Belize's First Lady Bio Booklet

BELIZE WIFE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF

BIOG R A PH Y Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow is the wife of Prime Minister of Belize, Honorable Dean Barrow and mother to her only child, Salima Barrow. Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow is Belize’s Special Envoy for Women and Children and the founder and director of one of Belize’s most acclaimed charity organisations, the Lifeline Foundation, which strives to improve the quality of life for the children of Belize. She started the Foundation after transitioning from a distinguished career in both the domestic and international tourism industry.

In the vitally important role as Executive Director for the Belize Tourism Industry, she made numerous invaluable contributions to the strategic development as well as the implementation of the long term roadmap for Belize’s tourism industry. Using her international contacts and experience, she facilitated valuable partnerships that have greatly enhanced and benefited the growth and development of the tourism industry.

She was the first to coordinate national communications among the various stakeholders in the tourism industry by launching a magazine called “Tourism Voice.” Prior to this position, she served as Marketing Director for the popular Fiesta Inn Hotel properties in Mazatlan, Cozumel and Belize.

In September of 2008, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow was appointed by Special Olympics International as a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics movement, joining the ranks of well known international personalities like Nelson Mandela, Bono and Arnold Schwarzenegger: This is the first such honour accorded to a Belizean. That same year she was designated by the government as Belize’s Special Envoy for Women and Children.

Being appointed as the Global Ambassador for Special Olympics and Special Envoy for Children and Women were natural fits for Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow, who has worked tirelessly and passionately for many years as a community activist and advocate for the rights of children. Her passion is exemplified by her strong commitment and dedication to these special platforms and to Lifeline Foundation, which in a small economy, still raises tens of thousands of dollars annually to aid disenfranchised children. Her Foundation has championed many causes, but her primary focuses have been on children living with HIV/ AIDS, support to children outside of familial care settings, building classrooms and bathroom facilities in rural areas of Belize and nutrition programs for children.

As Special Envoy for Women and Children, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow is the Belizean champion for children, undertaking projects big and small and working primarily in collaboration with the Ministries

of Health and Human Development, the National Committee for Families and Children and local nongovernment organisations in advocating for the passage of legislation and the development of social policies and programmes that promote and protect children’s wellbeing.

Over the past 5 years Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow has been very successful in putting the subject of the commercial sexual exploitation of children squarely in the domain of public discourse and action. She has hosted national conferences to raise awareness on the subject and successfully advocated for the passage of legislation on the commercial sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking, as well as the passage of amendments to the criminal code for stiffer penalties for all perpetrators of sexual violence against children.

Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow holds a Master’s Degree in International Business from Florida International University and a second Master’s in Hospitality Management from the same University. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality with a minor in Spanish from the lnstituto Technologico de Morelia in Mexico City.

s tr e ng th Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in October 2011. Instead of withdrawing and privately coping with her illness she parlayed the fight for her life into an incredibly successful campaign to increase public awareness on cancer and reduce stigma and discrimination by going public. During this time, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow worked closely with the Belize Cancer Society to increase cancer awareness among the local population by hosting cancer forums and talking about her own diagnosis. Many people have professed undergoing cancer screenings as a result of her public struggle and the strength she showed in her fight against cancer.

s u pp ort Throughout her cancer treatment, she never discontinued her advocacy efforts and activities on behalf of the children of Belize and counts 2011 as one of her most successful years.

Every October, observed as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow continues her advocacy with the Paint Belize Pink Campaign. This national awareness campaign was a great success as numerous businesses and government offices mounted large pink ribbons on their buildings to bring heightened attention to breast cancer and the message that early detection saves lives.

Individuals and households also joined by lighting pink candles in honor of those who lost their lives, lighting the outside of their homes with pink bulbs in a show of solidarity with persons still battling cancer and wearing pink in celebration the survivors. When she lost her hair during chemotherapy, the students of the University of Belize held a “Baldmiration Campaign� and many shaved their own heads in solidarity.

se rv ic e Reigniting a Mission to Improve the Quality of Life for those in Belize In 2013 Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow embarked on a public education campaign titled “My Body is Precious� that seeks to empower children and adolescents with information on sexual abuse and exploitation. She has co-authored two books as a part of the campaign. The first was a child friendly book on sexual abuse prevention that targets 6 to 10 year olds. This book was launched in April, 2013 and resulted in a countrywide tour that included the dramatization of the book and a song. The second book targets adolescent girls and was distributed at a countrywide Girl Empowerment speaking tour in early 2014.

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Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow also expanded her call to end sexual abuse and exploitation against children to include ALL forms of violence against children. A National Stakeholder Conference to End Violence Against Children was held in November 2013 that resulted in a roadmap, charting the way to a comprehensive, coordinated and multi-sectorial response to violence against Belizean children and adolescents.

Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow initiated the construction of two much needed facilities designed to improve the lives of some of Belize’s most vulnerable children. The first of these facilities is the Inspiration Centre that now provides integrated medical and therapy services to poor children with disabilities. The second is a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, a new wing being constructed at the national referral hospital. Both of these multimillion dollar projects are being financed by Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow’s local and international fundraising efforts. She has managed to inspire and mobilise the general public in Belize to donate to these causes and made local history with the Inspiration Telethons, the first of which raised a million dollars in one day for the Inspiration Center. Both the Inspiration Centre and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit are the first and only facilities of their kind in the country.

pr oj ects The Inspiration Center Children are high among those that are most vulnerable and at risk. Poor children in general do not have communities or services designed specifically for them and are therefore very vulnerable to the risks and dangers that pervade their lives.

Of this group, it is children with disabilities – children either born with a genetic condition that affected their physical, mental or social development, or who have sustained functional consequences - that are among those most adversely affected. If a society is judged not on the situation of its wealthiest, but on how it treats its most vulnerable, then Belize has some way to go in re-dressing the situation of its poorest children and therein, children with a disability.

With the construction of the Inspiration Center, Belize is now able to provide a necessary service to children with disabilities where once there were only very limited opportunities for children to receive much-needed therapy.

pr oj ects PAediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) & Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Providing optimal care for the unique needs of critically ill paediatric and neonatal patients, best occurs in an intensive care unit specifically designed for that purpose. Although the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is the national referral hospital for the children of Belize, it does not have a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The unfortunate result is that there are children struggling to recover from regular childhood illnesses that hinder their development due to a lack of treatment options; children with cancer and others needing tertiary care who have to travel hundreds of miles at catastrophic costs that, in many instances, are far greater than their families’ income and cannot be sustained.

Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow has undertaken to bridge this major gap in Belize’s healthcare system and has been able to secure significant funding to get this project off the ground and construction started in July 2013. Fundraising continues, with partnerships between the office of the Special Envoy for Women and Children and the Embassies and Consulates abroad, to ensure the facility is completed and sustainable. The first phase of construction was completed in July, 2014 and the PICU is expected to be operational in early 2015. The new wing will house a dedicated Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and will assist Belize in reducing its infant and under-5 mortality rates by providing proper equipment, staffing and monitoring.

pr oj ects 20,000 STRONG A national call was issued and women responded by the thousands on March 27th, 2014 for the 20,000 STRONG Women’s Empowerment Rally organized by the office of the Special Envoy for Women and Children and the National Women’s Commission. As loaded busses came in from the districts, the women of Belize City donned their orange shirts and marched to the venue; the Marion Jones Stadium.

The turnout of both women and men was a clear sign that Belize is ready for the next step toward true gender equality. Belize’s women are ready to play bigger role in the country’s development and to effect the changes needed to address the injustices many of them still face in their professional and personal lives.

Messages of unity, strength and the mountains that can be moved when we come together for a common good, were shared throughout the day by dynamic speakers. The 20,000 Strong Rally was the start of a new movement in Belize where the power, influence and significance of women is fully recognized and appreciated. It is a movement that encourages women to uplift themselves, their families and communities, and each other; to dream big and believe that they can achieve anything.

pr oj ects Championing Women and Children Initiatives Worldwide In her direct work with civil society, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow co-sponsored a Leadership Conference for Youth in conjunction with the Petter’s Research Institute directed by the world renowned Duke University Professor, Dr. Arlie Petters, to develop the new generation of Belizean Leaders. She is also a Director for the Liberty Children’s Home, a member of the Belize Humane Society and has served on the Development Committee for Hand in Hand Ministries, an organization dedicated to building low income housing.

Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow’s latest undertaking is the First Ladies Global Call to Action Conference on Women and Girls’ Financial Health; a side event at the United Nations General Assembly to be held on September 25th, 2014 in New York. The resources and networks of these influential women leaders and organizations working in the area of gender equality and women’s development, provide a unique opportunity for partners to chart a progressive way forward on behalf of the world’s women and girls.

Prior to the UN side event, Mrs. Simplis Barrow hosted a National Call to Action Conference on Women and Girls’ Financial Health in Belize on August 29th, 2014, focusing on the situation of women entrepreneurs throughout the country. The event was an information gathering exercise to create the foundation upon which an economic empowerment program to provide technical and financial support to women entrepreneurs will be developed.