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Our
Social Services Program here in the parish has been operating for well over a
year now and it has been tremendously successful in taking care of those who are
living on the edge. In the Viator
Centre, that houses our kitchen, we provide hot, nourishing meals for the
elderly and others who cannot care for themselves.
Right now we are feeding about 30 people on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
We hope to expand to five days per week, but funding is the limiting
factor at this time. In our food
pantry we have expanded tremendously and are now assisting almost six hundred
people per month with food, clothing or medical assistance.
Sr. Rebecca Lizama, RSM and Mrs. Soraya Rosado are responsible for the
pantry and the kitchen. Without
their efforts, the welfare of our people would be greatly diminished.
We have many regular contributors including many of the local merchants
of Corozal Town. Our school
children have food drives for the pantry and kitchen and we are fortunate to
have rather large donations too from the Customs authority and other charitable
organizations. Here at St. Francis
Xavier, we have a commitment to this program because it is one concrete way that
we can live out the Gospel mandate to care feed the hungry, clothe the naked and
to care for the less fortunate. At first we concentrated on providing food primarily to the elderly. At present we assist not only the elderly, but also those with terminal illnesses, widows with large families, single parents, those in special education, the mentally ill, those unemployed due to injury and families having difficulties making ends meet. As the price of sugar, which is the main crop in this part of Belize drops, the number of people in need increases dramatically. Our centre assists with food, clothing, personal items, vouchers for medical assistance, emergency financial assistance, school supplies, job referrals, advocacy, a sympathetic listening ear and case management services. Initial and follow-up visits are continued to help us reach out to the needy. We do our best to assist all who are truly in need. At Christmas, we celebrated a small Christmas party with a group of very special people in our town at the St. Viator Centre. We have a regular group of people who join us for lunch in our kitchen during the week. Some because of their age and they can no longer cook for themselves, others because of economic necessity. In any case, no one is turned away. All are welcome. We had a very special Christmas dinner for them on Christmas Eve complete with presents. All of them left very full and with enough food to take home to truly celebrate Christmas. Our parishioners are wonderful in volunteering to cook, provide food and transportation. Our youth group served the food to the elderly. It was truly a wonderful day.
From the Social Service Office, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our benefactors and volunteer workers who enable us to carry out our services to the needy of the Corozal District. The help that we receive in dispensing food, medical assistance, clothing or a sympathetic air are greatly appreciated. May God's blessing be always upon you. Since sugar is our main export in Corozal District, and because of the depressed sugar prices abroad, life has become more difficult for a large segment of the population here. Thus, there is an increasing number of people who turn to us. As Church, we are here with the people of Corozal.
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