REPORT #239 April 2000
BELIZE NEEDS BRIDGES, BUT WITH NO MONEY, A BARGE TYPE HAND OPERATED FERRY WILL OFTEN DO AS A SUBSTITUTE


Produced by the Belize Development Trust

With an old sugar barge donated from Belize Sugar Industries, the usual cross river cable wire, a hand crank and all that simple homemade stuff, one finds on ferrys in the small jungle clad country of Belize, sloping cement river ramps and some boards from jungle hardwoods, you get a fancy name for a ferry.

The newest ferry in Belize is now at the New River. It cuts 37 miles off what was a 48 mile journey to Corozal Town by villagers from remote places like Copper Bank and Progresso. The ferry was inaugurated by local Area Representative Florencio Marin. The Minister of Works and Transport Dr. Henry Canton was there for the inauguration and other local dignitaries.

Belize welcomes donations of bridges across it's many rivers. But such donations are few and very far between. In the meantime, a simple worn out sugar barge, with a cable winch and a hand operator will do the job of bringing, one or maybe two cars across a river at a time. A slow process, but a romantic memory of yesteryear, except in Belize, much of the country is still in yesteryear.

You want to donate building a jungle river bridge? It would be welcome!

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