Garifuna Language in the Classrooms Across Belize

When children learn in their mother tongue, identity takes root. The Garifuna Language in Schools Program makes that possible. The goal is to bring structured Garifuna instruction, teacher training, and classroom materials into primary schools across southern Belize. In February 2024, Belize’s Ministry of Education approved the program, including the Garifuna Language Curriculum and a Professional Development Plan for teachers. That approval moved the initiative from pilot to policy. We aim to build capacity and deliver quality lessons.

The rollout now reaches eight primary schools: St. Joseph R.C. (Barranco), St. Peter Claver (Punta Gorda), St. Alphonsus R.C. (Seine Bight), Richard Quinn R.C. (Georgetown), Holy Family R.C. (Hopkins), and in Dangriga—Sacred Heart R.C., Holy Ghost R.C., and Gulisi Community Primary School. Your support sustains teaching time, classroom resources, and continuous training.

This work stands on more than a decade of groundwork. Back in 2012, the Secretariat partnered with the Ministry of Education and two schools. St. Peter Claver (PG) and St. Joseph R.C. (Barranco). This introduced Garifuna language teaching using a School Improvement Planning (SIP) model. That plan targeted early years through upper primary (Infants I–Std. 6 at St. Joseph; Preschool–Std. 2 at St. Peter Claver). Our aims, build teacher capacity and deliver introductory lessons to students. Those same aims guide the program today, now scaled with formal approval and a published curriculum.

What your donation fuels

• Curriculum delivery: Lesson blocks that teach pronunciation, vocabulary, reading, and writing—embedded in regular school timetables so Garifuna is learned and used routinely. (Curriculum approved by MoE in 2024.)

• Teacher professional development: Workshops and ongoing coaching aligned with the Professional Development Plan, enabling educators to confidently lead language sessions effectively.

• Classroom materials: Story readers, posters, word cards, and audio resources that make lessons visual and participatory—especially important for early grades. (Materials are part of the program’s delivery approach dating back to the SIP model.)

• Program expansion & consistency: Support to maintain and extend the program in the eight approved schools and to prepare additional sites in Garifuna communities as capacity grows.

Why this matters now

Language loss happens quietly—one classroom at a time—unless we reverse it the same way: by teaching daily, with trained teachers, to whole cohorts of children. The Ministry’s 2024 decision validated that approach and created a path to scale; our task (and yours) is to resource it—so schools have the trained staff time, the materials, and the mentoring to do the work well.

Where we started—and how we scale

The early framework in 2012 was simple and practical: start with two schools; embed Garifuna in the timetable; and support teachers through a structured plan. That foundation—targets by grade band + capacity-building + introductory lessons—proved durable and is still the model we use to expand. With your help, we can deepen provision at each of the eight schools and prepare additional campuses in other Garifuna communities to come online.

Your gift, put to work

• Fund teacher training cycles and classroom observations tied to the approved PD plan.

• Underwrite classroom kits (readers, posters, word cards, audio) aligned to the curriculum sequence.

• Support program coordination so timetables, reporting, and resource delivery run smoothly across eight sites.

• Back expansion prep for additional primary schools in Garifuna communities, consistent with the program’s long-term vision.

Measuring progress

Success looks like more children reading, writing, and speaking Garifuna in school every week; more teachers trained and supported; and more campuses implementing the curriculum with fidelity. With ministry approval in place and eight named schools already delivering, your donation accelerates what works and helps the program reach every Garifuna community that’s ready.