Peacework Belize Rolls Out Empowered Resilient Women

This morning at the ITVET in Belize City, a cohort of fifty young women from across the country began a training organized by Peacework Belize, a non-profit organization led by Doctor Carol Babb.  Empowered Resilient Women is a program that will assist these women with entrepreneurship, as well as financial literacy and emotional intelligence.  The initiative is funded by the Taiwanese Embassy.  Earlier today, we spoke with Doctor Babb about the program.

Carol Babb

Dr. Carol Babb, Executive Director, Peacework Belize

“Today we launched the ERW, Empowered Resilient Women training.  It’s an eight week training.  We will be training fifty women and we will empower them with skills so that they become resilient, they become successful entrepreneurs and also financially literate entrepreneurs as well.”

Reporter

“And the importance of empowering women in this capacity.”

Dr. Carol Babb

“The importance to empower women is very, very important.  When women win, an entire society wins, the country wins.  Women can, women will and if we empower them then we are empowering not one person, but many persons.”

Reporter

“How many women are participating in the training and what type of skills will they be learning?”

Dr. Carol Babb

“So there will be fifty women participating in the training and they have three choices.  Now the core subjects are: financial literacy, we want all of the women to become financially literate.  We want them to learn how to manage their money, how to save regularly, how to borrow wisely and invest and when they borrow, pay back promptly.  They will also be exposed to entrepreneurship skills, like knowing how to make your business plan, how to promote your business and other knowledge and skills to make them successful.  Another core subject area is social and emotional learning, helping them to identify their emotions, helping them to address those emotions, helping them to become emotionally intelligent individuals so that they can empower themselves and have empathy for other.”