FW_Belize:FW Country & prayer pages 27/8/08 16:04 Page 26
Province of West Indies
Belize
W
edged between Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula and the Petén
forests of Guatemala, Belize is the youngest diocese in the
province of the West Indies.
With literacy and life expectancy levels as issues that contribute to the escalating
high as those of the western world, Belize’s cases of violence against women and
development goals are now focused on children, especially girls. In contrast, boys
future sustainability. In only ten years Belize are underachieving at school compared to
has seen a drop from 90% forest and girls, so Mothers’ Union works with these
vegetation cover to only 60%. boys to build up their self-esteem and
encourage them in their schooling.
Previously relying heavily on income from
the trade in sugar, bananas and citrus, the Feeding programme
globalisation of food supplies has made Mothers’ Union is also involved in preparing
access to lucrative markets increasingly meals for a feeding programme at a local
difficult. Tourism is now the fastest growing school, delivering hot meals to the Good
sector of the economy. Belize’s other big Samaritan Home every fortnight and
challenges include the effects of providing treatment and visits to elderly
liberalisation, natural resource depletion, and handicapped people.
natural disasters and the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
Identifying local issues
The Women’s Department of the Ministry of
Human Development has begun training
public officers in gender analysis and has
made progress to ensure women now have
easier access to credit, fair wages and equal
protection under the law. Mothers’ Union in
Belize is able to implement these national
government initiatives at a grassroots level
by working with women to identify local
Fact File
Population: 301,270 Mothers’ Union Members: 60
Mothers’ Union began in Belize in 1956
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www.themothersunion.org
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