Positively Impacting the LIVES of Belizeans since 1996

Who We Are

The Belize Social Investment Fund

Belize Social Investment Fund is an implementing agency of the Government of Belize….aimed to improve quality of life through the implementation of infrastructure and social programs; thus ensuring our citizens are provided with opportunities to actively participate in, and significantly contribute to the national development of Belize.

In essence, the Belize Social Investment Fund is a catalyst for sustainable national development for present and future generations.

To date, BSIF has implemented over 700 tangible development projects that have had a national impact in the areas of Education, Water & Sanitation, Health, Social Services, Organizational Strengthening, and Economic Infrastructure.

Mission

To address the human development needs of men, women, and children to enable every Belizean to easily access and positively contribute to the social, economic, educational, cultural, environmental and developmental resources of Belize

Addressing the basic needs of Belize

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

The management of the Belize Social Investment Fund is carried out by a nine-member Board of Directors which reports to the Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance, Economic Development And Investment. Members of the Board have been selected by their respective ministry or organization and then approved by the Office of the Prime Minister. The representatives have been selected from the following Ministries and Organizations:

  • Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment
  •  Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology
  •  Ministry of Health & Wellness
  •  Ministry of Human Development, Families & Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs
  •  Ministry of Rural transformation, Community Development, Labor and Local Government
  •  NGO Community
  •  Private Sector Organizations
  •  Women’s Commission
  •  Youth Commission

The Executive Director is a non-voting member of the Board.

The Board is responsible for assuring adherence to the guiding principles and policies of the Belize Social Investment Fund.

Board of Directors

The management of the Belize Social Investment Fund is carried out by a nine-member Board of Directors which reports to the Minister of Economic Development. Members of the Board have been selected by their respective ministry or organization and then approved by the Minister of Economic Development. The representatives have been selected from the following Ministries and Organizations:

Mrs. Nardia Garcia
Representative Of the Office of the Prime Minister and
Ministry of  Finance, Economic Development and Investment (as Chairperson)

Mrs. Thea Garcia Ramirez
Representative from the Women’s Commission of Belize

Mrs. Dian Castillo Meheja
Representative from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science & Technology

Ms. Tanya Santos Neal
Representative from the Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs

Dr. Deysi Mendez
Representative from the Ministry of Health & Wellness

Mr. Anthony Maaz
Representative from the Youth Commission Of Belize

Ms. Arreini Palacio Morgan
epresentative from the Non-Governmental Organization

Mr. Marcello Blake
Representative from the Private Sector Organization

Ms. Valentino Shal
Representative from the Ministry of Rural transformation, Community Development, Labor and Local Government .

Management


Nellie Trench
Finance Unit Coordinator


Wendel Parham
CRIP Project Coordinator

Virginia Vasquez
Office Manager


Colin Escalante
Technical Unit Coordinator

The Management and Staff are delighted to report that as a result of our ongoing projects, increasingly more Belizean men, women and children are enjoying easier access to potable water supply, health, and educational facilities, rehabilitated and paved roads, complemented by soft projects designed for the development of the country’s most cherished resource, the people of Belize.

The Fund, in its role as a social and economic development actor in Belize, has empowered and continues to empower Belizeans in both rural and urban communities with entrepreneur skills training, computer skills training, vocational training, business training, decision making and leadership, market and marketing, business opportunities, and business mentoring. As an implementing agency of the Government of Belize, BSIF has made laudable accomplishments in improving the quality of life for Belizeans. One such example is the completion of water projects, which reduces the incidences of water-borne diseases in communities and residents’ vulnerability to these ailments.

Safe Water to meet daily needs - drinking, cooking, bathing & washing

Our History

The Project Preparation Team

The Social Investment Fund of Belize (SIF) was established by the Government of Belize in 1996. SIF was preceded by an interim organization called the Social Investment Fund Project. Preparation Team which was a nine-member entity set up to prepare the project implementation program.

This included producing all the operational manuals, a menu of projects that would be financed, and a listing of the job descriptions and positions that would become operational upon the establishment of SIF.

The Project Preparation Team (PPT) had an unusual configuration, with a young professional staff posted along with a more experienced team member working in the topical areas of education and social and economic development – areas which were deemed critical to the elimination of poverty in Belize. This proved to be an effective approach since it allowed for the matching of the more conservative approaches of the experienced staff with the energy and dynamism of the younger members of the team. Overall, the PPT was able to utilize the expertise available through the auspices of UNICEF, the Department of Foreign International Development (DFID), the World Bank, and the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation, among others. The Team also got the opportunity to visit other social investment funds in the western hemisphere to glean the best practice methodologies that were available at that time. Belize has benefited immensely from the important foundational work done by the PPT and indeed its successor, the Social Investment Fund.

—Contributed by Dennis N. Jones, member of the Social Investment Fund Project Preparation Team