Not-for-Profit Sponsored Programs
	Belize Youth Chess Foundation
	Bad Cats Youth at Risk Program
	News Articles
	Hurricane Iris
	British Army Partnership
	K2 Expedition

BAD CATS Youth at Risk Program

Press Release

The Reporter  Sunday July 25, 2004

An Exciting Adventure for Youth at Risk

Ian Anderson, owner of the Caves Branch Jungle Lodge and President of the Belize National Tourism Association, has announced an exciting new program to engage youths at risk in Belize City and elsewhere with what he described as an "earth-shattering experience, guaranteed to change their lives".

The plan: to invite groups of young people of both sexes and of all ethnic backgrounds to his Sibun Jungle Lodge for a series of free six day retreats. "They will be perfectly safe. Our licensed tour guides are highly experienced with family groups involving even younger children", Ian Anderson declared.

"With the support of our partners and associates, we plan to do this several times a year, all at no cost to the young people or their families. The idea is to take these young people out of their street-life environment and give them an exhilarating jungle experience which will put them in touch with mother nature for six days. We are inviting university students, retired teachers, retired public officers, local residents, parents, businessmen, whoever have a stake in the welfare of the society, to join us to make this plan work. We will welcome all youths, those who are bad and those who think they're bad. We even have T-shirts which say "Yu tink yu Bad? We Mo BAD!!".

The acronym BAD CATS is shorthand for the program which is Belize Adventure Culture and Technology. Anderson describes his proposed jungle retreat as "tough and challenging". "The kids that stick to it will grow. They will learn. They will become better kids. They will build leadership and teamwork skills".

Anderson himself has an interesting past. He comes from a prosperous white collar environment in Canada. He gave up his job in Vancouver to pursue his dream of adventure which led him to Belize. Today he is successful with two well-run jungle lodges and the time and energy to give something back to Belize.

Ian has put a great deal of thought and planning into this project and already begun to recruit other organizations, mostly tourist-oriented organizations, to step in and help with the program. For example, he has already enlisted the support of the Lions Club, which has agreed to open their Lions' dens to facilitate young people looking for a place to study or simply to hang out.

"As we start out, we engage about 150 youths per year, working up to 200 and more. Each year we hope to build on on-going numbers of veteran or older kids who will soon start to mentor younger kids. We will create challenging opportunities for them with on-going training and educational opportunities."

Those who show aptitude in continuing in the outdoors adventure curriculum will go on to further training in teamwork, paramedic, search and rescue and more.

But where will these youths-at-risk come from? "All of them will be from poor families," Anderson insists. "We will work through the schools, youth organizations, the police, the courts, etc. to find these young people who are at risk."

"We have to take them out of their environment and give them a way through high adventure to encourage them to do more with their lives, to direct them to a positive way through esteem building, leadership and teamwork training while supporting them in their search to find themselves. There will be opportunities for repeat visits to the jungle adventure by those who do well in school and show signs of wanting to do more. Those who strive for an education will be rewarded for their efforts. They will be expected to come up with ideas on how to assist and improve their own communities, and then, with proper support, go out and do it."

The need part of the program is that those young people of both sexes who show improvement in their studies will have a chance for additional adventures every four weeks at different locations, sponsored by various tourism operators around the country.

For example, on one weekend one group can go kayaking down the Belize River, starting with a tour of Xunantunich and ending up at Clarissa Falls, where they spend the night, returning home the next day after horseback riding at Banana Bank Lodge. Another weekend another group could be flown over to San Pedro to do a snorkel trip in Shark Ray Alley, spend the night and then go para-sailing before heading back to the city.

These weekend services will be supported by tourism businesses and funds donated for this purpose. "Continued encouragement for accomplishing better grades is a key focal point," Anderson insists. "Getting that education, then being rewarded for it."

In time Ian hopes to have a whole cadre of former BAD CATS working for change and a better Belize - youths who can engage effectively in disaster response, search and rescue missions and other useful endeavors.

At the same time these young people will be making themselves acceptable to mainstream Belize business, in tourism perhaps, or in guiding or some related field.

For more information on this wonderful project, please visit the Bad Cats blog site at http://badcatsbelize.blogspot.com