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The Belize Territorial Volunteers have established themselves as border activists who vigilantly police the borders of Toledo. But, over the past few weeks, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, they've taken the humanitarian initiatives to look after far-flung communities on the coast of the Toledo District. 

They've been delivering donations of food to residents of these communities, and today, they went back to fishermen living in Barranco Village, and along the Temash and Moho Rivers. This recent donation of food was a collaborative effort between the BTV and OCEANA Belize, and with the help of our colleagues from PGTV News, we have a snapshot of the handing over of those supplies. 

Here's what the donors and recipients in these hard pressed fishing communities had to say about the assistance:

Wil Maheia - Leader, BTV
"As you know, the Territorial Volunteers has always been on the sea, watching the borders. So, we know a lot of fishermen, and during this time, we remember those who are in need, and for the past month, you would say that we were giving out some food to those most in need. OCEANA saw that, and OCEANA assisted by providing some food. So today, we brought some food for the fishermen down by the Temash River, which is very close to the Sarstoon, and Barranco, and the Moho River. So, we want to thank everybody who has donated to the Territorial Volunteers over the past years, and especially in this time of crisis, so that we can continue to do what we do."

Recipient 1 - Barranco Village
"The folks of Barranco would like to say thanks to OCEANA and the Territorial Volunteers for thinking about us down this side. We really appreciate the help because many a time, we, the fishermen, it's even tougher on us to go out. Even if we go out, in these times, we have to go even further try and catch fish. It's tough on us because we are paddle fishermen."

Irma Gonzalez - Resident, Barranco Village
"This is OCEANA's distribution, well, thanks to COVID, because they had never remembered us in Barranco (laughs)."

Assistance was delivered to Moho River, Barranco and Temash communities.