Matt Ruhl, S.J., the pastor of St. Peter Claver Parish in Punta Gorda, a small city in the Toledo District of southern Belize, faced a daunting challenge: The Catholic schools in his area were running low on funds. Children were going hungry at mealtimes; their desks were infested with termites, and the heat index in the classroom had ascended to 112 degrees. Sadly, his parish lacked the resources to rectify these issues.
Toledo, which Father Ruhl described to America as Belize’s “forgotten district,” is one of the nation’s poorest. Its Indigenous people frequently want for basic necessities. Though the church is located in Punta Gorda, the parish serves Catholics across the Toledo district and is tasked with overseeing the district’s Catholic schools. Father Ruhl shares a litany of the diocese’s obligations—“33 village churches, 29 schools, 238 teachers, over 4,000 students and 110 buildings, all in the jungle—and there is no money.”
Under Belizean law, children between the ages of 5 and 14 are guaranteed the right to a free education. While this policy may shore up educational opportunities for Belize’s children, it places Catholic schools in a financial bind.
Parochial schools are partially supported by the government in Belize. It pays teachers’ salaries, but the local church is responsible for feeding the students as well as for the maintenance of school properties. Barred from charging tuition, Catholic schools must find donors to keep the schools open.
Knowing that U.S. donors are frequently hit with appeals to support school programs all over the developing world, Father Ruhl wanted his fundraising effort to stand out.
Next summer, Father Ruhl will ride across America by bicycle to raise awareness—and money—for Catholic schools in Belize. He is calling it the Lighthouse Ride in honor of the historic Baron Bliss Lighthouse in Belize City. The journey begins on July 1 in Brunswick, Maine, and will conclude when Father Ruhl reaches Santa Monica, Calif. He hopes to raise $5 million.
During the ride, Father Ruhl can count on supporters in the United States, including Mike Johnson, a retired clinical psychologist based in Dallas, who has known Father Ruhl since their days as classmates at St. Louis University. He and his wife, Susie, a Bank of America executive, have taken the lead in managing fundraising and logistics for the journey across the United States.
“People have been so generous because the need is so great,” Mr. Johnson said. “As Catholics, we’re called to serve, and this is one way we can all serve the less fortunate.”
Mr. Johnson plans to accompany Father Ruhl for the entire Lighthouse Ride—about 3,500 miles. “If donors could sponsor us at $1 per mile, and we get 1,000 people at that rate, that’s $3.5 million,” Mr. Johnson said.
The Johnsons have taken multiple trips to Belize in the past, including to help work on building white picket fences around the Jesuit parish and school of St. Martin de Porres in Belize City. “It’s tough to convey the need if you’ve never seen it or been there,” Mr. Johnson said.
Ms. Johnson describes herself as a “herder of cats and a jack of all trades.” She will handle the ride’s fundraising and publicity efforts. “We’re not a 501(c) unto ourselves,” she told America. “We don’t have an official head committee; it’s me, Mike, Father [Ruhl] and a few other people thinking of what needs to be done—building the website, writing our materials, and so on.”
Father Ruhl’s service to Belizean school children is in keeping with a long history of Jesuit ministry in the country. The first Jesuits arrived in the then-British colony in 1851. In addition to the parishes of St. Martin de Porres and St. Peter Claver, the Jesuits oversee St. John’s College in Belize City.
According to Father Ruhl, the money raised from the Lighthouse Ride will be primarily used to pay for school lunch programs. “We’re hoping to endow the Catholic schools of Belize,” he said. “The goal is to raise $5 million, and we’ll put it in an agency fund at the province office for the Society of Jesus. That agency fund gets about 4.5 percent interest per year, or about 450,000 Belizean dollars.”
The organizers of the Lighthouse Ride have been heartened by the positive responses they have already received from U.S. donors. “We don’t have a list of big donors; it’s a grassroots effort,” Ms. Johnson said. “People have really given from their heart because they understand how important this is.”
