U.S. Youth Ambassador’s Hygiene Project Delivers Aid to Over 100 Belizean Families

Back in September, we told you about former U.S. Youth Ambassador Arya Ajith and her ”Hope in Hygiene Project”, aimed at closing hygiene literacy gaps in Belize. Since then, the initiative was officially launched with a survey of 140 Belizeans, modelled after a UNICEF assessment, which revealed significant gaps in basic hygiene practices such as handwashing, dental care, and menstrual hygiene. In response, Ajith partnered with doctors and clinics in Dallas to produce 500 personalized health pamphlets and donated over 2,000 essentials through a Bundle for Belize Drive. The items were distributed on October 6, upon their arrival in Belize. In an interview with Love News, Ajith said that over 100 families would benefit from this supplementary arm of the project. 

Arya Ajith, Former U.S. Youth Ambassador:  “So with the educational aspect, I also did a little fund, little donation drive in my area. So I partnered with my high school, the YMCAs, the recreation centers, community spaces, and I did a little drive to donate reusable items for Belizean kids. So t-shirts, pants, hats, things like that. And I ended up raising a little bit over 3300 items and it was very, very exciting. So and it was all in the hope to maybe put together some type of package or just for a big back to school campaign. Maybe for the beginning of the year and I just shipped over everything to the Love Foundation.  So they should have received it now after going through customs.”

Across the entire country of Belize, there are only 42 community health workers. One of them, Vilma Dominguez from the Belize River Valley, received both the health pamphlets and donated essentials. She plans to use these pamphlets as educational tools in local workshops, while the donated items will be distributed to children in the community.