COPING WITH POVERTY IN BELIZE

The results from the Belize’s Country Poverty Assessment report for 2009 alarmed many.  It is to be noted that in addition to the 43% of the population classified as poor, there are a further 14% of households who are deemed vulnerable to poverty.  Therefore 57% or more than half of all households are either poor or susceptible to being poor.  This piece will examine what are some of the effects of poverty in Belize and what coping strategies families employ to sustain their livelihoods.  The analysis will be undertaken using a sustainable livelihood approach

A sustainable livelihood approach is one of many theoretical frameworks used to examine how individuals behave under different conditions and the different elements of the livelihood system defines the context within which individuals make their living.  A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living.  A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities or assets while not undermining the natural resource base (DFID, 1999).

Source: Adapted from DFID Sustainable livelihoods guidance sheets (1999) Key: H = human capital; N = natural capital; Ph = physical capital; S = social (cultural) capital; Po = political capital and F = financial capital.

This approach assesses an individual’s assets against their vulnerabilities.  It is an approach that was developed and promoted by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).  This framework provides a context within which to examine how policy influences can best meet the needs of the poor.

The constituents of South-Side Belize City were pointed out in the CPA as a geographical area where significant levels of poverty exist in Belize.  The vulnerability context for these Belizeans are the conditions which would determine the life opportunities for an individual.  This context also addresses issues that individuals have no influence over, such as the economic conditions, climatic shocks, seasonality and population growth.  Capital assets are all assets and resources that an individual or household has to make use of to make their livelihood; these include human capital (individuals and their skill sets, education and health), natural capital (land), physical capital (infrastructure, water, electricity, telephone), social or cultural capital (cultural norms, social networks, membership of formal/informal groups, etc.); political capital, is a sub-set of social capital and refers to people’s access to the political system; and financial capital (savings, loans, credit, etc.).  For most people living in South-Side Belize City, their capital assets are minimal with human capital being the most valuable asset, but maybe compromised by ill-health and the lack of policies directed at enhancing this asset meaningfully.  For those who own their homes then land is an advantage to them, of course this is made more challenging by the excessive cost that is incurred to make the real estate in new areas accessible and the potential of reduced values due significantly to crime and drugs.  The social capital that exist for many households are individual connections to gangs and neighborhood groups, which has been one of the most capitalized on assets that many individuals use to make and sustain their livelihoods.  Physical capital for some remains a missing element, as electricity is shared between households, there is no existence of proper streets and London-bridges are common place.  Political capital is also low, as people’s involvement in the political system is constituted by a highly dependent relationship on area representatives to meet household needs.  Financial capital for many is simply non-existent.  Most people survive from one pay check to another, for those in formal employment.

Structure and processes are what determine how households can access and use their assets.  These structures include government ministries and agencies alongside non-governmental organizations within the community.  The process on the otherhand is the rules by which individuals must operate by in order to access and enhance their capital assets.  For many young individuals the process through which to access their capital assets has been to utilize their social capital that exists with their involvement in gangs and informal activities.  Individuals and households then develop strategies to organize their day to day survival which can derive many outcomes.  The feedback loops shows how the outcome of individual strategies affect the livelihood of others within the communities.  Livelihood strategies adapt to deal with shocks such as violence and the prevalence of crime.  For some of the young men and women in South-Side Belize City, the increased incidences of crime are all associated with the outcome of their livelihood strategies employed.  For those who seek to further their education their human capital is greatly enhanced.  The deprivation or lack of financial capital significantly constrains people’s livelihoods.

The increase in violent crimes and attacks on individuals over the last few weeks is a reflection of the desperation people are experiencing in trying to sustain themselves and their families.  The reliance for many on their social networks in gangs has been the only strategy employed to provide for their households.  While, for others their involvement is more a coping mechanism to placate their vulnerability or state of poverty.  As poverty is characterized by the deprivation of resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights (United Nations Committee on Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights, 2001).

Set within the context of a sustainable livelihood approach it is not so difficult to analyze what are the components that requires urgent attention by policy makers, if the lives of our people will be so transformed as to move them from the margins of poverty to a better place.  The argument that is always advanced is that we lack the financing to make the requisite inputs; yet time and again we see our Belizean resources being used in ways that does not enhance the livelihoods of our citizenry.  The capital assets of many continue in freefall, as structures, institutions and processes employed are increasingly not sufficiently responsive to the needs of the poor.  Our leaders have and are giving fuel implicitly to the emergence of creative ways by which disadvantaged and vulnerable people are leveraging their livelihoods.  As agents of the people, elected representatives are tasked and mandated to provide the required inputs in all areas to ensure that all our livelihoods are sustained.  South-Side Belize City comprises of many electoral divisions one of which the Prime Minster represents, so it begs the questions where are the results.

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