Growing up Third World

By Cindy Moldovan

Belize is a little paradise in the Caribbean's.

Growing up in the mid sixties and seventies it was underdeveloped and not well know.

It is remembered with fond memories of my life and times spent with my family, extended family, friends and acquaints.

My heritage is mixed with white, black and Mayan Indian which is not uncommon for Belize as it is a melting pot for diverse ethnicity and mixed culture.

People from many different parts of the world call Belize home.

Go back in time with me as I share a much different way of living life, from the way we prepared and cook our food, getting immunized, transportation, attending school, to growing up in the country in a large family with no running water, electricity nor plumbing, farming, religion, celebrating holidays and many more fascinating facts.

Growing up third world nothing was done the short or easy way. Most of our foods was served from farm to table and although I did not know it then, our food was also grown organically.

For the first seventeen years of my life I lived in Belize (formally know as British Honduras) A peaceful and democratic country, Belize is a jewel with lush rainforest, Mayan monuments, mountains, pristine beaches and among many other attractions Belize boasts the second largest unbroken barrier reef in the world, the magnificent Blue Hole that attracts scuba divers from around the globe and the only designated Jaguar preserve in the world.

I am honored to share these experiences with you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479748587

Cindy Moldovan

Cindy Moldovan graduated from Lee College with her degree in nursing. She worked in various nursing disciplines in Houston, Texas, for twenty-five years. As a PADI scuba dive master, she conducted numerous dives to Belize’s magnificent Blue Hole and its barrier reef. Cindy lives in South Carolina with her husband. This is her first book.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by CINDY MOLDOVAN.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2012921289

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4797-4857-0

   Softcover   978-1-4797-4856-3

   Ebook   978-1-4797-4858-7

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

About the Author

To my husband, Dan. Thank you for believing in me. Your love and support is endless. You are my rock.

To our five children, stay strong and never give up on your dreams.

Mom and Dad, I could not ask for better parents. Thank you for your prayers and love.

Mum, please keep watching over us.

To all my siblings, thanks for the beautiful memories.

Belize, may God continue to bless and protect your citizens and your land.

To the city of my heart, Houston Texas…Thank you for offering me opportunities to fulfill my dreams.

DD, this one is for you too.

Melsie, thanks for your friendship.

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INTRODUCTION

Belize is a little bit of paradise in the Caribbean. It is bordered by the Caribbean Sea, Mexico, and Guatemala.

When I was growing up in Belize, it was underdeveloped and not well known.

It is remembered with fond memories of my life and times spent with my family, extended family, friends, and acquaintance.

My heritage is mixed with white, black, and Mayan Indian, which is not uncommon for Belize as it is a melting pot for diverse ethnicity and mixed culture.

My father is Caucasian, and my mother is native Belizean of Mayan and black parents. Mom and Dad got married in the mid-1950s and have been married for almost sixty years.

Go back in time with me as I share a much different way of living life, from food preparation and cooking, immunization, transportation, education, to growing up in the country in a large family with no running water and electricity to, farming, religion, holiday celebrations, and many more fascinating facts.

Growing up third world, nothing was done the short or easy way. Most of our food was served from farm to table.

For the first seventeen years of my life, I lived in Belize. A peaceful and democratic country, Belize is a jewel with lush rainforests, Mayan monuments, mountains, and pristine beaches; and among many other attractions, Belize boasts the second largest unbroken barrier reef in the world and the longest in the Western Hemisphere, the magnificent Blue Hole that attracts scuba divers from around the globe, and the only designated jaguar preserve in the world.

I am honored to share these experiences with you.

CHAPTER 1

I recently returned from visiting my parents in Belize, where my mother celebrated her birthday.

Although now a patriotic American citizen, I visit my native land often.

The positive change and growth in the country were immediately noticeable from the moment I landed at the airport in Belize City and were evident all across the small independent nation that has continued to solidify itself in the world as stable and democratic. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is the head of state in Belize. Most of Queen Elizabeth’s powers in Belize are exercised by a governor-general; however, some powers are hers alone.

Belize is a small country in Central America. It is bordered by Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea. Its 8,867 square miles were mostly uninhabited by people, which made for an amazingly wild, dense, and verdant rainforest. The climate is subtropical, hot and humid.

The country was governed by Britain, and it was the only English-speaking country in Central and South America. Known as British Honduras, in 1973 the name was changed to Belize. Gaining its independence in 1981, Belize joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Nations, and CARICOM (Caribbean Community). The population in early 1960s was about one hundred thousand. It has grown to approximately three hundred thousand since then.

Growing up in a large family was a challenge. Everyone had to solidify their place in the family dynamics. It was easy to get lost in the mix. Often, I wished that my family was smaller in order for me to get more individualized attention. Yet other times, it was fun to be part of such a large family. It gave me a sense of responsibility to look out for my siblings, sharing anything with others, respecting personal space—however small that space may be—and above all, a sense of humility.

I have ten siblings, six older and four younger than myself. The girls outnumbered the boys as there are seven girls and four boys in my family. Church and religion was the most important part of my life. My parents were Catholic but converted to Pentecostal before I was born. Our church was founded by American missionaries from California and Arkansas.

We were brought up in a Pentecostal home with strong Christian ethics, high moral values, and a big emphasis on succeeding in life. My family was the cornerstone in our community and our church. We often took charge of events in our church and in our community as well. In church, we were in the choir, played musical instruments, taught Sunday school, led the congregation in songs, sang special songs as well as went out to the communities and towns to pass out tracts, and witnessed and visited other churches.

In school, we were often at the head of class, were good in sports, and represented our school in different educational contests. We were also looked up to by many to lead by showing good examples.

I was born in 1963, just two years after the country was devastated by a category-five hurricane. Many people lost their lives in that tragic storm, and many others lost all they had, including their home. My family was fortunate that we only lost the roof of our home. Our food got wet, and a kerosene lamp fell and leaked on the flour. My parents said they had to eat flour tortillas and anything made with the flour that tasted like kerosene as there was nothing else to eat.

After about a week, foreign aid was able to reach our village and brought food and essential supplies, such as clothing and temporary shelter. Flooding was widespread, which wiped out most of the livestock and farms. There would be more storms and hurricanes to come, but this was by far the most devastation our country had ever endured.

Being a small, underdeveloped country, we depended heavily on foreign aid for most of our needs, such as immunization, medication, and even textbooks for schools. The Catholic Church funded most of the public schools. Priests and nuns taught in the high schools and were the administrators for most of the schools in the country. I attended Saint Vincent Palotti Roman Catholic School in my village of Unitedville until graduating from standard six (eighth grade in the United States).

Our roads and highways were graveled and not yet paved. Health care was minimal at best with only two small hospitals in our district. Only the very ill went to the hospital to seek medical attention from a physician. There were only a few patient beds, and the physician would not always be at the hospital. There were only certain days of the week that the doctor would be in the clinic and able to treat patients.

Most people would try home remedies, which included herbs, plants, and medicinal roots. Over-the-counter medications such as Vicks, aspirin, Tylenol, Bengay, gripe water, Mercurochrome, and camphor were widely used in most homes as well.

There were only a few doctors in the country, and they had to attend to patients in all the districts (Belize has six districts), so a doctor was only in the hospitals once or twice a week. The charge nurse was truly in charge of the patients and the hospital in the absence of a physician.

A dentist was in the hospital even less; however, I was grateful as a young teenager that there was a dentist. I had a cavity in one of my molars that caused a horrific toothache. I sat stoic in the dental chair frightened by what would be done. I don’t remember saying anything to him, but I do remember the numbing medication and the tooth being extracted. It was painful beyond belief and bled like crazy, but I was so relieved to get rid of the toothache. The physician and dentist’s office was located in the hospital as an outpatient clinic. Inpatient rooms were in the back of the hospital.

Tooth extractions due to cavities were common as the cost of filling was simply not affordable for most families. There was no preventive dental care. Luckily, most Belizeans are sticklers for great dental hygiene and boast lovely smiles.

Almost every baby born in the country was delivered by attending midwives in the home. Except for her last two children, my mom gave birth to nine of her eleven babies at home with a midwife in attendance. The midwives were not nurses. They were trained by the Red Cross in basic skills of labor and delivery and postpartum and infant care.

A part of the postpartum care of the mother was that she was attended to in bed for up to a week by the midwife. She would not get up unless she needed to attend to the baby or to herself. This was a great time for the mom to get some one-on-one time with the baby as there were most likely other children in the home. Other family members, friends, or neighbors would step in to help with the home and kids.

It was important that the mom had good nutrition during the postpartum period. At least one meal of the day would be some type of home-cooked soup with plenty of vegetables and herbs. The midwife would come every day for a few days then hand over the care of the mother and infant to another capable family member if someone was available to care for them.

One of my brothers was born premature. At seven months’ gestation, my mom went into labor with one of my brothers, Mark. He weighed a couple of pounds and was hardly able to breathe. After the midwife delivered him, my grandmother wrapped him in a blanket then waited at the side of the highway to get a ride into the town of San Ignacio where he was cared for in one of only a few incubators.

Mark stayed in the hospital for a few weeks. The doctor told my parents to take him home as he was too little and weak to sustain life. My grandmother said that Dad brought him home, but she and my mom continued feeding him formula with a teaspoon as he was too weak to suck a bottle or to be breastfed. Under their diligent and attentive care, he thrived, gained weight, and got stronger with every passing day. Mark survived and lived a healthy life like the rest of his siblings.

Immunization was administered at the schools by the Red Cross, members of the Peace Corps, and government medical workers. To ensure that all the kids got immunized, it was done during school days as school attendance was mandatory, which would ensure immunization. I remember standing in line crying as I waited for my turn to get immunized. We also received polio drops orally. I did not mind the polio drops as I remember it tasting sweet on my tongue, but as for the shots, many kids, including me, had to be held down for it to be administered.

We were also tested for malaria by the health-care worker by pricking our finger and putting it on a slide then taking it away to be tested.

Reviews for Growing up Third World

[maryann12_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an excellent book So many things are the same for people everywhere. This book is carefully crafted by this experienced writer, yet reads as if she had effortlessly put together this seamless memoir. The many characters come to vivid life with all their virtues and foibles, and Moldovan's narrative flows smoothly from beginning to end. A great read!On every level, this book is worthy of five stars. The story is original, touching and memorable. I'd give this book more stars if I could - it had me in its grip right from the very beginning, and I never wanted to put it down. The plot to the story is outstanding and I loved the characters and truly cared about the outcome of the story. Highly recommended.