BQ 858 – 38/2025
Schirrmacher met Oscar Requena during his visit to Toledo Christian Academy in Belize’ tropical rain forest

23. June 2025

(Bonn, 23.06.2025) Thomas Paul Schirrmacher congratulates His Excellency Oscar Requena on his appointment as Minister for Education, Science and Technology of Belize. He stated verbatim, “The expert on education, passionate teacher and former school dean, who is involved in training future school deans, is now in a position where his expertise will benefit the whole country.” Schirr­macher met Minister Requena last year when he visited the Toledo Christian Academy Belize in the rain forest of Belize on behalf of the donor or­ganizations Giving Hands (Germany) and SOS World (Belgium).

The Toledo Christian Aca­demy Belize (TCAB) was founded in 1994 by the Toledo Church and Bible Center, a group of missio­naries who saw the need for a Christian school in the the poorest province of Belize with the largest population from Mayan origin. Their original purpose was to provide a quality, God-centered education to children in the Toledo district, focusing on both academic development and spiritual growth. The school started with just 22 students and has since grown 103 students.

The school writes about itself: “TCAB serves children from Pre-school through Standard VI (equivalent to 8th grade). We follow the A Beka Book curriculum, a respected, God-centered, American-based educational program, and supplement it with additional materials as needed, especially for teaching national history and culture. We intentionally keep class sizes small, with an average of 15 students per class, to provide a more engaging and personalized learning experience. We currently have 103 students enrolled, and our staff is primarily made up of dedi­cated Belizeans who are passionate about serving the children and commu­nity. Despite the school’s growth, we face significant financial challenges. Un­fortunately, we receive no financial support from the government, and the government now requires all teachers to have formal qualifications in education. This means we are re­quired to pay our teachers according to the govern­ment’s pay scale, but we are unable to meet that pay scale due to limited funds.”

Thomas Schirrmacher with the Dean and the Manager of Toledo Christian Academy with flag of Belize © BQ/Schirrmacher

The manager of the school, Zelda Rose Tanner, who took Schirrmacher on a detailed tour through all classes, has been with TCAB since 2004 and was the first graduate from the high school when it existed. She writes: “Although the high school is no longer operating, my commitment to TCAB has always been rooted in ministry, not just a job. My heart for the school and its mission is central to everything we do here.”

During the visit, Schirrmacher also met with the Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Oscar Requena, near the school. The executive government consist out of the Prime Minister and four Ministers.

Hon. Oscar Requena grаduаtеd frоm thе Тоlеdо Соmmunіtу Соllеgе аnd wеnt оn tо thе Веlіzе Теасhеr’ѕ Соllеgе whеrе hе еаrnеd dіѕtіnсtіоn аѕ а trаіnеd tеасhеr аnd Рrіnсіраl. Не аttаіnеd hіѕ Васhеlоr’ѕ Dеgrее іn Рrіmаrу Еduсаtіоn frоm thе Unіvеrѕіtу оf Веlіzе аnd hаѕ dеdісаtеd hіѕ lіfе іn thе еduсаtіоn оf hіѕ реорlе оf rurаl Тоlеdо. Не hаѕ bееn а tеасhеr аnd Рrіnсіраl fоr nіnе уеаrѕ аnd hаѕ bееn thе Сurrісulum Оffісеr аnd Dіѕtrісt Еduсаtіоn Оffісеr аѕ wеll аѕ thе Vісе Рrіnсіраl оf thе Віg Fаllѕ R. С. Ѕсhооl. Through his work in the rural communities, and the neglect he witnessed, Oscar saw the need for better representation of the people on a political level, and he became the Area Representative in the federal parliament in 2012, where he became a strong and demanding representative of rural Toledo including the Maya people living there. was sworn in as Minister of Labour, Local Government and Rural Development of Belize in 2020 and as Minister for Education, Science and Technology in 2025.

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