Books For Belize - A Labour Of Love
- Sonya Lee
- May 20
- 2 min read
On May 14, a 20-foot C-Can packed from top to bottom and front to back over 32,000lbs with books donated by the community began its journey to Belize. This marks the third C-Can filled with books by Rotary member, Robin Sherwood of Sherwood Bros Oilfield, who has generously stored each container on his property and coordinated the collection of donations from community members, libraries, businesses, and surrounding communities. Roughly one in every ten boxes contains books for adults, with the remainder destined for the children of Belize. Previously, zippered binders complete with paper, pens, pencils, calculators, crayons, and everything needed to go to school were a huge hit in Belize. Sherwood expressed his gratitude to the Vermilion Voice, “ We wouldn’t have been able to gather so much without Sue consistently donating the ad for us every week.”
Sherwood, who has previously traveled to Belize to help receive and distribute the shipments, shares heartwarming stories about his experiences with the country and its people. His pride and passion for the project are unmistakable. This initiative is being coordinated in partnership with Juliette Moguel, an educator who trains student teachers at Sacred Heart in Belize and has firsthand knowledge of the country’s dire need for educational resources. This time, however, the arrival of the C-Can will come as a delightful surprise to both teachers and students.
Speaking about the journey, Sherwood explained, “This C-Can was delayed by COVID and the massive shipping backlog it caused. In the meantime, the container also needed recertification, which is difficult to arrange here on the prairies.”
The C-Can was purchased by the Rotary Club of Vermilion, which also generously covered the shipping costs. Sherwood and his foreman, Jay Schreyer, used an overhead projector to hand-paint the container’s sides. Sherwood fondly recalled one afternoon spent with Brenda Jean Lee: “She came out here, apologized for being late (she wasn’t really), and jumped right into loading books. She was so helpful with this and everything to do with the Rotary Club. Such a great human—her passing was a real loss to the community.”
Rocksolid of Vermilion donated the use of a picker truck and the time of two of their staff, Jared Barkley and Mark Pickett, who helped load the C-Can onto one of Sherwood’s flatbeds. Thanks to the many hands that pitched in, the container is now full and ready for its journey.
The C-Can will first travel to the CN yard in Edmonton, and from there, its voyage to Belize will take approximately six weeks. Once it arrives, Moguel will meet the shipment and oversee the distribution of books to the communities that need them most. While Sherwood is disappointed that work will prevent him from returning to Belize to welcome this delivery, he is confident Moguel will manage everything beautifully.
Sherwood plans to organize one final C-Can shipment to Belize in the future. In the meantime, if you’re curious about the project or Belize and its people, Sherwood has an arsenal of stories he’s more than happy to share.
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