Photo: Disability Awareness Parade

by Kory Leslie (Freelance Writer)

BELIZE CITY, Fri. Dec. 2, 2022

Last week was Disability Awareness Week 2022, and during that special week several events that reflected this year’s theme, “Meaningful Inclusion Matters”, were held. The Ministry of Human Development collaborated with the Stella Maris School to organize these advocacy activities, which concluded with a parade in Belize City in which over thirty schools and organizations participated.

The parade, in addition to having the participation of a range of educators, advocacy groups and students carrying handmade placards, also featured a number of marching bands—making it the largest such procession to be held since its inception. The march started at the “Big Hand” roundabout on Cemetery Road and concluded in the downtown area at Battlefield Park. At the close of the festivities the principal of Stella Maris, Francelia Cantun, took the time to share with the media her delight in the success of this year’s initiatives:

“This is a very huge success for us, because we saw a lot schools coming out, a lot of schools supporting us, and also a lot of schools that are taking in children with disabilities, and that makes us feel good, because they are meeting the needs now of these children. And it’s awareness. Everybody will become much more aware that other schools are taking in children with special needs,” she said.

Principal Cantun and other participants also expressed their gratitude to the students and faculty of St. Catherine Academy, who were involved in the parade and provided assistance in coordinating the concluding festivities at the Battlefield Park. The Minister of Human Development, Hon. Dolores Balderamos, was also present at the parade.

Other key participants in this year’s Disability Awareness Week parade included the Department of Youth Services, the National Resource Center for Inclusive Education (NaRCIE), and the Belize Cancer Society.