By Vivica Jakeway (11 years old)
I want to be an Eco Kid because I want to make a positive difference in my beautiful country Belize. I strongly believe that it is young people like myself that will play an instrumental role in the future of Belize and the lessons that will be taught in this camp will lay down the foundation to equip me with the proper knowledge to make the changes.
The three main topics of this year’s camp that caught my attention are the Ancient Maya, Land Conservation and Traditional healing.
The Ancient Mayas in my point of view were one of the most advanced civilizations in Mesoamerica and as a result I want to know more about their culture, history and why they chose the year 2012 as the end of their Calendar. Having occupied Belize thousands of years ago, I believe it is important for me to know more about this enigmatic civilization and to educate the future generation of this country about the contribution that they made to Astrology and Mathematics.
Land conservation is the other theme that caught my attention because right now it is essential that we protect our country’s fertile land. If we continue cutting down the forests, we will lose the top soil and it will become unfertile to grow vegetables and fruits to feed the country’s population. By knowing how we can use the land sustainably to grow food, we can protect the top soil and live in harmony with the environment.
When I saw that traditional healing will be one of the topic in this year camp, the first thing that came up in my mind is the numerous medicinal plants that I have seen in the rainforest and the many people that do not know about these medicinal plants. By gaining more knowledge about these rain forest plants that were once used by the Ancient Maya, I can help preserve it by teaching other kids how to use it for healing diseases.
Hence learning more about these three main topics – ancient Maya, land conservation, and traditional healing will equip me with important knowledge to make a difference in my community and country.
Thank you for reading my essay and May God Bless you!