New book on Belizean women
Despite Belize’s infatuation with 24-hour satellite television, it seems that publishing is alive and well. The latest volume off the press may not compete with Oprah, but it’s the kind of book that she would thoroughly enjoy.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The 14 women featured in the book, “Women of Belize” may come from different backgrounds, but one thing they share and are being honoured for, is their contributions to the country. The book was the first of its kind to be published by the National library Service.
Joy Ysaguirre, Chief Librarian
“For sometime now, researchers have been requesting information about various people in our society who have contributed. What we found out is finding this information was sometimes very difficult and we decided that our approach should be a proactive approach to this whole problem. And so we decided to go out and seek the information.”
Because there are a good number of Belizean women who have made their mark in society, it was not easy coming up with the final list of honourees. Charles Hyde, Chairman of the National Library Service Board, says the names were first submitted to board members, who then made the final decision.
Charles Hyde, Chairman, National Library Service
“There are people who were left off of the list, who we thought were almost as worthy and in fact we actually feel that, we ought to consider this as a start of a series so that maybe in the next 5 years we might have instead of 14 women, we might have 70 because we intend to continue the selection and perhaps also continue the propagation of the service that they have given to the community, the contributions that they have made and the interesting parts of their lives.”
As much as we would have liked to interview all the women featured in the book, due to time constraints, it was just not possible. However, the women we did speak with basically had similar sentiments. City Councillor Eloisa Trujeque, better known as “Teach”, has served teachers and students for the past 35 years. Trujeque says while she is honoured that her achievements have been recognized, the book is a celebration of all women in Belize.
Jacqueline Woods
“It does get difficult sometimes for women to achieve, to accomplish a lot in the country. What advice you have for women who are still struggling out there?
Eloisa Trujeque
“Well what I would say is to keep on with their goals, to keep on with their responsibilities, keep on with all that it takes for them to climb up. But one thing I would like to say to women is not to try and bring down women, that is the one bad part in our society. When a person is trying to go up, instead of trying to help them climb to the top, we bring them down.”
The women say they were surprised that they were recognized and say because the book tells stories of personal and professional accomplishments, they hope the publication will also inspire other women to be the best that they can be.
Brenda Armstrong
“The stories are not only for women, they are for everyone because what these women share are true life experiences. This is not “Day of Our Lives,” this is the real life story, so you can pick from any of these women and get a model. In fact I think there might be circumstances in every woman’s life that you can use, so these are just like brought to us, captured for us in this one package and it’s perfect.”
Phyllis Cayetano
“I was so elated and overjoyed. Sometimes you do things in the normal fashion without expecting these accolades in the end. And to be chosen by the nation amongst the women in the country and even in my community, it was a really great pleasure that I experienced at the time.”
Myrtle Palacio
“Without the book, Belizean women are well known to be the backbone of this country in everyway that you can think about. Research has shown that what women do with their salaries is far different than what men do, for example where a large percent of the monies go. It should be some sort of encouragement, but I don’t think we should wait to get something to do something for our community. If we all get up and do something instead of just talking about it…we owe that to our community without looking to get anything back.”
The National Library Service says the book will be available in schools, bookstores and libraries across the country.