The National Youth Agency: Carol's letter from America: you'dbetter Belize it

Seven weeks in and I am getting used to working in temperatures of 40 or more degrees and from 8am to 5 pm. Working weeks of 45 hours are routine here and that doesn't include my average travel time to and from work of 10 or 12 hours a week. Thank goodness we've been spared hurricane activity in this part of the Caribbean, but the season doesn't officially end until the end of November, so anything could happen.

I work at a youth hostel that is part of the Community Rehabilitation Department under the Ministry of Human Development. The hostel is a certified children's institution offering residential and custodial services to children who have come into conflict with the law. Most of the children sent to the institution are deemed "uncontrollable" - with the underlying experiences being abuse, neglect, violence, poverty and the seeming reluctance/incapacity of parents to provide effective care for their children. Some of the current residents have had very difficult family and life experiences, which inevitably is the most significant factor for them being placed here.