Education Meets Safety in Roaring Creek Upgrade

Roaring Creek Village got a major boost this week, not just in education, but in community safety. A brand new, two story building now stands on the grounds of Our Lady of Fatima R.C. School, and it’s built to do double duty. By day, it will serve more than two hundred students in a modern, upgraded learning environment. But when bad weather threatens, the structure transforms into a fully engineered hurricane shelter, strong enough to protect up to two hundred people. The Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing led the project, which marks a significant investment in both education and disaster preparedness for the area. Britney Gordon reports on how the new facility is already making a difference in Roaring Creek.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Students at Our Lady of Fatima R.C. School in Roaring Creek Village are starting a new chapter in learning with the opening of a brand‑new school building. The donation provides seven classrooms and modern bathrooms, giving more than two hundred students a safer, more comfortable place to learn. Prime Minister John Briceño says every child, no matter where they are born, deserves access to quality education.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“The opening of the of this new classroom building is so much more than this opening ceremony, opening the doors of a new building. It is about opening doors of opportunity for the children of this village and for there are hundreds of children that will follow across beliefs. Especially in our rural communities, we understand that education is the most powerful tools that we have to be able to change lives. It gives you children confidence, it gives you choices, and it gives you the ability to shape your own future and the future of our nation.”

 

Prime Minister Briceño emphasized that while the new building matters, a school’s real strength comes from the people and community who support it. Principal Marlenia Herrera thanked everyone involved, noting that the upgrade was long overdue.

 

Marlenia Herrera, Principal, Our Lady of Fatima R.C. School

“And to our parents and all other stakeholders, we must all remember that this building is a partnership in our children. This building belongs to us for too long. Our students at Our Lady of Fatima School have been waiting for a space that reflect their work. Today that weight is over. This building is a promise to every mother and father in Roaring Creek that your child future is our priority. We must remember to help guard it. We must help maintain it. We must care for it. We must cherish it. And most importantly. We must let it be a hub of growth.”

 

The two-story building also serves as a hurricane shelter with a capacity of two hundred people. Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Julius Espat, explained that this dual-purpose design reflects a commitment to both improving access to quality education and strengthening community resilience in the face of natural disasters.

 

Julius Espat, Infrastructure Development and Housing

“The building here has about seven thousand five hundred square feet. It will have seven classrooms. But the unique part of the building that it’s not only a, a building to teach. We have designed it in such a way that it will be a hurricane shelter that we’ll be able to accommodate two hundred residents of the Roaring Creek Village or any other community that surrounds us. That the bathrooms are designed in such a way that if a high wind comes, you don’t have to go through the verandas to reach the bathroom. You can access it internally. The structure was designed by the chief engineer to withstand serious hurricane winds. So he will be the one when the hurricane come that we will be calling, but it was done with love.”

 

Herrera reminded students that the new building serves not only as a place to learn, but as a space for growth, one they should cherish and take care of. She urged them to use it to discover their talents, raise their voices, and prepare themselves to lead Belize. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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