On Monday September 1st the new school year for Catholic Primary Schools of Belize begins. It is a time for hope, optimism, new energy. Teachers wear smiles, children are happy to be back with their classmates. It is new birth. But for me it is also a time for realism.
I just cannot stop thinking about all that did not get done, could not get done over the summer, and will not get done for some time. I can name buildings that are in such woeful disrepair it shames me that the children and teachers must return to them. And then there is the lack of nutrition for so many of our children, nutrition we cannot offer because we cannot afford. Then of course there is the problem of school supplies, a painfully perennial problem.
And so, yes, it is a new year…but it is also a return to the same old problems. Truly, for me and many others, administrators…teachers…principals, it is all just so frustrating…so heartbreaking. Yet, we ride on, prayerfully pushing our pedals and praying somehow, someway the Holy Spirit will intervene and we shall find the resources to make All things new, not simply the school year.