With so much sadness and grief filling today’s daily news, it is gratifying to know there are still many “good news” stories being told about good citizens doing great things to support folks less fortunate than themselves.
The recent horrific suffering and lost throughout the southeastern portion of the country, most notably in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas by the rare occurrence of two dangerous hurricanes hitting back-to-back in just over seven days has occupied the headlines for the past several weeks.
Tragic videos have showed the nearly total destruction of small towns, especially in the rural western mountains of North Carolina, were the result of badly swollen rivers caused by record rainfalls. Equally alarming films of several coastal Florida cities flooded by historically high storm surges are just as disturbing.
These graphic scenes have touched a nerve and awakened our Nation’s conscience once more. Together our citizens have displayed our great “can do” spirit with our American traditional willingness and reputation to respond immediately to our people in need.
Unfortunately, hundreds of victims lost their homes and total belongings and are left with nothing. Even worse, many have lost their lives or may still be missing to this day despite determined efforts to locate them. Large task forces from utility companies and public water firms were sent south to assist with the restoration of electrical and public water services that were severely disrupted. Teams of “First Responders” from several communities within the District, Maryland, and Virginia area departed quickly to lend their hands in searching for victims and helping them recover from injuries resulting from these tragedies. The destruction was so bad it is predicted it will be years before many of these citizens can return to some resemblance of “normalcy.”
Those of us who reside here in Southern Maryland most likely have never experienced such horrific conditions caused by our weather conditions. We have been fortunate, but there are some terrific lessons to be learned from these catastrophes.
An immediate question might be how well would our Southern Marylanders perform should we need to organize local volunteer support groups to meet the needs of folks less fortunate than ourselves? Could we respond appropriately should our talents and skills be needed to assist those requiring our help?
One answer can be found in the wonderful example set by a group of dedicated parishioners of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Solomons. These volunteers came together with the encouragement of their pastor, Msgr. Mike Wilson, to consider ways they might support the long-suffering people in the small country of Belize, one of the poorest in Central America. Many of their citizens desperately need help in so many ways.
Msgr. Wilson was able to form a team comprised of Doug and Mary Alves, Pat and Ginny Murphy, Ken and Joan Anderson, Mark and Sue Shubert, Mary Posey, and Sister Paula Gohs, a Congregation of Divine Providence nun at Our Lady Star of the Sea. Beginning in the Spring of 2017, this highly motivated group came together along with additional help from volunteers Ed and Ruth Mora of St. John Vianney Parish in Prince Frederick to organize a “working party” to travel down to Belize to help the particularly poor Mayan people who make up much of the Belize population. This country is unique in that for the affluent, it has become a very popular Caribbean vacation destination. Visitors are not often made aware of the reality that most of its citizens are extremely poor dirt farmers who lack electricity and potable water in their ramshackle homes and are just barely scraping by.
The tourist industry provides the largest financial source for the economy of this country as there is little else to produce revenue for the governing body. As a result, the government lacks sufficient resources to properly fund the country’s needs.
In particular, its educational system is in complete chaos. The schools are mostly in poor physical shape and are without modern technical support nor enough capable teachers to educate the children. This has been a contributing cause for this country’s long-term inability to produce its own leadership and grow as a successful nation.
Due to the influence of their Spanish inheritance, the Belizeans today are largely Catholic and most speak English due to the many years they were subjected to British authority.
Our small group of Marylanders to pursue a plan to find ways to help the needy in Punta Gorda. With the spiritual support of Msgr. Wilson and the initial investigations of parishioner Sue Shubert as early as 2015, preparations were initiated to determine what could they accomplish with the limited funds that were available and what were the skills of the mostly retired volunteers that stepped up to assist in this unique endeavor. It was decided Belize should be the target of opportunity as Msgr. Wilson advised their efforts would be much easier and smoother working with people we could communicate with. The priest, although now retired, has remained a huge supporter of these annual treks.
Finally in February, 2017, this initial group of 10 committed Christians set out on their first mission. They set two goals for themselves; one was to service their brothers and sisters in whatever ways they were needed. These tasks included helping children, visiting elders, cleaning, painting, building projects and anything else that might be required to make the Belizeans’ quality of life better. For their second goal, they agreed to be constant listeners, both with their ears and their hearts in order to be attentive to these peoples’ priorities and dreams they would learn of during the 10 days of their first visit.
The group was greatly assisted by Tessie O’Dea and Fernando Marques from “Cross Catholic” a Catholic Outreach project that “supports the work of frontline Catholic religious and lay partners and other relief organizations serving the poor and vulnerable in more than 30 countries.”
Upon arrival in Belize, the group was driven to the small southern town of Punta Gorda, a long day trip over a very poorly maintained road. The volunteers started the task of sanding more than 100 wooden chairs and painting each with a rich brown color in preparation for a parish celebration that weekend. They finished this work in two days.
The following day the women volunteers set out in search of buying homemade Mayan baskets, goods and souvenirs to bring home for the Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish Christmas Bazaar. Besides our direct work on projects, the other main way we support the families of Belize is by purchasing the decorative baskets made by the women. This endeavor enables the Mayan women to use their talents to earn much needed cash.
Since 2017, we have brought back baskets to display and offer for a donation at the Our Lady Star of the Sea Church bazaars. Having a piece of Mayan handicraft reminds people of our mission and gives them a direct way to support it. The traditional baskets, the ornaments at Christmas, and the bunnies at Easter have become a tradition at Our Lady Star of the Sea.
Additionally, members of the group helped deliver “meals on wheels” to the elderly. On Ash Wednesday, the group attended Mass and were later invited to distribute ashes to the school kids. Volunteers provided the principal with t-shirts, smocks, rosaries, toothpaste, and toothbrushes to distribute to the neediest of her students. Several volunteers were invited to read to small groups.
This initial trip to Belize truly opened the eyes of this first group. They each came home with the full knowledge and reality of the poor way of life of the Belizean people. And this experience has been the catalyst for six additional trips to this impoverished nation.
In 2018, this group with Msgr. Wilson and Deacon Chad Martin as spiritual leaders returned to Belize and the relationships between these people and the Maryland visitors has grown in the love and appreciation these poor folks have for these volunteers who come ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work on their schools.
One of the major projects awaiting them was the painting of the schools and tiling the restrooms. Additionally, Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish provided funds for a playground to be erected complete with slides and swings for the younger students. A gift from the parishioners at Our Lady Star of the Sea, it was named the “Our Lady Star of the Sea Playground” and it has become a favorite place for the youngsters.
One of the best accomplishments to come out of the relationship between these people and the American workers is the excellent interface now established between the administration of their Little Flower School and the Our Lady Star of the Sea School. And thanks to the great support provided by principal Jennifer Thompson and her staff, both schools are able to communicate through zoom meetings using the computers and equipment that have been provided.
Thanks to the efforts of Ms. Thompson, the Little Flower School was provided beautiful graduation caps and gowns that are retained by the school for use by each yearly graduation class. Further, their school library has been greatly enhanced by the large number of books that have been provided over the years. And they continue to receive a large amount of school supplies and financial support from Our Lady Star of the Sea.
In 2019, this group led by Msgr. Wilson, Deacon Chad, and Sister Paula met with Jesuit Father Matthew Ruhl, the new pastor for the St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Punta Gorda. Father Ruhl is determined to change the decline in this country’s educational system and improve the literacy rate so as to enhance the students’ future opportunities. The school buildings everywhere continue to decay and are in great need of repairs including new roofs, windows, plumbing, etc. Many structures are in complete disrepair from flooding, termites, and bees. The classrooms lack 21st century technology. The result of all this according to Father Ruhl, “his students are rapidly falling behind.”
This past February, 12 members of the Our Lady Team led by Deacon Andy Geisz returned to Punta Gorda to provide additional support for the Little Flower School. Their efforts included additional preparation for painting benches and chairs, cleaning the playground, distributing children’s clothes, giving additional boxes of donated books and school curriculum materials and preparing a list of future projects that needed attention.
They later met with representatives of the St. Peter Claver Parish to present them with five projectors and screens for their school. The highlight of this trip was a Mass celebrated by Father Ruhl assisted by Deacon Andy that saw the administering of the Sacrament of Confirmation and First Communion for several students. Deacon Andy led a spirited reflection of the group’s activities, a communion service, and a healing service that was well received by the members.
To personally offer his thanks, Father Ruhl came back to the United States this past October to visit and tell the parishioners at Our Lady Star of the Sea of his appreciation for their support. He spoke at each Mass concerning his plan to raise $5 million in the summer of 2025 to secure the future of the Belizean educational system.
Father Ruhl’s plan is to lead a team of supporters who will bicycle 3,500 miles from Maine to California in an effort to raise these funds for his students’ education. He completed a similar feat several years ago leading a team of bicyclists from the State of Washington to Key West, Florida to bring attention to the needs of the Belizean people.
Finally, the good people of Our Lady Star of the Sea with the support of the pastor, Father Robert “Bob” Kilner, have begun plans for their 2025 trip, their seventh visit to their friends in Punta Gorda, Belize. As a result of the COVID scares in 2021 and 2022, no trips were planned. This group, with new members joining them from time to time, made these trips in years 2023-2024 and continued to provide great charitable support in completing many projects for these needy people.
These Southern Maryland volunteers are a wonderful team of citizens, each with a great desire and willingness to lend a hand as necessary. And what makes them even more extraordinary is the little-known fact they each pay for these trips themselves without the benefit of funds or resources to support their endeavors. They often spend $1400-1700 of their own money to cover the costs for airfare, accommodations, and provisions during these 10-day trips to bring greatly needed help to the people of Belize. You will never hear any of them complain as the unbelievable experience they gain from this work brings them great joy and much satisfaction.
For more information on how you can help this volunteer effort, contact Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish: olstar-sea.md@adw.org.
