As the 2026 back-to-school season approaches in Belize, families across the country are busy preparing new supplies for their children’s academic year. While most students stock up on standard classroom essentials like lined notebooks, sharpened pencils and durable backpacks, children living with special education needs require customized, specialized tools that are often out of reach for many low-income families. To fill this gap, the Belize Brain Awareness Society (BBAS) has launched its annual targeted back-to-school initiative, aiming to deliver tailored supplies to at least five identified children with disabilities before classes resume.
In an interview with local outlet News 5, BBAS founder and ambassador Kaylia Nunez explained that the organization has already finalized the list of children who will receive support this year, and is now calling on the general public and local businesses to contribute donations of specialized equipment and materials. If enough donations are received, the organization plans to expand its support to help more children beyond the initial five.
Nunez emphasized that collective community participation is critical to advancing support for special needs communities across Belize. Unlike standard school supply drives, the initiative prioritizes items specifically designed to accommodate each child’s unique disabilities, with a focus on tools that support classroom behavior management and the development of fine motor skills for learning. “We don’t want to give them a little bit of something generic,” Nunez noted. “We want to make sure everything we give them is special needs-based.”
The requested donations are grouped by the specific needs they address, covering four core categories plus general adaptive basics. For children with sensory and behavioral support needs, requested items include stress balls, fidget toys, weighted lap pads, noise-canceling ear defenders, and chewable pencil toppers. To support the development of fine motor skills for writing and classroom tasks, the organization is collecting wide-grip pencils and crayons, pencil grips, spring-loaded adapted scissors, and triangular-grip markers. For visual and learning accessibility, large-print exercise books and reading materials, braille slates and resources, visual schedule cards, and coloured reading overlays are high-priority needs. The initiative also accepts general adaptive supplies including sturdy backpacks with easy-open zips, easy-grip water bottles, lunch kits, and basic stationery, as well as communication tools such as picture-based communication cards for non-verbal children and pre-loaded tablets with special education apps (matched to individual children’s disability needs).
Nunez stressed that even small contributions can have a meaningful impact for participating families, noting that public support for special needs initiatives in Belize is often limited. “Sometimes we rarely get a lot of assistance from the public… but the public can assist, even anything small, even if it’s $5, even if it’s $2,” she said. The organization offers support to eligible families across every region of Belize, and any individual or business interested in donating funds, supplies, or sponsoring a child directly can reach the BBAS team by phone at 614-5055. Nunez added that the organization is encouraging early donations to ensure every child receives their customized supplies in time for the first day of class, giving families access to the practical, tailored support they need to set their children up for a successful school year.