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This year, the clinics will be held next month and the club is calling out all parents whose children require orthopedic care. Today we spoke with a member of the club as well as the president-elect via Zoom.

Erwin Wills, Member, Rotary Club Belmopan
"Essentially we're reaching out to all the parents who for whatever reason would not be able to afford orthopedic medical care. Some cases we see across the country would be conditions affecting the neck of the child, the spine, shoulders, arms, elbows, hands, but mainly we're seen a lot of feet. Essentially we've had some children who had gone to the US late last year, we're getting updates from them, the surgeries have been going very well. They stay at the Ronald McDonald House. And of course their parents get to go along with them free of cost. While they're there, they get a chance to integrate into American Society so one of them are staying with host families, they get the chance to go to baseball games, visit zoos and so forth. So while they're there for medical care, we also realized that them feeling at home is also important to recover fully."

"We've seen them leave - well for the most part everyone is happy when they leave, but of course when they return, they're smiles are bigger, they feel refreshed, they feel renewed, especially the children. Some of the children leave not being able to walk and they return walking. Some children are up to the age of 18 and when they return to us, they express their interest in joining the Rotary Clubs in their local communities, they express interest in joining the Rotaract clubs in their local communities because they realize the impact that Rotary is making in their lives."

Adele Catzim Sanchez, President-Elect, Rotary Club Belmopan
"This wine and cheese event is the main fundraising event for the Children's Project. The wine and cheese this year will our 17th annual wine and cheese event and it will be held on March 1st at Oakridge Venues on the Spanish Lookout Road. The Signature or the main thing that people like about our wine and cheese is that we have amazing offerings in our silent auction as well as prizes and raffles and so if people contribute to this worthy cause to help the children of Belize, then we make sure that there's also items that you can bid on so you can take something home. When you come to this wine and cheese, you don't leave there empty handed and of course you also have the reward of knowing that you're contributing to something that really impacts children who are very vulnerable, the ones who have spinal conditions, club foot, things that we are not able to take care of in Belize but things that through surgery we can give people back their lives."

Tickets for the wine and cheese event cost $150.

The first clinic will be held in Santa Elena at La Loma Luz Hospital on February 17th at 9:00, then it will move to the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan at 3:00. On February 18th, they will be at the Southern Regional Hospital, then at Belize Healthcare Partners on the 19th, and Northern Regional Hospital on the 20th.