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One of the men who designed the Belize Flag has died. Inez Sanchez passed away yesterday, leaving a legacy of a distinguished educator, civil servant, and historian. Born on September 12, 1932, in the village of Caledonia, Corozal District, Sanchez dedicated his life to the advancement of education and historical knowledge in Belize. From his humble beginnings as a pupil teacher at the age of 14, Sanchez rose through the ranks to become Chief Education Officer in 1978, where he spearheaded initiatives in preschool, special, and vocational education. Notably, he was instrumental in establishing Escuela Mexico and was later recognized as the first Belizean history lecturer at the University of Belize, inspiring generations of future educators. Additionally, he co-designed the Belizean national flag, advocated for land in Belmopan for the eventual establishment of a national university, and championed adult education programs even in the early days of Belmopan’s development. His daughter, Florence Gonzalez, reflected on his life explaining that a big concern of his was how those who contributed in their younger years are treated when they get older.
Florence Sanchez – Gonzalez, Daughter: “I summed it up with three sayings, three of his favorite sayings one of them was a quote from John F. Kennedy that said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” And I would say that Belize was my father’s first love. He loved Belize and even though he went abroad many times when he was earning his undergraduate and post graduate degrees and also went abroad many times when he was at the Ministry of Education he always returned to Belize and he always wanted to be in Belize. And so to him it was always about what can I give to my country, what can I do for my country in every way possible, in improving the educational system, in the livelihood of people it’s always about giving to Belize. He was such an avid and prolific reader. He used to tell us when we were growing up “reading makes you an armchair traveller.” And we grew up with encyclopedias, anthologies, dictionaries, Time Magazine, that was our entertainment. And so this is one of the most valuable things that he taught us, to read and read and read. So we became lifelong readers and that has really served me in whatever I have done in life. The fact that we read we’re informed and not only does reading make you informed but it also helps you to formulate concepts and to be able to write which might not be so I would say popular now but yes writing without using ai, writing in general it helps in every way. When he retired he wrote in his book that a lot of times when people retire they become invisible to society after they have contributed so much they become invisible and that is quite painful for many people who retire and so in his case of course he forged a second path for himself after retirement but not all of us do that but because of that and because of like I said it’s close to my heart I would like to read this last part that I wrote that is a quote again from John F. Kennedy. It says “Our senior citizens present us with an opportunity to draw up on their skill and wisdom and the opportunity to provide them with respect and recognition that they have earned. We need to add new life into their years and not just years to their life.”
His autobiography, ‘My First 75 Years’ can be found in national libraries across the country.
English (US) ·