Joel “Dara” Robinson said that his feeding program will resume at the start of this school year, but with some changes. He is seeking the support of the community to continue the program.
BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 20, 2022
The 9th Annual Hunger Awareness Ride starts on Sunday morning at 6:30 from the Civic Center in Belize City after a registration exercise. Joel “Dara” Robinson, who has been unrelenting in his efforts over the past decade to provide meals to needy schoolchildren, once again is seeking the support of the public to fund his daily feeding programs for students in his area. Dara said that this is the first fundraiser for the year and it will be followed next Sunday by the annual Tribute to Lucky Dube. When interviewed today, Dara indicated that he wants to focus on the ride, which promotes health and community awareness.
“This Sunday morning, July 24, we gather in front of Belize Civic Center from 5 o’clock, because we start registration 5:00, and we take off from there 6:30. We leave, go into the Philip Goldson Highway, Ladyville; we take a left into the Airport Road, next left into the John Smith Road, where we turn the roundabout on the George Price Highway and we stop for 10 mins at the 8 Miles Community. The reason for that is because a lot of kids and people join us there. We continue down the George Price Highway, we go around the Boulevard and we finish back at where we started at the Civic Center,” Dara explained.
Participants are being asked to pay a small registration fee to assist in the gathering of the funds needed to carry on with the feeding program for this upcoming school year. A $10 registration fee is to be paid for adults and $5 for children. A truck carrying a sound system playing reggae music will be accompanying the riders along the 20-mile route.
Beverages and refreshments will be provided along the route to riders, and police and an ambulance will also accompany the ride, Dara said.
“It’s not a race, it’s a ride,” he emphasized.
He said that this time around, he will be taking a different approach to his management of the feeding program.
“The school year wa start off back regular like normal before, so I have to prepare for when the kids come. I have a different idea how I wa do it – cause I get real busy due to the farm – where I will provide the kids with a container for their food, and a container for their juice. They will come pick that up. They responsible fi ker it weh they go eat da school, wash it—their guardians, whosoever, if da they have to do it their self and drop it off the morning, you know,” Dara said.
He explained that he will be adopting this new approach in order to find a way, despite all that he is currently shouldering daily, to execute the program along with his other duties without leaving all the burden of the feeding program on his wife.
“So, we have our way weh we wa do it. We just have to ask them to take care of the container so that it could last, cause we wa give them some strong stuff,” Dara said, adding that this could only be possible if the upcoming fundraising events are successful.
He also noted that even persons who may not want to ride and just want to contribute could go to the registration booth on Sunday morning and make their donation.
The following Sunday, on July 31, the 13th Annual Lucky Dube Tribute will be held at Birds Isle.