For many years, families across the twin municipalities of San Ignacio and Santa Elena in Belize have faced a growing, heart-wrenching crisis: the region’s only public cemetery had completely run out of burial space, forcing grieving residents to travel outside their home community to lay loved ones to rest. That long-standing crisis is finally nearing a resolution, thanks to a transformational gift from a generous local-born philanthropist.
Thelma Jenkins, a Belizean-American benefactor with ties to the region, has donated 18 acres of prime undeveloped land to the municipal government to establish a brand new public cemetery and memorial park. The donation not only resolves the urgent space shortage that has plagued the community for years, but also saves local taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars that had been earmarked for land purchases. According to San Ignacio/Santa Elena Mayor Earl Trapp, the municipality had been preparing to spend roughly $300,000 to acquire just 10 acres of land for the expansion project—far less space than what Jenkins has gifted entirely free of charge.
For Trapp, the announcement marks the end of an 11-year advocacy effort that began when he first took office more than a decade ago. In remarks following the announcement, the mayor shared the emotional weight of the crisis he had witnessed firsthand, noting that for years he had turned away countless local families who hoped to bury their relatives in San Ignacio’s existing cemetery, only to find no plots available. Those families were forced to arrange burials in the neighboring Santa Elena cemetery instead, a disappointing and inconvenient outcome for residents with deep community roots in San Ignacio.
“Eleven years ago, when I took office, expanding burial space became one of my top priorities, and today that work has finally come to fruition,” Trapp said in his public remarks. “It hurt my heart to tell families we couldn’t bury their loved ones here, where they belonged. Now, residents of both San Ignacio and Santa Elena have a choice: they can lay their family members to rest in either community, according to their wishes.”
Trapp called Jenkins the project’s biggest benefactor, emphasizing that the donation removes the full financial burden of land acquisition from the municipal council and local taxpayers. The new site, which will be developed as both a cemetery and public memorial park, is expected to meet the region’s burial needs for decades to come. The project’s inauguration marks a major milestone for the municipality, closing a chapter of unmet need and opening new space for the community to honor its departed residents.
*This report is adapted from a transcript of a televised evening newscast.*