Imagine living in a shack that sits on stilts over a lagoon filled with sewage and garbage. The only means of getting from one house to another is to walk on dangerous plank bridges.
This and other harsh realities – including child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, poor nutrition and hunger – are what schoolchildren in poverty-stricken San Mateo, Belize must face every day. These conditions have led compassionate University of Mississippi students into an ongoing effort to change the children’s lives for the better.
In January, a team of 13 Ole Miss students and two professors is traveling to the impoverished area for a three-week Study Abroad trip. While there, the students will assist the people of San Mateo in replacing the plank bridges with gravel and sand roads. Other activities scheduled during the Wintersession trip include providing food for the workers, helping local women launch a cooperative sewing business, and taking social work and exercise science classes.

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