This wednesday, the Belize Rural Development Project held a ceremony in Cotton Tree Village where they handed over 22 small projects. The projects, representing 21 villages in Belize and Cayo Districts, are valued at approximately 607 thousand belize dollars, of which 75% was financed by the European Union and the Government of Belize under the BRDP. The other 25% was invested by the beneficiary groups. Every project supported by BRDP is driven by the local beneficiaries who decide and propose the project. They decide what BRDP will invest in, and how their contribution will be made. The beneficiaries implement the project with the technical assistance and mentoring of BRDP and its partners, and it is the local beneficiaries who enjoy all the benefits derived from their projects. Of the 22 projects, 13 were implemented by the Project Management Unit with the District Development Committees. 7 were undertaken by the University of Belize assisted by the Information Technology Solutions for Belize and 2 by the Social Investment Fund.