Perry “Sticks” Smith and the Day of Healing Committee will again conduct a Day of Healing and candlelight vigil in an effort to start healing the deep social wounds in Belize City. The event will be held at the Albert Hoy / Dubu Thomas football field on Racoon Street, next to the Racoon Street Police Station, this Saturday, August 10, from 9 a.m. to 7 in the evening.

Smith said that the day will be a family fun day, with sports competitions, the plaiting of a May Pole, and story-telling by Myrna Manzanarez, among other fun activities. Trophies and medals will be awarded to the winners of the various competitions, he said. Smith invites everyone to come to the event and have fun in a safe and peaceful environment. He also noted that, on top of the many fun-filled activities at the event, food and refreshments will be distributed free of cost.

The aim of the Day of Healing and candlelight vigil, Smith said, is to bring people of the community together to participate in wholesome activities, and to have fun in a safe and peaceful environment, where the youths are encouraged to be involved in positive initiatives which, it is hoped, will deter them from crimes.

Smith explained that it is also a way to bring people together to recognize what is needed for the betterment of their community, and to work together to achieve it.

On Saturday, the opening remarks will be delivered by Smith, and the Master of Ceremony will be Ras Vone Dionicio, of KREM Radio. At 6:00 in the evening, the candlelight vigil will be conducted.

The vigil will honor the memory of loved ones who have lost their lives to senseless street violence, and prayers will be said for them. People will walk with lighted candles in memory of their loved ones, and if an area along the route is identified where a loved one had been killed, a lighted candle will be placed there and a prayer said for the departed, said Smith.

The vigil will start at the Dubu Thomas football field, and those planning to participate are urged to bring along a candle, which will be lit, and the procession will then commence out of the football field into Curassow Street, down to Cemetery Road, before turning right into Cemetery Road and going down to Rogers Stadium. The procession will then turn right into Fairweather Street and turn right into Iguana Street, then into the football field, where the vigil concludes. The trophies and medals won during the sports competitions will then be awarded.

Smith told Amandala that more donations are required to ensure the complete success of the day. Monetary donations are needed to purchase fuel for transportation, and to buy seasoning, rice, chicken and refreshments. He urges everyone to donate generously, and says that those who cannot donate could probably prepare food at their homes and bring it out to the football field on Saturday. Individuals who want to donate can contact Smith at phone number 601-2342.

Smith says that nothing will be on sale, and that all that is required is good behavior and respect. This will demonstrate to Belize and to the world that the residents of those crime-ridden areas are not the type of people they are labeled to be, but are productive human beings with rights, Smith said.

Throughout the day, Belizean artists – including Nello Player, Mr. Program, DJ Vone, Rock Hard Sounds, and TR – will entertain the crowd, said the event organizer.

Smith said that the Day of Healing is a community-based activity and is non-political and non- religious. However he will accept donations from the churches or the political parties. There are two more Days of Healing to be conducted this year: one in October, to be held on the Cumberbatch Field in the Yabra area, and the other in December, to be held in the Gungulung area of Lake Independence. Sponsors are needed for the two events.

Smith noted that although organizing the activities has been hard work, it gives him joy to see people coming together and having fun safely. He reminds members of the community that the event will be a family fun day, and that no alcoholic drinks will be allowed in the area.