Love Foundation

The Love Foundation projects fundamentally define and solidify the organization and its work. Projects are multi-dimensional in that they integrate with all other aspects of the organization’s work including action, community building and relationship building. Projects provide opportunities to build a relationship with beneficiaries and stakeholders as well.

OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMS

Program 1: 2014 (CARSI GRANT)

MEDIA ARTS ACADEMY (Invest In Kids After School Program) Invest in Kids After School Program addressed the needs of 250 children 8 -13 years old, impacted by the complexities of the criminal justice and socio-economic system. The overarching goal was to improve communication skills and reducing participation in negative activities. The program provided opportunities for children and parents to express themselves creatively in areas of creative writing, drama and creative expression, music and art. Yoga and meditation was also included in an effort to reduce stress and trauma improving coping skills.

Program 2: 2015 (US Embassy Grant)

ALTA Program (Advocating Leadership Through Awareness) Advocating Leadership Through Awareness (ALTA) and created a movement in primary schools by recruiting and training children ages 11-14 years old as peer educators and facilitators. These young people created training materials and information pamphlets that are disseminated during facilitation of workshops; a comic book was also created with puzzles and other activities that educate, inform and engage younger children. They developed partnerships with the National Aids Commission and increased the number of males tested by 15% the first year and 8% every year thereafter.

Program 3: 2016 – 2018 (CARSI Grant)

LEAP – (Learning, Earning and Parenting) The LEAP Academy is an innovative, first- time initiative to empower, educate and rehabilitate one hundred and fifty (150) out -of -school, gang- affiliated women ages 14-25 years old, seventy- five (75) who currently residing in residential facilities and seventy- five (75) residing in various communities located in Belize City. The program provides meaningful, sustained opportunities for employment and achievement of their educational goals, thereby empowering these young women with the necessary skills to become effective advocates for their children, decrease their participation in crime and other negative behaviors, and assume productive leadership roles in their respective communities through civic engagement and community transformation activities.

Program 4: 2017 – 2018 (UNDP Grant)

MEDIA ARTS ACADEMY PROGRAM – The Media Arts Academy is an out–of-school, prevention-focused program targeting children 8-13 years old who have at least one parent who is incarcerated, remanded or died as a result of violence. The Media Arts highlight the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits associated with sustainable, low-cost, evidence- based programs that increase protective factors among youth. The Media Arts Academy demonstrates the potential of art-based programs for mitigating risk factors associated with anti-social youth behaviors and gang involvement. The Media Arts Academy leverages opportunities to promote the social-emotional benefits associated with the arts, reflective writing, and pro-social activities and the role that schools and communities can play in increasing protective factors for youth. The Love Foundation targets 200 children who live in the following areas: Belize City’s South Side, Roaring Creek and Las Flores.

Program 5: 2018 – 2019 (Canada Grant)

LEAP – (Learning, Earning And Parenting) The LEAP Academy originally funded by US Embassy CARSI Program was recognized and funded by the Canadian High Commission for its successful, innovative approach. This new funding allowed the Love Foundation to create partnership with the Ministry of Human Development, Women’s Department and graduated another 100 young women. The program is now an integral part of the training provided to Boost and BoostPlus participants.

Program 6: 2018 – 2019 (British High Grant)

LEAP – (Learning, Earning and Parenting) This grant complemented the funding from the Canadian Commission and assisted the Love Foundation in the establishment the OneStop Employment Center, a center that provides skills development, career exploration, and general employment services for anyone who has been displaced, is unemployed or underemployed. It is a resource for employers by providing various employee trainings, employee screenings, recruitment for call centers, resume writing, basic word processing and other computer software related skills. The project provides ongoing professional support to home and work life. Over the long term, the participants will be able to support their families to make better life decisions when advocating for their children, thereby leading to a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.

Program 7: 2018 – 2020 (CARSI Grant)

SOCKIT – (Stomping Out Corruption, Kicking In Transparency) SOCKIT seeks to invest in the education of established public officers and members of civil society organizations as well as build transparent leadership skills in youth. The Love Foundation plans to accomplish this by (1) Developing training modules in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service, leaders of Civil Society Organizations and the University of Belize, focusing on ethics, transparency and good governance.  (2) Provide training workshops to departments within key government ministries such as The Ministry of Natural Resources, Finance, Environment, Education, Health etc. The Ministry of Public Service will also include these training modules as a component of the mandatory training offered to public officers seeking promotion within the public service, and (3) Develop a comprehensive multimedia public relations campaign utilizing youth interns from the University of Belize.

Jan 14, 2020 was historical day for The Love Foundation’s history. Galen University has accepted our curriculum on Good Governance, Transparency and Ethics as a general core requirement. This initiative aids in tackling corruption and build capacity through education. In addition to developing a solid understanding of the underlaying concepts of good governance, transparency, and ethics, the course will foster principles of integrity, professionalism, and organizational culture

Program 8: 2019– 2020 (YAP – Georgetown University)

YAP – (Youth Ambassador Program)The YAP Outbound Exchange Program will allow 9 youths and 1 mentor to participate in the US Exchange Program. The Love Foundation will recruit, screen and select the participants. Also, they will provide a pre-departure orientation, and re-entry activities for the participants. This program will allow participants to spend three (3) weeks’ in the United States. In addition, this program seeks to bring high school students and adult mentors from countries across the Americas to promote mutual understanding, increase leadership skills, and prepare youth to make a difference in their communities.

The YAP Inbound Exchange Program will allow 14 youths and 2 mentors to participate in the Belize Exchange Program. Georgetown University will recruit, screen and select the participants. This program will allow participants to spend two (2) week’s in Belize. In addition, this program will provide the US participants with an in-depth understanding of Belize’s culture and contemporary society.

Program 9: 2020- 2021 (US Embassy Public Affairs Section Funding)

ECTET (Empowering Communities to Empower Themselves) is a community based, poverty reduction initiative in three of Belize’s most poor and crime ridden gang communities aimed at achieving SDG #8, which promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. The three communities are Yarborough, St. Martin’s and George Street. The project links entrepreneurial opportunities with the necessary and needed skills training, mentorship, and social development opportunities to intentionally empower and transform each community, to build relationships aimed at strengthening each community, to incorporate and increase the
competitiveness of these three communities into Belize’s formal sector and to decreases the motivation and participation of at-risk young people and other vulnerable individuals towards crime and violence, aiding in Belize’s rule of law/citizen security initiatives.

Program 10: 2020- 2022 (CARSI Grant)

EDU (Education for Integrity) is intended to leverage resources to improve school curricula and teacher training by adding a Social Emotional Learning Component focused on areas of good governance, ethics and transparency for children ages 5- 19 years old. (Pre-K – Standard 6 (Grade 8) and High School Students Form 1- 4 (Grades 9- 12) to the national curriculum.) This will be done by using a cross-curricular approach of integrating public integrity lessons into existing subject materials, such as English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science. This approach will be used at both the primary and the secondary levels, with texts and stories, games, song and art aimed specifically at student needs. Lessons will be designed to enable students to identify and apply the integrity concepts in their existing contexts and educators will link lessons on public integrity to materials about human rights, rule of law, and the structure of government etc.

Program 11: 2021- 2023 (US Embassy Public Affairs Section Funding)

ECTET (Empowering Communities To Empower Themselves) will work in three gang-affected neighborhoods in the south side of Belize City to reduce violence. LF will address trauma through arts and media, train adults and young people in the use of peace circles, and support the entrepreneurship of adult community members. LF will convert one vacant lot in each of the three neighborhoods into multipurpose community hubs. Each hub will have an income generating activity, garden, mural and safe space for young people that encourages academic achievement and creative arts production. Project activities will benefit around 250 people directly and 1500 indirectly.

In 2023, a mural ‘Peace Wall’ project was done which engage a large group of leaders and youths and their extended communities, to work together to transform an existing space into something they will all be proud of over the years.

Program 12: 2023 (US Embassy Grant)

NGEI (National Gender Equality Index) PAS Belize partnered with the Love Foundation to create the country’s first ever National Gender Equality (NGE) Index. This will be a long-term investment in women’s empowerment and gender equality in Belize and would establish a publicly-available tool for analyzing policies affecting women at critical moments like during the upcoming drafting process of Belize’s updated constitution. The goal is to highlight the barriers to women’s full participation in Belize’s development. This project would also emphasize accurate subgroup data collection to accurately reflect specific groups of women who have faced significant histories of discrimination due to race, ethnicity, language, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class, and geographic isolation, and better evaluation efforts to reduce marginalization in those communities.

Program 13: 2023 – 2024 (US Embassy Funding)

A.L (Accountability Lab) he Integrity Innovation Lab (IIL) is an effort to support change-makers to improve governance, build accountability and grow a learning and support network over time. The IIL is a project funded by the U.S. Embassy Belize and is a partnership program between Accountability Lab (AL), The Love Foundation (TLF) and the Ministry of Public Service, Constitutional and Political Reform and Religious Affairs (MPS).

Has two objectives: (1) to support the Government of Belize to create a competent civil service that provides accountable, non-partisan and effective service delivery through an Integrity Innovation Lab, and (2) to support Belize civil society to demand government accountability and fight corruption through an Accountability Incubator. In keeping with these objectives, Workshops and Trainings are being provided, such as: IIL Innovation Inside and Outside Government: Connecting the Supply and Demand for Accountability in Belize Project, hosted a Mental Health Session for its ‘Accountapreneurs’ to highlight tips to help teams remain agile, manage stress, and boost resilience.

The Epworth Afterschool Redemption iNitiave (E.A.R.N) committee members and local school principals discuss solutions and participate in decision making in preparation for activity commencement and capacity building sessions.

The Maskall Community Park Rehabilitation Project, which engaged the girls and the boys from the local club, learning about various life and hands on skills, including participating in the construction process, measuring and building.

Program 14: 2022 – 2024 (US Embassy Grant)

FTIF (Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund) project aims to empower both public officers and the public to improve accountability and transparency in Belize’s fiscal procurement and management processes. The project will also involve training key government officials to better understand the government’s fiscal activities and the important role all stakeholders play in promoting good governance, transparency, and accountability in the fiscal system.

Recent activity: In keeping to this effort, in November 2023, The Love Foundation hosted two debates, Southern Regional, and Central regional, with participants from Stann Creek Ecumenical College (arguing the affirmative) and Bella Vista Government High school (Winner – arguing the negative), and St. John’s Junior College (arguing the negative) and The University of Belize, Belmopan campus (Winner – arguing the affirmative). These students spent weeks equipping themselves with information needed for their argument. Both debates were live streamed reaching thousands of youths, public and private sectors and the general public to view.

Program 15: 2022– Currently on-going (Taiwan Funding)

LET GIRLS LEARN An initiative launch in March 2015 by First Lady Michelle Obama, that employs a whole-of-government approach to helping adolescent girls around the world get a quality education that empowers them to reach their full potential.

Let Girls Learn is a partnership project with the Rotary Club of Belize, funded by the Taiwan Embassy. The program started off as a day camp for 25 girls and has since blossomed into a curriculum-based leadership program. This program focuses on girls in rural communities where freedom, bodily autonomy and access to education and opportunity is limited.

Through our partnership with Brown Urban Mothers Partnership, we so far have engaged more than 155 young girls ages 5-19 providing access to leadership and capacity building skills for girls from the Stann Creek, Punta Gorda and Belize Districts. This program continues to touch the lives of not only our girls but our mentors and hub leaders as well.

Program 16: 2023 – 2024 (US Embassy Grant)

AEIF (Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund) overarching goal of this project is to meet the holistic development needs of youth leaders 8-13 through education, mentoring and community organizing. Advancing Leadership Through Action will engage members of the Police Youth Cadet Corp from across the country. This project will focus on building leadership and advocacy capacity by providing training and mentorship in media literacy, basic video production and editing, public speaking and reflective writing with the goal to create the next generation of social change agents a cadre of youth activists training in countering wrong information and educational content creating awareness around sensitive social issues plaguing our youths. A couple desired outcome is to increase life-skill knowledge and competencies to counter misinformation. advocacy and leadership training manual complete with facilitator guide.

Program 17: 2023 – 2025 (CARSI Grant)

PRET (Promoting Respect & Equity Together)Engaging 170 Men & Boys to promote Gender Equality and the Prevention of Violence Against Women in Belize. The overall objective of this program is to foster meaningful and effective engagement of men and boys, especially those in vulnerable, marginalized communities, in expanding and improving practices aimed at the prevention of violence against women and promotion of gender equality in Belize. The desired outcomes of this program are: Awareness-rising: an increased awareness of positive roles men and boys can play in preventing violence women and girls, Skill Development: strengthen skills to react to gender-based violence and promote gender equality, Partnership and Coalition Building: increased support from a diversity of partners (private sector, non-profit, academic institutions, etc.) and Behavioral Change: increased numbers of men and boys acting as role models to other men and boys towards the prevention of gender-based violence.