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U.S. Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally told us why they chose this project:..

Vinai Thummalapally, U.S. Ambassador
"This Year we are doing five projects; the first is todays' groundbreaking where today at Dorothy Menzies Childcare center, it's sort of an orphanage and also just taking care of kids who are in need of some assistance. Some extremely unfortunate circumstances have lead the kids into sort of the precarious time in their lives and this center houses, feeds, host them in many ways, in many cases the kids come in and spend a few months and maybe a year or two or sometimes longer before the get moved back with their families or sometimes get adopted and so and so forth, currently I just found out that there are 60 kids here today I was told 50 but Ms. Kelly who runs this facility told me that there are 60 kids here. They are in dire need of additional facilities. So this program is wonderful it's a great story, it's a facility that it's an expansion of their current facility. Today is the groundbreaking but I am being told by the folks in Corps Engineer that it will be done by end of the year by Christmas it will be ready for occupancies, so it's very nice to hear that."

"I bet you everybody is going to be involve with this who is coming done from Southcom and who is coming from Corps Engineers will not forget this experience because they will see what it has done to these families and to these children, how their work has touch them. Of course it's their job but it's more than that - it's a very rewarding experience."

Other projects in this year's Southcom program are the refurbishment of a library and office at Las Flores School in Cayo, the construction of a bathroom facility at Hattieville Government School, the construction of a bathroom facility at Belize Rural High School, and the construction of a recreation facility/auditorium at Julian Cho School, in Toledo.