NEW PRE-SCHOOL BUILDING FOR SANTIAGO JUAN

Breaking ground for the new Santiago Juan Pre-school building

Mayor August, SIF's Daniel Cano, Minister Erwin Contreras and Hon. Salvador Fernandez at the ceremony

Belmopan, Monday, 12^th December 2011:   

A project for the construction of the Santiago Juan Pre-school building will be officially launched this morning during a ground breaking ceremony in the Santiago Juan Layout Area of San Ignacio Town.

The project will be implemented by the Social Investment Fund at an approximate cost of $211,895.00 and financed by the Government of Belize through a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank.

The project entails the construction of  a 2,000 sq feet concrete building with zinc roof, reinforced concrete floor, galvanized aluminum louvered windows with burglar bars and solid timber doors.  The building will have one class room and will include a kitchenette and a boys and girls bathroom facility.  Landscaping,  installation of playground equipment a supply of toys and electronic equipment such as a DVD Player, television and  radio will be included as part of the project. 

The pre-school will be able to accommodate 50 students in the morning and 50 in the afternoon.  A ramp will be built to accommodate special needs children. The building and playing area will be properly fenced.

Pre-school education sets the foundation for the life long process of learning by equipping children with the basic literacy and social skills.  Early childhood education is crucial for human development and poverty reduction.

The pre-school project falls in line with Millennium Development Goal No. 2, which aims to achieve Universal Primary Education and Target 5 which aims to ensure that by 2005, children everywhere will able to complete a full course of primary schooling up to Standard 6.  A proper pre-school education will enable entry into primary school making possible the fulfillment of this goal.

Santiago Juan Layout is located in the suburbs to the west of San Ignacio Town, Cayo District.  This growing suburb lies west of the Bullet Tree Road and is expanding north towards Bullet Tree Village and west towards the Guatemalan border.

With a growing population, the need for a pre-school in the Santiago Juan Layout has become a priority for parents in the area. The project has the full support of the Ministry of Education and the Government of Belize, which provided the land for the project.

The facility will facilitate all the learning areas required for a pre-school by the Ministry of Education, which include: Language, Music, Creative Art, Sand, Books, Dramatic Play and Science/Discovery.

There is one Roman Catholic school on the Bullet Tree Road that is near to the community and other primary schools in San Ignacio also provide access to primary education for the children of Santiago Juan Layout Area.

The guest speaker at the project launching will be Hon. Erwin Contreras, Minister of Economic Development, Commerce, Industry and Consumer Protection. Other speakers will include Hon. Salvador Fernandez, Area Representative for Cayo North, representatives of the Social Investment Fund, the Ministry of Education and the Santiago Juan Pre-school Management.

Minister of Economic Development, Hon Erwin Contreras, delivering the keynote address

San Ignacio and Santa Elena Mayor, John August, delivering the welcome remarks

Some members of the audience at the ceremony

For further information please contact Mr Mike Hernandez Jr. (Sr J.P.) Director of Public Relations of the Social Investment Fund, at Tel: 822-0239/0508 or  via email at mike.hernandez@sifbelize.org

Press Release No. 34 - 2011