This unique fundraiser is for a very good cause & shows how far Belize’s culinary culture has come over the years.
We just heard about an event being held in Florida that combines some of our favourite things – Belizean cuisine and help for children in need of help.
Yes, word’s come across our desk that the Consulate of Belize in Florida has joined forces with the Office of Special Envoy Belize to support children’s health by hosting a “See & Taste Belize” Festival to be held in Miami October 10th 2015.
Organised in conjunction with the Belize Tourism Board (aka the BTB), Beltraide, Flavors of Belize and Florida International University’s School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, the festival will raise money for Belize’s first, and much needed, Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.
And, as a sweetener, organisers say that the festival also “seeks to promote Belize’s unique culture”.
What’s not to like?
As we reflect this month on the amazing progress Belize has made since achieving independence on September 21, 1981, one of the many things that strikes us is how far the “little country that could” has come in creating a better future for Belizean children. Thanks to a stronger economy fuelled by ecotourism, education has improved immensely, as has health care.
But, especially with children, things can always be improved further, and a dedicated children’s paediatric care unit is a huge step in that direction.
We’ve previously sung the praises of the good work the Office of Special Envoy Belize does On the Humanitarian Road Again
Since being founded by Ms Kim Simplis Barrow, Belize’s indefatigable First Lady, the Special Envoy’s Office has addressed women and children’s issues while tackling problems such as health care and domestic violence. Ms Simplis Barrow has travelled the world raising awareness and money in support of children’s hospital care, and this See & Taste Belize Festival is being held to coincide with the opening of one of her office’s biggest successes – helping to get Belize’s first dedicated Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) off the ground.
Funds raised at the Florida fest are “earmarked towards the purchase of much needed medical equipment.
“At the same time, this initiative aims to bring insight and interest to Belize’s unique and diverse culture and beauty manifested by the fusion of cuisine, art and people,” according to the Consulate of Belize in Florida.
For us, this combination is a marriage made in heaven – raising funds for a very worthy cause while highlighting Belize’s increasingly sophisticated foodie culture.
As the Belizean Consulate points out, “The first ever See & Taste Belize Festival will feature several food samples of distinct Belizean cuisine, hand-prepared by several Belizean chefs, music and entertainment, paintings, glass sculptures, woodcraft, and other art from Belizean artists.”
The event will take place on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at Florida International University (F.I.U.) North Campus at 3000 NE 151 St in North Miami, FL from 2m-7pm.
If you happen to be in Miami next October 10th, your path is clear – make your way to the See & Taste Belize Festival to savour Belizean cuisine and the deep satisfaction of having contributed to something wonderful.
And if you can’t be there, you can still whip up some rice and beans at home and go to www.seeandtastebelize.com where you can learn how to donate, become a sponsor, purchase tickets for the festival, and learn more about the progress of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Belize.
Contributing towards children’s health while highlighting Belize’s delicious, distinctive cuisine has never looked so, well… tasty…