Projects in Belize

Village Midwife Training

The impetus for the Belize midwifery project grew out of our experience working with Kek'chi and Mopan Maya people in the Toledo District. Spread out over approximately 48 rural villages, the Maya in this district have the poorest health indicators of any population in Belize. Mayan infants have a 45-55% mortality rate, meaning 45-55 babies out of a thousand live births die before the age of 3 months, a rate about 5 times higher than that of the US. A high percentage of Mayan women are anemic, which puts them and their unborn babies at risk during pregnancy and childbirth, and a high number of Mayan children suffer growth retardation due to malnutrition.

The majority of Mayan women birth their babies at home. Since many of Toledo's rural villages are several hours drive from the local hospital, and transportation and communication systems are generally poor, the focus of the midwifery training project was to train rural village women to assist their neighbors during pregnancy and childbirth and to provide back up support to them in times of emergencies.

The first training began in April 2000, under the direction of Plenty RN Deborah Flowers, with 14 women from 11 villages. The midwifery training course focused on essential skills that would have the most impact in saving the lives of women and newborns such as prenatal care, identifying high-risk pregnancies; when to refer a pregnant women to the medical system; how to minimize infection using sterile techniques; and newborn care.

A second midwife training course began in May 2001, targeting an additional number of underserved villages. This second phase was organized by Plenty midwife Christina Kahlou and assisted in large part by the Ministry of Health staff of the Punta Gorda Hospital, who conducted the majority of the classroom training and facilitated the midwife’s hands-on practical work in the hospital. In February 2002, 10 new midwives completed their theoretical and practical training, and successfully graduated. Participants from both groups received a basic supply kit for deliveries as well as a copy of the training manual.

Mary Kroeger was our project manager/trainer from June 2002 through March 2003. Mary was a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) with extensive international work experience, including two years prior work in Belize managing a USAID Child Survival project. She maintained follow up support for the 22 midwives trained in both phases, including regular Continuing Education classes on various reproductive and child health issues. An additional capacity-building activity begun in December 2002 under the guidance of Plenty volunteer Reva Kidd was literacy and ESL training for midwives that are were in need of such help. With this support we aimed to increase the level and quality of communications between the midwives and Ministry of Health personnel, their ability to contribute to health monitoring, as well as their self-esteem and broader ability to participate actively in the affairs of their community and district.

All program activities encouraged sharing of information and experiences, and development of greater trust and friendship among the women. Through these activities we emphasized the importance of the midwife in her community as an advocate for women and children, and the importance of respect for women. The project touched on other key issues as well such HIV/AIDS, spacing of children, and domestic abuse. Through the course we encouraged the midwives to become more active in their communities on these issues.

Christina Kahlou returned to assist with additional continuing education work with the midwife group in August 2003. Since the end of 2003 the midwives have been working independently, although several have maintained communication with the midwife trainers over the years. They are also able to restock some basic supplies through the Plenty Belize office.

We gratefully acknowledge UNICEF Belize and the Ministry of Health for their support and guidance, our midwife trainers Deborah Flowers, Christian Kahlou, and Mary Kroeger, as well as the Atkinson Foundation, Daniele Agostino Foundation, International Foundation, and Plenty’s donors for their financial support.

Additional information:
Midwifery and Reproductive Health Spring 2000 Plenty Bulletin
Continuing Education for Mayan Health Workers in 2001 Winter 2000-2001 Plenty Bulletin
Belize Traditional Birth Attendant Training Project Update Spring 2002 Plenty Bulletin
Belize Traditional Birth Attendant Training Project Update Fall 2002 Plenty Bulletin
Belize Traditional Birth Attendant Training Project Update Winter 2002-2003 Plenty Bulletin
Belize Midwife Training Project Update Spring 2003 Plenty Bulletin
Belize Village Midwife Project Fall 2003 Plenty Bulletin

Soy Promotion and Agricultural Assistance

Plenty has long promoted sustainable agriculture and a plant-centered diet as a way to feed more of the world's people. Plenty promotes the value of small-scale village-based soy bean agriculture and soy foods production as a way to improve nutrition, soil quality, and food security. For many years Plenty supported the operation of a small Soy Center out of its offices in Punta Gorda, where soy products such as locally flavored “ice bean”, tofu, soy milk, and "soysage" are produced and sold by long time Plenty Soy technician, Ignatius 'Gomier' Longville. Gomier has over 20 years of experience in soy agriculture and processing in Plenty soy projects. "Gomier’s Foods" is now an independent business.

From 1986 until 1999 the focus of Plenty’s agricultural assistance work in Belize was to help farming cooperatives and families to bolster self-sufficiency and sustainability by learning organic farming methods and adding new crops for consumption and local markets. From 1997 to 1999, Plenty's soy technician Chuck Haren promoted the value and use of soy foods by offering basic soy foods processing demonstrations to village farmers and their families, as well as other interested groups in the Toledo District. Two local women were taught basic soy foods processing and they in turn were hired to share information and techniques with volunteer school cooks at various schools.

In recent years the focus of Plenty’s soy and agricultural assistance work has been with local schools via the GATE project and the School Feeding Program (see Plenty Belize).

Renewable Energy Projects

In the fall of 2000 Plenty began to explore possible projects in collaboration with Solar Energy International (SEI), a group of solar energy experts who teach renewable energy classes and have developed projects in the US and other countries. Renewable energy has long been of special interest to Plenty, given the environmental benefits of these systems and in the case of Belize, the very limited access to electricity in the rural areas of Toledo. SEI technician Ed Eaton visited Toledo District with Tomas Heikkala of Plenty International in September 2000, on a fact finding mission. They took a first hand look at several potential projects involving solar energy, including one that would involve as a partner the Toledo Cacao Growers' Association, another indigenous community-based organization that Plenty maintains close ties with. The TCGA grows organic cacao for export, using sustainable agro-forestry methods appropriate to their environment. A second visit by Ed and Tomas in January 2001 included demonstrations of solar energy equipment for Association members at several rural locations, in preparation for a project to provide solar home lighting systems via a revolving loan fund to TCGA members (Renewable Energy Rural Electrification Project). Unfortunately, Hurricane Iris derailed the REREP project, as cacao farmers were hard hit - many lost their trees and therefore their source of income and have been working hard to recover. However in 2002 Plenty was able to assist the TCGA in establishing four tree nurseries for reforestation purposes, by funding solar pumping equipment for irrigation at each site.

In the summer of 2003 Plenty purchased, and with local electrical students, installed a solar lighting system for the school and hurricane shelter at San Jose village, which is not on the electrical grid. The system was requested by village members and allows community meetings and other classes to take place at night which is a real benefit to the village. Our deep thanks and appreciation go to Unity Avenue Foundation for their financial support of these efforts.