Whoever said Christmas was only for children probably never went to
the Mercy Clinic’s annual Christmas party. Today that is where 120 seenagers
ate Christmas dinner, sang Christmas carols and the lucky ones got a gift. The
party was organized by the Rotary Club which says this is their way of giving
back. 7NEWS was there and spoke to the organizers.
Andre O’Brien, Mercy Care Center
“These are members of the center, the ones that normally come here
everyday for breakfast and lunch, people for the clinic section, and just regular
walk-ins looking for a hot meal.”
Maria Price, Rotary Club
“Well this is an annual event that I believe we have been doing for
the last 12 years. It is Rotary sponsored project and it is done by the Rotarian
spouses. So the extent that we have here is that find donations to give, we
also have the Rotarian spouses who cook some of the food, and the Rotarians
themselves come out to serve and to fellowship with the elderly.”
Andre O’Brien,
“It is a very rewarding feeling knowing that we have the Rotary Club
of Belize to depend on every year to host this Christmas party and this is a
event that has been happening for many years and the people look forward to
it. From the year begins they are looking forward to the annual Christmas party
where they get their delicious turkey dinner, their gifts, their pastries –
for some of them it is the only Christmas dinner that they’ll have and
myself along with Rotary is more than pleased to be able to have this event
here for them.”
Dr. Marcelo Coyi, Rotary Governor
“I think we need to recognize them for the hard work they did in their
younger days. People tend to forget the seniors but they have contributed a
lot to the community and we should give thanks to them for where we are today.”
Maria Price,
“You have to give back to the community. Rotary is a service organization,
we’re always looking to help needy persons out there, we do different
projects, humanitarian projects, literacy projects education wise – we’re
always looking at areas in the community where we can serve.”
The Mercy Care Center operates year round and offer meals, a place
to sleep, and medical services for senior citizens.
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