– From Love FM News, January 11, 2011
Restore Belize was established in June last year in an effort to tackle the escalating crime particularly in Belize City. This week, the program is preparing a strategic five year plan.
“We definitely recognized from the beginning that we need a strategic plan for restore Belize,” commented Mary Vasquez, Program Director. “Restore Belize’s role in the government and in addressing the situation of violence in Belize is primarily one of coordination. It’s one of bringing together existing resources, attracting new resources, bringing together existing plans and focusing them better so that we can have more impact by integration and collaboration.
“This week is actually one exercise that’s part of an overall planning activity. We hired a consultant in December with assistance from UNICEF to draft this plan for us and the consultant has been pulling together all existing literature a research that’s needed as the baseline data that describe where we are as a society in terms of violence, poverty and all of those things. This exercise now is a specific attempt to bring in Doctor Gayle to advise on how best to address the findings from the Gayle report in or strategic plan.”
Adele Catzim Sanchez will be drafting the plan; Doctor Herbert Gayle is also facilitating this week’s sessions to advise on how best to incorporate the Male Social Participation and Violence in Urban Belize research that he conducted. Taking part in the workshop are social partners from government and non-governmental offices. The workshop will end on January 14.
