Can YouTube Turn the Tide for an Impoverished Belizean Family?
Social media influencers, much like their viewers, are always out for the next viral upload. But can a widely circulated video help a destitute Belize City family to escape poverty? It’s the latest effort of community activist Moses Sulph who aims to assist Luciano Reyes and his family. This morning, Reyes and Sulph spoke with News Five.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The plight of the less fortunate is an issue that is often overlooked by many in our society, particularly those whose life experiences do not include hunger, homelessness and unemployment. In Gungulung, a family of ten occupies two adjoining wooden structures. Upstairs is an elderly woman, she is visually impaired as a result of sickness. Their living condition is squalid.
Moses Sulph
Moses Sulph, Community Activist
“I’m calling on each and every Belizean in an attempt to try and eliminate these sorts of condition. Kindly go to Youtube, subscribe to the channel “Better Living: Belize to the World”, like the video, view it and subscribe and share, in an effort to eliminate these sorts of living.”
What community activist Moses Sulph is seeking to do, in an effort to help this family out of the indigent situation it is faced with, is seizing an opportunity for a video such as this to go viral on Youtube. He his hoping that with enough views, the social media platform would cut a check that can then be used to ameliorate the family’s abject living conditions.
Moses Sulph
“I’m asking Belizeans to subscribe, like, view and share and from the proceeds we get from Youtube we will directly build houses for people who are in these conditions and eliminate it ourselves. We’re going to change the world one house at a time.”
It’s ambitious, to say the least, but, like Sulph, Luciano Reyes is optimistic that a change will come. He’s looking to Youtube’s viewership as a way to escape this crushing poverty.
Luciano Reyes
Luciano Reyes, Resident, Holy Emmanuel Street
“Right now ah di go through wahn serious situation because right now with the leaking, every time ih rain ih di leak. Then we noh have no window because ah di board material. We try hard right, because my living weh I do, I do cutting, you know, di cut yard and thing but right now I noh really have di money right now because things tight with me right now.”
This property on Holy Emmanuel Street is one of several that Sulph intends to highlight on a weekly basis.
Moses Sulph
“We’re hoping that because of the condition we see many of our people facing over the years, we know that the finance is not there totally. So we’re using this avenue to try and eliminate conditions like these, especially for the blind lady that is here. I would want us to try and see how the community could come together and eliminate the bathroom and build a new bathroom. But as I’ve said before, the effort is that I am not going to any longer depend on the government and the business sector totally. We’re not saying it is the fault of the government, we’re not blaming the government, we’re not blaming anybody. We’re simply saying that together as a people, we can eliminate it simply by contributing our subscription, our like, our share. And also, if you have any material that you would like to contribute towards it in the meantime, in building a new bathroom.”
Reyes is hoping for an act of God and, despite the odds that the video may not go viral, remains positive that something will happen to turn his situation around.
Luciano Reyes
“It sounds like I can try my luck, you know, I believe in luck and I pray and I believe. I believe something out there can help us, you know. I have faith so I know something will happen. I just believe in it, you know, because I see miracles and the Lord shows me miracles. If I could see miracles, I could see everything.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
