ECI Development continues to work along with organizations that provide resources to improve the communities around them. Hope Haven and American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES) on Ambergris Caye are two organizations that have been providing invaluable services to society. Hope Haven is an accredited shelter for women and children on the island, while ACES focuses on the conservation of Belize’s critical wetland habitats and protected species, in particular, the American Crocodile. In Nicaragua, the organization Help Them Help Themselves has had a significant impact in improving the lives of Nicaraguan children via education.
Hope Haven
Through the partnership between Grand Baymen and Hope Haven, 50% of every direct booking made at Grand Baymen Gardens goes to the Hope Haven Children’s Shelter. While Hope Haven serves as both an emergency and long-term shelter, it also hosts the Colleen’s Kitchen Food Bank to help feed over 150 women and children, as well as community empowerment programs and services for youth and young women including counseling, self-defense, and business training courses. This 50% donation initiative was further spurred by the addition of the island’s first-ever women’s shelter to Hope Haven’s long list of responsibilities. Being that Hope Haven is fully reliant on donor funding, Grand Baymen and ECI Development have stepped up to help. With direct bookings to Grand Baymen, your vacation could be funding much-needed services to the women and children of Belize.
American Crocodile Education Sanctuary
On the other hand, ACES has been passionate in educating the island community about the importance of conservation and co-existence, with an emphasis on compassion, particularly as it relates to the crocodiles that populate the island waters. Humans naturally have a healthy fear of apex predators, but as development expands, encounters with large creatures are inevitable. ACES’ educators and volunteers assist in the removal and relocation of the reptiles while offering educational lectures at the local schools and other venues to continue to promote co-existence and conservation. Teak Hardwoods Unlimited has partnered with ACES to donate a portion of sale proceeds towards the organization, especially their latest mangrove reforestation initiative. By repopulating shorelines and waterways with this important plant, ACES hopes to provide more nurseries and havens for marine life that depend on it for survival.
Help Them Help Themselves
In Nicaragua, ECI Development and Gran Pacifica Beach and Golf Resort and have focused on the foundation Help Them Help Themselves. By focusing on providing an environment for children to be safe, healthy, and able to obtain a proper education, the organization ensures that the children can help improve their future for themselves. Their biggest sense of achievement came when they were able to build a clinic in one of the poorest rural areas of Nicaragua. Spurred on by a truly devastating story of loss, those at Gran Pacifica were moved to ensure that no parent or child should have to suffer loss of life and/or interrupt a bright future. Help Them Help Themselves has also built schools and funded teacher salaries, funded secondary school education for many children, built homes for families in need, and even provided micro-loans for local Nicaraguan entrepreneurs to start or build their own businesses and provide a life for their families. Through this organization, medical and dental missions have been organized to reach out to those in need, and there is even a giant sea turtle sanctuary that provides environmental education for all ages.
These are just a few ways in which ECI Development remains committed to its community responsibility and, conscious of the impact development can make, the company is focused on ensuring a positive trail follows them.
