Belize Study Abroad Program Reaches Fifth Year

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Engineering students building a gazebo for a school in Dangriga.

In 2006, the University of Arkansas initiated a study abroad and service learning program in Belize, with the help of Peacework, an organization that facilitates international development projects. Five years later, the program is still going strong. Through this program, students from many different disciplines have an opportunity to participate in service learning projects in the area around Dangriga, a city of about 10,000 on the Caribbean coast.

The Belize program is notable for its interdisciplinary nature. "The University of Arkansas program in Belize is a pioneering effort in multidisciplinary global engagement, one of the first to involve different colleges across the university in a collaborative program in international outreach and development,” said Stephen Darr, director of Peacework. “They have developed a model with us that other institutions are adopting.”

Students from the College of Education and Health Professions; the College of Engineering; the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences; the Sam M. Walton College of Business; and the department of biological sciences and the school of social work in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences have participated in the program. Many of these students are members of the Honors College, and several of them have used their experience in Belize as the basis for their honors theses. All of the students travel and live together for the three weeks of the program, and in some cases, the different colleges work together on service learning projects.

Students who are interested in applying for the 2012 Belize program can find out more information at the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange website.

Projects

The College of Engineering has sent students from all engineering majors to Belize with mentor Thomas Soerens, associate professor of civil engineering. In 2010, a group of engineering students built a solar heater for Dangriga’s ecumenical high school. In the summer of 2011, engineering students constructed a gazebo for the high school, which can be used as an outdoor classroom. Engineering students have also built a water filling station at another school, worked on a headquarters building for the Billy Barquedier National Park, performed water-quality monitoring and created and maintained a water filtration system inside the park to provide clean water to a small village.

Over the first four years of the Belize program, Bumpers College students created and expanded a garden at a local school. In 2009, the students set up a demonstration garden in Dangriga City Park, which sparked so much interest in the community that the students were able to set up several backyard gardens the following year. In 2011, students constructed a seedling house for the local agricultural college. This will allow for germination and growth of seedlings in a protected environment. Bumpers College students also collected and distributed Moringa tree seedlings, with the hope that this fast growing “superfood” could help relieve some of the nutritional needs of the community. The Bumpers College team was led by Jennie Popp, associate professor of agricultural economics and agri-business and Nilda Burgos, professor of crop, soil and environmental sciences.

Students on the Walton College team, led by Amy Farmer, professor of economics, have provided microloans for local businesses and helped a restaurant develop a business plan after the restaurant's building was destroyed. They collaborated with Production Organization for Women in Action to set up a fresh juice business in order to provide the community with a healthy alternative to sugary beverages. The students have also collaborated with POWA to develop a cookbook, which will include traditional recipes from the community, along with inspirational stories. Business students built a soccer field with benches and playground equipment for a local park. They also designed a new tourism brochure for the city of Dangriga, and made arrangements to have the brochure copied and delivered to the town council.

Led by University Professor of biological sciences Kimberly Smith, students from the department of biological sciences participated in tropical ecology projects for the first four years of the course in Belize. During the first year, the group focused on surveys for reptiles and amphibians at Billy Barquedier. Biology students also surveyed birds at Gra Gra Lagoon National Park, producing a large poster of the common birds of the park for the headquarters. Other biological science projects include a bat survey done in conjunction with Dr. Bruce Miller, who lives in Belize and is an authority on Central American bats. One year, the students set out trail cameras and managed to capture a picture of a jaguar. 

Soerens explained that while the Belize program provides resources and infrastructure for the Dangriga community, its benefits reach further than that. “The community benefits from the relationships that they’ve made with us,” he explained. “That’s opened some people’s eyes to opportunities that are out there.”

Several Dangriga citizens have decided to attend the University of Arkansas since the program began, including a former mayor, who studied public administration, and two students who are currently working on engineering degrees. Soerens is trying to locate scholarship funds for another student who dreams of studying civil engineering at the University of Arkansas.

University of Arkansas students also benefit from the exposure to a different culture, Soerens explained. He wants to continue to build on this aspect of the program by increasing the interaction students have with the Dangriga community.

Cary Beth Lipscomb, a civil engineering student who went to Belize in 2011, explained that she learned valuable engineering skills, as well as valuable life lessons. “I really enjoyed learning things from the field experience that can’t be taught in the classroom,” she said. “We did a little bit of everything and it was good to get experience in all areas. Culturally, it’s such a different place from here. It made me appreciate more things and acknowledge things we have here.”

The Honors College provided $25,000 towards the development of coursework related to the Belize program and an additional $25,000 in program support over time. In addition, the Honors College has helped more than 35 honors students participate by providing a total of $150,000 in study abroad grant funding. The office of study abroad and international exchange has also been instrumental in setting up and coordinating the project.

“The University of Arkansas has accomplished some great things in Belize through genuine community development partnerships,” said Darr. “I look forward to working with the student and faculty leadership to continue and possibly expand this global initiative in the future."

Originally, the University of Arkansas made a five-year commitment to Dangriga, but Soerens is not planning to stop going to Belize any time soon. “Some of my best friends are there now,” he explained. “I don’t feel I could let go.”