Placencia Activist Finds Fuel for Her Cause

Monique Vernon presents her work in Placencia on reef conservation to global attendees at the two-week World Merit 360 conference in London.

By JOLIE POLLARD Editor in Chief The Placencia Breeze pollard.jolie@gmail.com

As the daughter of a lifelong fisherman, 24-year-old Monique Vernon has known the waters of southern Belize since she was a baby. “My dad used to take us everywhere on the water […] If I wasn’t at the cayes, I was on the beach or you’d find me in a tree.” Vernon, who now works as the outreach officer for coral restoration non-profit, Fragments of Hope, says as she grew older she learned that she could no longer take the wonders of the environment that were a marvel to her as a child for granted.

This path led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of Belize in natural resource management. It was during her studies that she learned from a fellow student about the World Merit 360 program – a call to action concerning the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development

Goals that address global challenges including climate and environmental degradation. The student’s experience made such an impression on Vernon that she kept the opportunity on her radar. Just out of college and working as the office manager at the Peninsula International Academy, Vernon successfully applied in 2016, but was discouraged by the fundraising effort she would need to take on to participate. The 10-month studies also required attending a two-week conference in the Phillipines. Knowing that she couldn’t give up on the educational opportunity that felt like the right match for her, she applied again and put her fears of fundraising aside. By November 2017 she was accepted again and with the support of many people who believed in her vision, in August 2018, she was on her way to London.

Vernon started her new job with Fragments of Hope in (FoH) in May 2018. The post afforded her the opportunity to take a wealth of knowledge to London and network on behalf of FoH. “It made me understand our marine ecosystem more; I was able to explain the issues, successes and current actions being done at home,” she said. “So many people were clueless about bad sunscreen killing corals, for example.”

Vernon was also able to expand her own network; she says she learned about several different cultures and boosted her confidence and improved the ability to express herself. “I made really great friends.” But more importantly she says the program has made her more determined to do more, especially with young people. “They are the ones who can really shape the future of this world [...] None of this would have happened for me if I didn't have the childhood experience I did with my family in Placencia. While working with FoH (you can read her latest piece for the Breeze on page 12), Monique continues to participate in the World Merit program online. She is hoping to advance to a master’s degree in the future.

Monique thanks the following individuals and businesses for helping to achieve her dream of learning more to do more: Barefoot Beach Bar, Placencia, Belize, Treasure Box, Placencia Awesome Water Sports, Independence High, Dolce Cabana Belize, Deja Moo Frozen Yogurt, Peninsula International Academy, Tooth Fairy Dental Clinic, Oh Shuga Candy & Gifts, Rumfish y vino, One World Rentals Couple of Nuts, Philippe Deniard, Denver T. Cayetano, Lee Mcloughlin, Hipolito Novelo, Reyanna Majano, Tracy West-Eiley, Sam Travis, Dalila Krohn ▪