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Belize City
The most significant finding of a recent Synod of the Diocese of Belize, was the need for the Church to focus on family life and to establish programmes at all levels that would help to strengthen that life.
One type of family that is widespread in Belize is single-parent families – a status which arises from various reasons – and are almost invariably headed by women. There are some theories that this category of family is most at risk and is a major contributor to negative social issues such as crime and violence. Whether or not these theories are true, there is no doubt that single-parent families need special strengthening as they lack some of the advantages that are usually expected to exist in traditional family units. A pilot project was conceived, taking the form of a workshop that would attempt to imbue single parents with knowledge and skills to help them manage the challenges of heading households alone. This would target three parishes in Belize City (the largest city), after which it would be evaluated to be a continuing ministry of the diocese.
Although successful single-parenting is attainable, it can be challenging, in particular for individuals who do not have a support system in the form of family, friends and very importantly, the Church. For some single-parents, the Church serves as a painful reminder of the fact that their own circumstance does not necessarily fit the template assumed by the faith community. Often, pregnant women absent themselves from church and re-emerge when it is time to baptize the child, reflecting the social and political atmosphere of their place of worship, or at least their perception of it. So the questions are posed: “What can we do as individuals and congregations to connect with this significant segment of our population? More importantly, what is God calling us to do in relation to single-parent families?”
The objectives of the project were:
- To develop and implement a support network for single parents in the Anglican community
- To recognize the gap between the perceived needs of single parents and their children and their real needs
- To instil the importance of the family structure in healthy socialization and development of children
- To incorporate the Church and spirituality into child-rearing methods and techniques
- To provide single parents with effective disciplining methods and decision-making skills
- To develop and nurture high self-esteem and moral values in children through interactive sessions between parent and child
The project initially aimed for 20-25 participants in a 12-week programme. There were 16 registrations. Facilitators presented such topics as
Spiritual Foundation, Parent-Child Communication, Self-esteem and Moral Values, Handling Anger and Conflicts, Sexual & Reproductive Health. Nine parents – all mothers – completed this project. They committed themselves every Saturday afternoon, taking time out from their busy schedules, since most of them are working mothers who could well have used their Saturday doing other things. One of the features of the programme were little gifts which were given at each session to bring the particular topic into focus- a Bible was presented for the first session on spirituality, a calculator for the budgeting session, recipe books for health and nutrition, and so on. Apart from enhancing their perspectives and sensitivities on how best to manage the daily challenges of single parenting, something unforeseen happened during the 12 Saturdays – an unexpected bonding among the parents. As they became more familiar with each other, they were able to speak in confidence within the group about personal issues and concerns, share helpful suggestions and even show their vulnerabilities. In the final session, they were asked to bring along some of their children who participated in the discussions. This was a very moving session where the love between these mothers and their children was obvious.
The feedback from the workshop, not only from participants but also the facilitators and the Women’s Department of the Government of Belize, is that this needs to be a continuing effort. The experience from this exercise has already taught us how to improve the next workshop which we hope to conduct within the next six to eight months.
The workshop was funded by the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG).
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