Kids to Kids

Project: Chess Peace Initiative

Project Description:  Guinea Grass is a predominately Spanish-speaking village of 3,000 in the Orange Walk District of Belize. Over the years as the village has grown, politics, religion, ethnicity, and class divisions have emerged and caused families to choose affiliations. Home to two public primary schools and one private school funded by American missionaries, Guinea Grass’ youth are not immune to the religious and political distinctions in their community. With a majority of the teachers being untrained, they struggle to create classroom lessons relevant to their students’ real life experiences. Obvious tensions exist between both teachers and students at the public schools, and this hostility prevents them from contributing to whole-community activities. Many youth choose not to continue their education beyond primary school, whether because of lack of funds or interest. It is these youth who will be tomorrow’s leaders of Guinea Grass.

 

The CHESS PEACE INITIATIVE aims to empower these youth with life skills and encourage the bridging of these gaps in the community. Using chess as a reflection of life, youth will practice critical thinking, analyze actions and consequences, express creativity, employ problem-solving strategies, create goals, and develop intellectual maturity, discipline, and perseverance. Because the INITIATIVE will reach out to students at all three schools, it will promote friendships and support systems as well as building intellectually and emotionally healthy youth. With a strong set of life skills, these youth will have the capacity to reject violence, drug, and alcohol abuse, and become positive influences on their community.