Project Belize
History
    Project Belize is a non-proft corporation located in Nacogdoches, Texas, that annually sends a group of doctors, nurses, and other members travel to the Central American country of Belize.  The group provides medical treatment to approximately 1000 people living in the remote villages of southern Belize. Project Belize developed from a small group of doctors, dentists, nurses, and social workers from the Nacogdoches area who were involved with the development of the East Texas Community Health Clinic in 1987. The group responded to a request by Amigos International to visit Belize and provide critically needed dental and medical care in some of the more remote villages of this small country.  The experience was rewarding enough that the group incorporated and has made annual trips since then.  In recent years, the group has invited several nursing students from SFASU, providing them with an excellent experience in cross cultural primary health care.
    Each year's trip is coordinated with the Ministry of Primary Health Care for Belize, the Belize City Hospital, and the Chief of Staff at the Hospital in Punta Gorda, who makes the final selections of the villages that are visited by the group. The group has limited most of its work to visiting the most remote villages, using mules and hiking to reach several of the more remote.  The terrain is hilly with  lush jungle, very high humidity and heat. Each clinic is usually held in the school house in the village or a community building. The group takes vitamins, antibiotics, anti-inflamatories, and anti-fungal creams and provides a general primary health care clinic.  Some education on general hygiene and dental care is also provided.
    The group travels by small plane, vans, and hiking to visit ten villages during the course of this year's trip.  Most years the group spends the nights in village school houses or community centers, sleeping on cots and hanging mosquito nets.  Bathing is in the river and drinking water must be treated.  Project members take anti-malaria medication, polio and tetanus boosters, and use strong insect repellent.

Who Receives Treatment
    The villagers are descendants of the Mayan culture and live much as they have since the fall of the Mayan empire around 800 AD.  Thatch roofs, dirt floors, and open fires are the norm as is bathing in and drinking from the river.  They are primarily subsistence farmers and their principle diet consists of corn, beans and rice. Most of the groups work is with women and children of the villages and the majority of each year's treatment is for upper respiratory infections, skin disorders, colds, cuts, and infected sores.

Funding
    Project Belize is self funded by each years participants, but has received donations from several individuals and groups.  The Lions Club and Altrusa Clubs of Nacogdoches have assisted in the collection of glasses and funds for trips in the past.  Several other private individuals have donated funds for medications and local physicians have contributed sample and extra medications for the trip.  For the past several years, Dr. Robert Lehmann, a local Opthamologist, and his staff have processed and coded glasses that have been donated and collected by the local Lion's Club for each year's trip.

How to Become a Part of This Effort:
  Participation in each year's trip is dependent on past years participation, one's physical condition, and what someone can offer the trip.  Medical orientation is helpful, but it is not necessary.  There are a good number of tasks such as crowd control, taking histories using interpreters, dispensing medications, carrying and treating water, cooking and camp set up that are equally important. Heat tolerance and the ability to walk hills in high humidity is a requirement as well as being able to camp out for the five to six nights of the work portion of the trip.als and groups. The group usually uses cots and mosquito nets and spends nights in the village school houses. The total cost of the main part of the trip is about $800 including airfare from Houston.  Participants must pay their own way or raise the funds for their costs for the trip.

Educational Opportunities
  It may be possible to earn college or university credit for participation in an annual trip.  In year's past nursing students have gained course credit for preparatory work and back ground research on the Mayan people and the primary medical needs of Belize.  Several of the current members of the group teach at local universities and may be contacted to see if a special tutorial course can be arranged for elective credit.  Contact the trip coordinator for more information.

Project Belize 2004 -

This year's trip began on May 20, 2004 with a flight to Belize City. The group of 15 traveled by van to the southern end of Belize and treated about 800 patients in ten villages. Three villages required substantial hikes to reach and supplies had be carried in by mule. Most of these villages are deep in the jungle near the border between Belize and Guatemala. The natives are members of the Belize Mayan Reservation and speak ancient Mayan dialects and a little Spanish.  The group took most of its own food, treated its drinking water and bathed in one of the rivers near the lodge at Blue Creek, Toledo District.  Clinics were held through May 26th and most of the group returned on May 31st to Houston after a few days relaxing on the island of Ambergis Caye or visiting ruins in northern Guatemala. Some pictures are included of some of the activities of this year's group.
 
 

Project Belize - 2004

Front row: Sarah Fields, Trina Foster, Randall Cardott, Sara Robinson, Caroline Mueller, Joe Bartnik, Barbara Cordell
Second Row Right: Steve Whiddon, Carlos Oscar Cal
Third or top row: Jason Johnson, Bruce McNellie, Quinn Robinson, Tammy Robinson, Andrea Oliver Kimzey, Robin Sellers, Pam Mueller
May 26, 2004, Blue Creek Lodge, Toledo District, Belize, Central America

Pictures from this year's trip.
 
 

Dr. Quinn Robinson, Joe Barnik, and Bruce McNellie on the way to Santa Rosa, near the Guatemala and Belize border. The temperature is usually near 100 and the humidity is usually over 90%  making for a hot long hike.

Children in Dolores, near the Belize-Guatemalan border waiting to be seen at the clinic run by Project Belize..
 
 
 
 

Children just out of school coming in for a check up at one of the clinics held by Project Belize in Graham Creek, near the southern end of Belize near Guatemala.
 
 
 
 

Jason Johnson, one of the student nurses on this year's trip, walking over one of the many foot bridges on the way to Graham Creek.
 
 
 
 

Dr. Quinn Robinson, Tammy Robinson, and Joe Barnkik walking accross a foot bridge.

Children on a break in a one room school house in Graham Creek, a village near the Belize-Guatamalan border.
 
 
 

Children waiting for their turn in the clinic. Most were treated for upper respiratory infections, skin rashes and fungus, and internal parasites, as well as given vitamins. The village is Graham Creek, about a two hour walk from the closest road.

Jason Johnson, student nurse, treating a patient near Crique Jute, Belize.


Marcos Col and his daughter, Elvita,  provided the ferry for the group to cross the river to Crique Sarco on the way to Graham Creek.
 

The end of a hot and long day. One village visit required a boat ride accross a river and then a two hour hike to reach it. Student Jason Johnson
and Steve Whiddon, RN. are awaiting the boat.

Robbin Sellers, Dr. Barbara Cordell, and Dr. Randall Cardott working on sorting through medications in a small village near Crique Jute, Belize.


Dr. Barbara Cordell taking history information  from a mother and her infant in San Vicente, Belize.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Andrea Oliver Kimzey, RN, providing treatment to a patient in San Jose, Belize.

Dr. Quinn Robinson and Tammy Robinson, R.N., providing treatment and collecting records for clients in San Jose, Belize.

Caroline Mueller and Sara Robinson, taking a break and teaching some children the fine art of cards in San Jose, Belize.
 

Sara Robinson, Bruce McNellie, Tammy Robinson, Quinn Robinson, and Jason Johnson, on top of Temple IV, Tikal National Park, Peten District, Guatemala, Central America.  At the end of the work portion of the trip some of the members travel to the island of Ambergis Caye for fishing, swimming, and snorkling and some visit the Mayan ruins at Tikal. This group just climbed this 212 foot high temple, the highest in Central America.

Tammy, Quinn, and Sara Robinson perched on the edge of the top of Temple IV looking past to the
Jaguar Temple in Tikal National Park at about 6:00 am, May 28, 2004.
 

Tammy and Sara Robinson with the Temple of the Sun near the plaza and ball court at Tikal National Park.
 


 

Elaine Shippley, Altrusa Club of Nacogdoches, making a 
contribution to Project Belize representative Bruce McNellie. 
Altrusa has been a consistent supporter of the
medical work of Project Belize.


Evening Lions President, Alma Pippens, making a donation
to Project Belize representative Bruce McNellie.


Each year Dr. Robert Lehman and his staff code glasses for the trip.
Here Cathy McGough presents glasses to
Project Belize representative, Bruce McNellie

To more pictures from this year's trip.

Project Belize owes a great deal to the Altrusa Club, Dr. and Mrs. John Decker, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Carroll, and Dr. Lehman and his staff for the support they have provided in past years and for this year. The funds collected go solely to the purchase of medication carried by the group for the clinics held each year. The evening Lions Club also donates glasses which are distributed as part of the clinics held by Project Belize.


Dr. Quinn Robinson, Medical Director             Bruce McNellie, Trip Coordinator
    Project Belize is a non-profit, tax exempt 501-C-03 corporation.  All donations are tax exempt and go solely toward the purchase of medications for each year's trip. There are no administrative expenses as all such costs are borne by the participants.  Donations may be sent to:

Project Belize,
% Bruce McNellie
5922 Princess Lane,
Nacogdoches, TX 75961.

Dr. Quinn Robinson is the medical director, Pam Mueller, the treasurer, and Bruce McNellie is the trip coordinator.  For additional information about the group and its work, write or email Bruce McNellie at:  mcnellie@mailcity.com