking patient information, giving out numbers, and taking vitals. I was able to assist in the procedure room a little this week, and even gave a shot! I did spend a few hours in the emergency room assisting suturing, and
the removal of sutures, too. I also helped stock the ER. In the maternity ward I basically followed the nurses and doctors around when they were doing anything with patients, and translated for a Nigerian nurse who did not speak Spanish. When there was no observing to be done I either read a midwifery text or visited with the patients. When I was able to help I took vitals and assisted laboring women (your basic, you can do it!). I also got the opportunity to see two births and clean a new born baby.

I spent this past week in Benque at the Mopan Medical Center (MMC). I took vitals, patient information, and gave
numbers. I also tested blood glucose levels and helped count, organize,
and distribute medication.

Ruth Mulder
Calvin College

Kristen's Internship at Plenty

Kristen at Plenty
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

I did my internship with a non-profit organization called Plenty Belize. They are a branch of the Plenty formed from a commune called “The Farm” in rural Tennessee. The organization developed out of the commune and began providing international aide in the 70’s to Guatemala after a huge earthquake hit. Their time spent in Guatemala made them never want to leave and by the early 90’s they had established a branch in Punta Gorda-a town in the southernmost part of Belize that is surrounded by several remote Mayan Villages.
Although they had worked on such projects as soy production, midwife training, alternative energy, and the school feeding program in previous years, their main focus is the Garden-based Agriculture for Toledo’s Environment or GATE project. I worked with sustainable gardens and relevant educational/nutritional workshops to support the progression in school gardens both in the Mayan Villages and in Punta Gorda. The unique people I met along the way and being able to see a sustainable development project in action has taught me a lot. In the midst, I still saw much hope, fire and dedication in individuals and the ways they impact their surrounding communities.


Kristen Mcphee
Hope College

Emily's Internship with Aurora Saqui

Emily making chocolate
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

I have spent a few weeks with a Mayan healer by the name
of Aurora Saqui. Although my expectations of interning
with a healer were highly romanticized and slightly
ridiculous, I was still able to grasp the essence (if
that's not too vague) of what role a healer plays in
a community. My hopes of learning the names, faces, and
characters of Mayan medicinal plants are satiated for the
time being. I've actually gained so much from these
three weeks, that I've decided to use this material
for my undergraduate thesis. Although Aurora showed me
how to collect and prepare certain medicines, I could only
partially grasp the most important part of her healing
which is an intimate part of Mayan spirituality. She has
blessed me with her wisdom and stories. I now have a
collection of Mayan legends with a collection of Mayan
recipes exclusively from the memory of this woman. I
spent endless hours strolling back and forth on her
medicine trail, stooping, studying, and kind of hoping
that someday I can make a real connection between the
chemical constituents of plants and the Holy Spirit.
It's not a far stretch really.

Emily Carlson
Eastern University

Marine Ecology

synchro
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

We had a great week for marine ecology. The first few days were spent at Nabitunich learning about reef ecology in the classroom. We then wasted no time heading out to Calabash Caye, the University of Belize research station. What an amazing place! We were able to go on so many interesting snorkels and learn so much.
Thanks Ian Johnston from Bethel University for such a great week!
Click Here for great photos of our Marine Ecology week

Stream Ecology

Checking the pH of Barton Creek
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

After internships we enjoyed getting back into our study of tropical ecology with a week studying streams. Thank you John Wood from The King's College for coming down and teaching a great course. This trip involved many a good field trip wading into water: measuring physical properties of the streams, collecting invertebrates, and talking about human impacts. It was a great course to have fall during some of Belize's most warm months!
Click here for more pics from Stream Ecology Week

Peter's Internship at the BBG

Peter at the BBG
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

I spent the last two weeks at the Belize Botanic Gardens, right here in Cayo. My internship consisted of lots of different tasks. I spent the most of my time working on an agroforestry project. They’re growing fishtail palms, along with a variety of other cash crops (coffee, mahogany, and cacao) on the forest floor. The fishtail palm is illegally harvested in forests and is in becoming endangered. The project will provide farmers with guidelines for growing their own palms, as well as protect the wild fishtail palms.
I also spent a lot of time working with an eccentric Englishmen, named Martin Meadows, whose been living in Belize for 35 years. He had many crazy stories of jungle treks, and a vast knowledge of local flora. He worked me hard, building benches, but he definitely taught me a lot. Another man, a Mayan named Lloyd, showed me around and I worked with him learning basic horticultural skills, like grafting and pruning.
It was a great time, working during the day and hanging out by the river at night. I got the chance to camp out of the nearby resort and spend lots of time with staff and travelers. I even got too see an emerald toucanette, and a kinkajou.

Peter deKoning
The King's College

Mark's Internship at Bocawina Mayflower

Mark at Bocawina
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Over the past two weeks I spent my internship at the extremely beautiful Mayflower Bocawina National Park in the Stann Creek District. At the park I was asked to create a plant exhibit which would be used for educating school children on the importance of the rainforest and the need to protect it. I also was given the opportunity to work with the two wardens at the park over the two weeks. My time with them was spent maintaining a few of their trails and creating some new ones. As well, the wardens taught me a lot about how the Mayans used many of the plants in the rainforest. During my internship I also had the opportunity to do a home stay with a Garifuna family in the community of Silk Grass. This was a really great learning experience. The people were very hospitable and welcoming. Even though I was an outsider they wanted me to participate and get to know the people within the community. My internship experience was a very enjoyable time to really get to know some of the local people in Belize. It also was a great time to learn more about conservation and environmental issues that face the country.

Mark van der Woerd
Redeemer College

Kristen's Internship at the King's Children Home

Kristen and Josiah at The King's Childrens Home
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

For my two week internship I had the opportunity to go to King’s Children Home in Belmopan. There were fifty-two kids living in the home which resulted in a lot of chaos. The majority of the time I spent simply playing with the kids and building relationships with them and the other staff. I also tutored, changed diapers, folded laundry, washed dishes, took kids to and from school,
and many other little things to help out with running the home. Running a
place like King’s Children Home takes a lot of dedication from the staff and
only if you have a true passion and calling from God can you continue to do
it. This internship made me realize how blessed I am in many areas of my life and how much I’ve taken for granted sometimes. Overall, it was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed every minute. It was very a very tiring but very rewarding one. I am blessed to have had the chance to go love these kids. Hopefully, it will work out to be able to go spend a day or two with them again before I head back home to the States.

Kristen Murch
Hope College