Floodwaters across Belize City that have been associated with the king tides have receded and the streets are once again dry. But what is the Belize City Council doing to address the phenomenon that is compounded by climate change? That’s what we asked Mayor Bernard Wagner earlier today, following a decision last week to change the route of the Independence Day Parade in the Old Capital.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“The king tide is here to stay, climate change is here to stay, and so we have to be proactive. We have to recognize quickly that this is out of our control and make the proper provisions in the event it does occur and clearly, you could see the devastation of king tides, having to shift and having to change routes. I am certain that the National Celebration Commission will be looking at how they can alleviate that sort of uncertainty.”
Reporter
“Or change the date and have it before…”
Bernard Wagner
“I don’t know about changing the date, more the route. But the date, you just can’t change dates. There is only like three weekends fi play with and so everybody wants a weekend, right.”
Reporter
“And so, with the debris that came up, with the flotsam that came up during the king tides, how is the cleanup for the city looking?”
Bernard Wagner
“Mein I just want the residents continue to try work along with we mein, dehn bags a garbage don’t reach in those canals on their own.”
What’s up with the overgrown grass on street sides across the city? A drive around certain neighborhoods reveals that many streets and their intersections have poor visibility due to overgrown grass. Here’s Mayor Wagner’s response to concerns raised by residents.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“What we are doing, I would admit it, and so we, since I came into office in 2018, we have noticed that the sort of system we have in place to address maintenance of streets is not working. And so, we are currently putting in place a new system. It’s a grid system and it will be powered by GIS mapping and being able to map out the entire city and have the city divided up into grids. We are currently looking at thirty-one grids across the city, we will have teams assigned to the different grids, and the grids will have cutting teams, it will have patching teams, it will have drainage teams so that when we look at our console, if a complaint comes in on grid fourteen, we will immediately be able to look at grid fourteen, who is the team there, who is the captain, who is the manager there? This is your area, this is your grid, please attend to it. I think that will be more efficient. I’ve seen it work in the Los Angeles area. This sort of system weh we inherit where you have maintenance and sanitation and we’re just sporadic, ih noh di work. And so, we are addressing that with this new grid system and we will give you a full overview of that system as soon as we complete it.”
What is thought to be a different species of hammerhead shark that was recently discovered in Belizean waters might not be new to Belize at all. This is according to a former senior fisheries officer with the Belize Fisheries Department and a marine biologist by profession. George Myvett told News Five today that the Sphyrna alleni, or the shovelbill shark that was discovered near Robinson Point offshore Belize City and near Riversdale Village, Stann Creek might be among a few more species that are living in Belizean waters and we may not know. The sharks were caught between 2016 and 2019 but research on them just confirmed their species in a publication two days ago. According to George Myvett, there are about five hundred and thirty species of shark in the world, and eight of them are known to be in the Caribbean and Belize. But Myvett reasoned that there has not been any exhaustive research on sharks in Belize, so, there can very likely be far more than just the eight living here.
George Myvett
George Myvett, Marine Biologist
“This new species that has been identified is a relatively small species. The record that has been cited is it goes to about three point five feet, which is relatively small. As far as sharks go, I would say that generally speaking, Belize is a living laboratory in as far as marine biodiversity, and as far as general conservation issues are concerned, there’s a lot to discover. In relation to the general public, most people would not know the difference between this new species that has been found and other pre-existing sharks that closely resemble this species. So, for science, it is a new species, and when it comes out, it’s referred to as a taxonomy. There are very fine details that taxonomists will go through, and this includes issues such as the number of gill slits, where the gill overlaps the fins in most issues, such as genetics. So for this one, they went as deep as genetics. So this species has been known but it has been mistakenly or previously classified as another species, and it’s only very, very recently, since 2021 that studies were genuinely begun and the possibility that this species of scallop, it’s a small scallop has been identified as a separate species, but more than likely, there are a range of other species in Belize.”
Myvett says while the discovery is great news for the scientific community and for fisheries management in Belize, he expressed hope that it will also give Belize’s marine scientists an opportunity at doing research on the species of shark. In fact, he hopes that Belizean marine biology students will get first dibs on whatever research needs to take place in the future on Belize’s marine life.
George Myvett, Marine Biologist
“Sharks in Belize do enjoy a certain level of statutory protection. So, for example, it is illegal to harvest or capture sharks. It is also illegal, generally, to capture the whale shark, the other sharks. There are also regulations protecting them. So for example, one kind of fish or sharks are within a radius of two miles of the atolls and the atolls for us are obviously the Glover’s Reef Atoll, Lighthouse Reef Atoll, and Turneffe Atoll. Generally, there’s about fifteen hundred square miles of sea that no one can capture or interfere with these sharks. As I look at the work that has been done, it has been done by obviously a non-native, a non-Belize research institution. As a Belizean scientist, I would like to see, going forward, that we have Belizeans associated with these studies. So for example, I would want to see a Galen University and of course a University of Belize associated with these studies.”
Today, non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, or diabetes are the leading causes of illness and premature death in Belize. Multiple risk factors lead to these diseases, such as an unhealthy diet. According to the Pan American Health Organization, the prevalence of obesity in Caribbean children is two to three times higher than in the rest of the world, contributing to the heightened rates of non-communicable diseases. In tonight’s edition of our Five Point Breakdown, we look at the approach to encouraging children to make healthy decisions and the challenges that come with doing so. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
One in three Caribbean children are overweight or obese. The health of these children will define that of a generation of working adults. If action is not taken swiftly to lead them on a healthier path, these children will continue to be at risk of developing non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension or diabetes; some of the leading causes of death in Belize.
Why healthy eating habits must start at a young age
Robyn Daly-Faber
Robyn Daly-Faber, Nutritionist, MOHW
“Nutrition plays a very big role for growth, for development, for brain development, for proper development of a child’s physical. And also for the prevention of diseases. So I can’t stress the importance of nutrition. But we have to encourage people to know what to feed the child. Because saying healthy foods, what might be healthy in your eyes, might not really be healthy.”
Nutritionist at the Ministry of Health, Robyn Daly-Faber, tells us that obesity is not the only side effect of bad eating habits in children.
Robyn Daly-Faber
“We have what we call a double burden of malnutrition. A double burden means we have both overnutrition and undernutrition. So overnutrition is looking at obesity and overweight, and undernutrition is looking at stunting and wasting, which is having low height for age and low weight for age. So these are all a result of poor eating habits. And it starts very early, from children under five years old.”
Across the country, thousands of children reach for a snack at recess, but what are these children eating? Encouraging children to choose healthier food options is an integral part of tackling the issue. At Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School here in Belize City, Standard Six student Jauhn Orozco explains that the decision between what he wants to eat and what he knows he should be eating is a difficult choice.
Why do children prefer junk food?
Britney Gordon
“Why wouldn’t you go for one of maybe a banana or an orange or something like that?”
Jauhn Ororzco
Jauhn Ororzco, Student, Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School
“Because it’s just too tempting to taste the chips.”
Britney Gordon
“Have your parents or your teachers been encouraging you and your classmates to make healthier decisions? “
Jauhn Orozco
“Yes, ma’am. They have. They’ve been saying to eat more oranges, and carrots. Because, I went to the eye doctor because I needed the eyeglasses because I’m on the device too much.”
Jauhn enjoys eating fruits and would likely be inclined to choose that as a snack if there was more variety in the servings.
Britney Gordon
“What’s been the hardest part of eating healthier for you?”
Jauhn Orozco
“It’s like the vegetables. They don’t really have. That sweet taste you taste in other foods. But I know it’s healthier for me and so I try to eat it as much as possible.”
Britney Gordon
“Which healthy snack is your favorite?”
Jauhn Orozco
“Probably the mangos. The mangos with with the hot sauce.”
Britney Gordon
“What do you think they can do to their snack options to make it something that you would want to eat?”
Jauhn Orozco
“They could put fruit salads, a mixture of different fruits. Not just selling it, onlyone fruit. A mixture of different fruits in one.”
For the past two years, Buttonwood Bay Primary School has been part of the Healthy Habits, Healthy Schools, Healthy Belize Campaign. It’s an initiative launched by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to promote better nutrition, physical activity, and hygiene in schools. Also offered to the students is a free feeding program, sponsored by the ministry. Acting Principal, Wendy Smith, says that the children have been receptive to the meals based on the menu options and the way vegetables are incorporated into the servings.
Making nutritious foods accessible to children
Wendy Smith
Wendy Smith, Acting Principal, Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School
“Currently, we offer healthy snacks during break time like watermelon, mangoes, Oranges even cucumbers and the children enjoy that but for lunch, we have been providing different menus for them. Like today, we have black dinner and the infants love black dinner So we have different foods for them. We have rice and beans stew beans. We even had fajitas. We have quesadillas everything differently, but we incorporate the vegetables in them as well.”
Britney Gordon
“And in terms of ensuring that these lunches are also nutritious, don’t have too much salt in them. Is that something that goes into the planning process for these meals?”
Wendy Smith
“Yes, we take workshops. Basically, we have workshops with the cooks and the teachers, and the principal attend these workshops to see more or less what portion to give each child and what is the amount of seasonings and so forth to use on each meal.”
Students may be receptive to healthy feeding programs, however, the challenge lies in ensuring that they choose healthier snacks. Daly-Faber says that this cannot be pushed from one angle, but rather, tackled from all fronts.
Ensuring Healthier Eating Habits Among Children
Robyn Daly-Faber
“One of the challenges that we see is of course, behavior change the willingness to be open to having healthier options in schools. We also see some areas where availability or interference from outside vendors might be a contributing factor. And the willingness of, I would say the openness and the willingness of the school system to openly adapt to it. Because we need to have the entire school community be receptive and positively pushing this. It can’t be only when we promote an activity or a week that we see the change.”
Malnutrition exists across the Caribbean, which displays some of the highest rates of overweight and obesity in the Americas. To counteract the disparity in children’s nutrition, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition is pushing to implement front-of-package octagonal warning labels on snacks that are high in sodium or sugar to deter consumers from choosing less nutritious options. The initiative has not been implemented into CARICOM legislation, but several Latin American countries have begun adapting labels in compliance with the campaign. Sheena Warner-Edwards, Communications Officer for the HCC, explained the goal of the campaign.
“The selection of that particular label that spoke to persons, or that would assist persons in better, choosing or selecting a food that has less salt, we would say, because the label would read heightened. Or, in any case, after that individual purchased the product, they will be able to say about, would I consume this entire package, given it is high in salt? Or would I consume a quarter of the package and leave some for later or another day? So those are the kinds of measures again that the labeling standard would assist persons in doing. You know most people when they’re shopping they don’t have time to necessarily read the back of pack label.”
The winners of the annual Expo Belize Marketplace Competition were awarded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier today. In a brief ceremony at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex, the business organization recognized three winners in various categories. They were selected from MSMEs that participated in the recent expo. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with the following story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The 2024 Expo Belize Marketplace took place at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex earlier this month, attracting over ten thousand visitors over its two-day duration. Organized by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this annual trade fair brought together businesses from across the country to network, expand their customer base, and showcase their talents and services. Today, the private sector organization awarded winners in various competition categories, including Best Overall Booth, Most Outstanding Up and Coming Entrepreneur, and Best Micro Booth.
Abigail Bood
Abigail Bood, Owner, Hey Abbz
“It’s been quite a journey, honestly, to see all the dedication and hard work that we’ve had to put into the expo, you know. I remember sitting on one of the shows and telling other entrepreneurs that when it comes to the expo it’s a lot of work and to be able to really and truly bring our best self forward, really and truly grinding and doing all the work, all the behind the scenes that people don’t see out there at the Expo, to see it come to fruition and see the results of it has been quite a blessing.”
For a second year consecutively, Abigail Bood has won Best Micro Booth. This morning, her effort was acknowledged by the chamber.
Andrew Usher
Andrew Usher, PR & Marketing, BCCI
“Fun fact about Ms. Abigail is that she’s not only the 2024 Best Micro Booth Award Winner, but she was actually the 2023 Best Youth Entrepreneur Award Winner. He Abbz was actually established on the basis of authentic craftsmanship, faith and community. While marketing jewelry is the presumed entirety of Hey Abbz, its true passion is people, to expand child sponsorships and offer employment opportunities to a single mother in a rural area.”
This year, over a hundred and thirty-seven businesses, eighty percent of which are micro, small and medium enterprises, participated in the expo. Among them was Little Ceramic Painters, the brainchild of Aaliyah Herbert.
Andrew Usher
“After graduating junior college in 2023, Aaliyah knew she wanted to start a business combining her passion for art and working with kids. Inspired by popular sip and paint events, she decided to add a unique twist with ceramics and that’s how Little Ceramics Painters was formed.”
Herbert was honored with the prestigious title of Most Outstanding Up and Coming Entrepreneur, making history as the inaugural winner in this exciting new category of the competition. She further explains how Little Ceramic Painters came to be.
Aaliyah Herbert
Aaliyah Herbert, Owner, Little Ceramic Painters
“It was during the pandemic when we were in quarantine and a little bit after that, sit and [paint] started to happen. But I wanted to do something different where it’s not having to do with alcohol itself, but on canvas, because a lot of people feel like they can’t draw and this is where ceramics comes into play because it’s like painting, but more in a 3D form so you don’t have to worry about not doing lines or coming out because you can always fix it up with the paint, so it’s definitely easier.”
For Best Overall Booth, Smart Belize walked away as the winner. The scores were based on creativity, professionalism, innovation, and efficiency.
Tristian Coleman
Tristian Coleman, Marketing Manager, Smart Belize
“It took months of planning, you know, we came up with a concept. It’s something that we started to work towards. We made sure that this event, we wanted to show what we can bring to the table and that’s exactly what we did. Truthfully, you know, there was so much work that went into place for this that by the end of the expo we had actually forgotten that we had entered the competition. So when we got home, I said, you know what, I remembered that our PR [department] submitted our entry and I checked and saw that we won. It’s a testament that really you have to give all you can to make sure that you putin the work and you will [reap] the benefits of your hard work.”
The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry aims to ignite the business community’s passion for pursuing entrepreneurial ventures that leave a lasting impact. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
The Statistical institute of Belize held its third press conference for 2024. Among the first topics that S.I.B. reported on was the Consumer Confidence Index. This study measures consumer sentiments that indicate how households are likely to behave with respect to consumption and saving. Through questionnaires, S.I.B. gathers data on how consumers feel about their households’ present and expected financial situation. They also gather information on how consumers feel about the present and expected future general economic condition. The index also looks at how consumers feel about making major purchases of durable goods, such as furniture, appliances, cars and a home. According to S.I.B. findings, the index was trending upwards between May and July, but saw a decrease in August.
Jaqueline Sabal
Jaqueline Sabal, Acting Manager, Economic Statistics Department
“Now what caused this increase in pessimism among consumers? If we break down the CCI by components not that the drop in durable goods from thirty-nine point eight to thirty-seven point four represents a six-point two percent decrease. That was a main contributor to the overall decline in August. Again, over just the one-month period from July to August. This was followed closely by a five-point four percent drop in the expectation index from fifty-six point one to fifty-three point one, so the main two reasons for the overall decline were expectations and durable goods. Sentiment among urban consumers decreased by one point six percent by forty-one percent to forty-one point one, while sentiments among rural consumers decreased more sharply by five-point four percent from forty-right point three to forty-five point seven.”
The Statistical Institute of Belize also provided an overview of the G.D.P. report for 2023 and the second quarter of 2024. According to S.I.B.’s data, G.D.P. for 2023 totaled five point one billion dollars. That is an increase of fifty-three million dollars when compared to 2022’s G.D.P. As for the second quarter G.D.P. for 2024, S.I.B. says there has been an increase of one hundred and thirty-five million dollars when compared to the second quarter of 2023.
Christopher Hulse, Statistician 2, S.I.B
“Now looking at the second quarter of 2024, the goods and services produced in that period totaled one point four three two billion dollars. This is an increase of a hundred and thirty–five point nine million, or ten point five percent when we compare that to the second quarter of 2023. The primary economic growth drivers were the tertiary industry, including wholesale and retail trade, accommodations and food services as well as transportation. However, growth was shown across all three sectors. The primary sector was valued at a hundred and seven point eight million dollars. That is an increase of five point eight million or five point six percent when we compare that to the hundred and two point one million dollars in quarter two of 2023.”
The Statistical Institute of Belize also reported that the national inflation rate for August 2024 increased by three point one percent when compared to August 2023. This was driven by an increase in prices in all categories.
A brief ceremony was held in Belize City this morning to inaugurate a new office space that will be occupied by PEAK Outsourcing. The international company is establishing a foothold in Belize and intends to expand its services into Latin America. Chief Executive Officer Charles Harmornick and Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner were on hand for the launch. A News Five team was also present. Here’s Isani Cayetano with that story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
PEAK Outsourcing, a dynamic newcomer in Belize’s burgeoning customer and support services sector, is making a bold statement by establishing a new office space, firmly embedding itself in the local industry.
Charles Harmornick
Charles Harmornick, CEO, Peak Outsourcing
“This is a huge milestone for us because we had filled the facility across the street with a hundred FTEs [full time employees] which showed that there is great commitment for the North American clients and the UK clients to be positioning business in Latin America and Central America. So there’s a great demand for doing business within Belize.”
Establishing customer support centers and BPO firms creates numerous job opportunities for residents, ranging from entry-level positions to managerial roles. These jobs often come with training programs that enhance the skill sets of the local workforce, making them more competitive in the job market.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“Whenever you have enterprises investing in buildings, in acquiring land, in fixed assets, you know that you have to have some measure of confidence in the direction the economy is going for the country and for the city. So we are so excited about playing a role in driving jobs to our young people.”
By attracting BPO companies, Belize City can diversify its economic base, reducing reliance on traditional industries. A thriving BPO sector can attract further investment from related industries, such as legal services, financial services, healthcare and business solutions. PEAK Outsourcing emerged from a passionate drive to address and surpass the limitations often encountered with large, impersonal outsourcing firms.
Charles Harmornick
“What we’re looking for at PEAK is passion, desire, a willingness to learn and a work ethic, and if you possess all of those we can help you learn the skills needed to be able to do this. That’s a little bit different than the other outsourcers looking for a college degree. I’m not looking for a college degree. I’m not looking for somebody that perhaps graduated high school, I’m looking for a good, talented individual that I can invest time and energy and get a return on.”
PEAK’s mission is to elevate businesses by delivering top-notch outsourcing services that boost operational efficiency. The company is dedicated to fostering innovation, maintaining the highest standards of quality, and achieving service excellence. The goal is to provide each client with solutions that cater specifically to their individual requirements, ensuring they thrive in their respective industries.
Bernard Wagner
“It’s not only about the jobs, it’s about the careers and PEAK Outsourcing, clearly, is differentiating their business from the ordinary sort of call center type business. They are looking at developing careers and having that person feel a part of that entire company.”
There is an artery in the heart referred to as the “widow maker”, because a blockage in that artery can lead to a fatal heart attack. On August eighteenth when thirty-five-year-old Floyd Moro began experiencing an unbearable pain in his chest, he drove himself to the San Ignacio Community Hospital. What he did not know at the time was that his left anterior artery was blocked and that it was a race against time. Moro eventually made it to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital that morning where he underwent a lifesaving procedure. Today, he is back home with his wife and two children in San Ignacio, thanks to that procedure. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
One month ago, Floyd Moro was racing against time. The thirty-five-year-old San Ignacio resident suffered an acute heart attack. Doctors refer to the artery that was affected as the “widow maker”.
Chen Lin
Dr. Chen Lin, Cardiologist, KHMH
“So if that is blocked completely the mortality is high. The chances of you living afterwards or even having complications, or you have very bad complications afterwards.”
Moro recalls the moments leading up to the heart attack.
Floyd Moro
Floyd Moro, San Ignacio Resident
“I was working during the day and after work I went to the farm to do some spraying and I feel a chest pain grab me. So, one of my good friend said, this nuh look good. He said he would finish it, so he grab the machine and I gone rest up in the vehicle. One oclock in the morning is when I feel something grab me. It waked me up and I get up and gone drink a cup of water and the pain nuh come off. So I tell my wife I gwen dah hospital and she said she gwen.”
The clock began counting down for Moro.
Dr. Chen Lin
“The timing to get here, we call it the ballon timing or door to immediately poke the patients, usually it should be less than hundred minutes. That is the perfect time.”
He drove himself to the San Ignacio Community Hospital where several tests were done on him. He was then transported to the Western Regional Hospital where he stayed for a brief moment before being ambulanced to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. There Doctor Chen Lin and his team had already prepped the Catheterization Laboratory for Moro’s arrival.
Floyd Moro
“As I reach dah Belmopan, they give me more pain killers because the pain was growing stronger on my chest. So we gawn dah Belize and when we reach dah Belize, everything mih just like, dah just a miracle. Deh doctors mek I gone in the theater right so, no check up, nothing. They already knew exactly what I have.”
Moro was fortunate, because Doctor Lin was scheduled to go on vacation the following day. Furthermore, a team of physicians from Charlotte and Atrium Health were in country providing support to the hospital’s cardiac program. They too were scheduled to leave the country the following day.
Dr. Chen Lin
“Usually for someone that has a heart attack, the first thing we should do is coronary andriography. It is a procedure usually where we go through the leg or through the arm, we put a catheter right through the heart and we inject some dyes, and we take some pictures to localize exactly where the block is. Once we localize the blockage, we try to fix everything through the same hole we poke and so these are minimally invasive procedure, really micro arteries we fix, usually three to four millimeter in size. We try to do it when the patient is awake and we do it between forty- minutes to an hour.”
Floyd Moro
“I give thanks that people from North Carolina mih the yah, because they don’t do that kind of operation here. I went in the theater and Dr. Lin did the surgery with the help of people from North Carolina and Dr. Coye and I just glad I the yah now. During the operation the doctor that gave me the anesthesia put me to sleep and middle of the thing I wake up and I tell Doctor Lin that my heart still have a little chest pain. He said, I the eena your heart right now. I put my head down and went back to sleep again and when I wake up pain gone.”
Doctor Lin reopened Moro’s blocked artery through a minimal invasive procedure. A stent or a small tube was placed in the affected area to keep the artery from ever clogging again.
Floyd Moro
“I feel like I change oil. I feel new brand.”
Outside of Belize, this medical procedure can cost as much as thirty thousand U.S. dollars. At the KHMH, the cost is fifteen hundred dollars.
Dr. Chen Lin
“They actually lend us expertise, materials, donations. The plan is always, we don’t look for begging or donating. We have a five-year plan that eventually we will have a stand alone program. But we have to get everyone in place to have everyone at the right place and the right time.”
As for Moro, he is just grateful that Doctor Lin and the team at KHMH gave him a second chance to be with his wife and two teenage children at home.
Floyd Moro
“I know people always say things about the hospital, but they do a good job there. They really treat me good. The nurse and the staff really treat me good.”
