Category Archives: Orange Walk 2011

Lliani Catellanos is currently an outreach volunteer at Tikkun OlamBelize, a newly established organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Commercial Sex workers in Orange Walk District and in all ofBelize. Since she was a teenager, Liani has been working or volunteering with a number of Organizations such as:  Pan American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO) as a sex educator, the National Drug Abuse Control Council (NDACC) in Orange Walk, and Youth for the Future.

Lliani was also a Peer Helper at her alma mater,MufflesHigh School, and holds an Associate Degree in General Studies with a concentration in Sociology fromMufflesJunior College. She hopes to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or Social Sciences in the near future.  Lliani has a passion for the work she does in her community and is certain that the GOJoven Program is giving her the opportunity to develop and use her leadership skills to the fullest capacity possible.

Mia Quetzal identifies herself as a transgender woman who was born male but lives her life as a woman. She holds an Associates Degree and has worked with the Red Cross and BFLA as a peer educator. She supports PASMO by conducting some of their surveys with at-risk populations and she is the Coordinator of a transgender group that advocates for their basic human rights at national and regional levels in the Caribbean. She also is a volunteer with UNIBAM, an organization that works for the rights of the LGBT community in Belize and she is a volunteer with VOICE in the Orange Walk area that advocates for the rights of the elderly. Mia’s advocacy for improving sexual and reproductive health lies in her desire to give a voice to transgender people as well as immigrant sex workers in SRH policies and program implementation. In the future, Mia sees a career for herself in nursing or working media and she hopes that GOJoven will help take her public speaking skills to the next level so that her voice can be heard even more clearly.

Ziedi is a young mother who believes that there is a huge unmet need for sexual and reproductive health education and outreach in her community and she personally identifies herself with that situation. Ziedi holds an Associate Degree in Accounting and is a Computer and English Teacher at a night school in her community. She has always had a passion for helping other young mothers like herself to reach their educational goals; she has worked at a rehab center in her district. She hopes to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science so that she can better contribute to the health and wellbeing of young people and the environment.

Iris Carbajal Reyes is a motivated, passionate, dynamic business lecturer atCentroEscolarMéxicoJunior College fromOrangeWalkTown.  She completed her Associate’s Degree in Business at St. John’s College Junior College in 2003 and decided to further her studies at the neighboring country of Mexico at Universidad de Quintana Roo where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2007. Iris also had the privilege of attending Appalachian State University in North Carolina, USA as part of an academic exchange program.  While abroad, she specialized in studying international business programs in Management and Marketing.   She has participated in several conferences and workshops on a broad range of business-related topics including small business management, leadership, entrepreneurship, and marketing.

She began her teaching career in 2008 at CEMJC, as a part of a small, young and energized staff. Inspired by her profession, she continued to further her studies at Universidad Interamericana para el Desarrollo (UNID) where she obtained a Master’s Degree in Education.   She is also an entrepreneur at heart, and presently runs a small business inOrangeWalkTown.  She has been working with the CEMJC community ever since, and is actively participating in leadership programs that can help her to promote youth development and awareness in our society.  Her strong educational background, experience, and passion for business and teaching make her a strong competent team player