The Inter-American Development Bank today celebrated a Belizean culture
day with music, food, and art at Marina Towers. There was a reason to celebrate
because the IDB handed over a check for US$5,000 to the National Kriol Council
Project. 700 project proposals were submitted from the 26 IDB member countries
and only 45 were chosen - and the National Kriol Council Project was one of
them. The check was handed over to one of the founding members of the Kriol
Council, Leelah Vernon.
Leelah Vernon, Vice President – National Kriol Council
“We are going to educate through lectures and teaching the traditional
dances such as the sambai, the bruk dong, different style of bruk dong music,
and that is specifically what we got the money for. This is for just the introduction,
for them to learn their culture and let them uphold it and keep it and then
at the same token, it will be a very good thing for the country of Belize because
we would identify ourselves through our music, our dances, and we will better
represent ourselves abroad and at home.”
Caroline Clarke, IDB Country Representative
“The purpose of the project really is to safeguard the culture and
protect the culture within the youth and in particular to bring culture alive.
The Inter-American Development Bank feels that cultural development is an integral
part of social and economical development in the region. We are absolutely delighted
that the Belize Kriol Council won this year’s grant program for the IDB’s
cultural program that we have each year. They won five thousand U.S. dollars,
ten thousand Belize dollars, to teach Creole dance and culture to teachers who
will then go on to teach school children.”
Leelah Vernon,
“We have been waiting for this for a long long time and it is a good
thing we waited because with patience you get glory. We are going to seek other
places so that we can get monies for economic projects because we are having
a problem. The youths are crying out for help and that is why we are here, we
are for that – to help. What I am seeing here is that all these things
will not go away if we do not have a serious economic plan for them.”
US$16,000 have been awarded to Belizean projects over the last three
years. The most recent was the Yo Creek Cultural Dance Group in 2007.
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