SOZO Directors Blog

Get to Know SOZO Foundation Belize (NGO) and Sozo Belize (Consulting Firm)

Founding Director Gretchen Smith invites you to get to know SOZO Foundation Belize (NGO) and SOZO Belize (Consulting Firm) working in the area of human rights, disability rights, environment, education, violence reduction, anti-human trafficking, business start up and functioning primarily in the faith based sector in Belize Central America working with traumatized and marginalized people, primarily men over age 30 who need a second chance in life because they never really got a good foundation.

You can get to know us more by reviewing our links below and liking and following our online initiatives in advocacy and education.  We are much in need of REMOTE volunteers online for capacity building at this stage but we especially volunteer in areas of legal expertise, trust formation, fiscal sponsorship and research and we also clearly need a volunteer graphic web design and Ms. Smith needs an advocate to be her voice when dealing with government and other businesses that are not prepared to deal with people with disabilities.

 HISTORY AND IMPORTANT LINKS

Gretchen Smith is the founding director of SOZO Foundation Belize (NGO-Non Profit) and SOZO Belize (Consulting) BOTH are registered in Belize Central America after many years of strategic development and a whole lot of struggle due to systemic issues and personal capacity.

The idea for both has been birthed out of 25 years of ministry and Smith began strategic development in writing in 2015 after 2 decades of thinking about returning to Belize. She had come to Belize from 1994 to 1998 and had a spent 20 years dreaming of coming back to do ministry and launch a business and live and retire there and finally in 2017 God opened the door for her to return to launch her business and ministry here in Belize but it has been a battle (a story for another day). The NGO officially launched in 2017 with permission from NGO Senator Osmany Salis however there were no formal processes or written guidelines and over the following 7 years Ms. Smith had to re-register the NGO a total of 12 times and as of February 14, 2024 there is still no bank account approved due to errors in the the certified documents from Companies Registry again and again and again (ironically it is simply a missing page that is blank but BCCAR seems utterly incapable of getting it right despite the face that they have been provided the correct copies no less than 6 times). When the board of directors has time they will work on the problem once again and try again to get a bank account. It has been an exceedingly frustrating process and human rights complaints had to be filed with international agencies to force GOB to fix the non profit act however it is still not fully functional as of February 2024.

She has diligently and systemically continue strategic development and registered SOZO Belize in February of 2022 through Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry and SOZO Foundation Belize in March of 2022 after much struggle and difficulty due to systemic issues as well as her own capacity as a disabled person (a story for another day). It did not help to have to fight Cancer and Lung Problems and CPTSD in the middle of COVID Shutdown (which shut down another business she owned which was a guest house for the NGO) and on top of everything she lost everything for the business, the NGO and her personal items in Hurricane Lisa November 2 of 2022.

SOZO Foundation Belize was approved in 2022 by the Financial Intelligence Unity and the Attorney General and Ms. Smith was required to take ACAMS training as well as MLTPA training with very little notice but she pushed through at total cost of 8000 USD. In 2023 the laws in Belize changed and Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry was privatized and in compliance she re-registered both companies again in the OBRS System. She also took MLTPA training and contributed to the Non Profit Act as well as many other policies that needed updating nationwide (and still need a lot of updating). She is also approved by Financial Intelligence Unit and is the MLCO (Money Laundering Compliance Officer) and she is approved by the Attorney General and in good standing as of 02/14/2024.  She is currently working on getting registered agent status and registering SOZO Penny University as a school as she continues to set a strong foundation for her work in Belize.

Smith is disabled with C-PTSD and lung problems as well as low hearing and prefers written communication. She is well aware that her vision for the NGO seems next to impossible but she is doing what God has called her to do and will continue to push forward step by step as resources and time are available as well as emotional capacity to deal with the utterly horrendous system in Belize.

SOZO Foundation Belize has completed

OVER 50 PILOT PROJECTS COMPLETED IN BELIZE AS OF 02/14/2024!

Here is a link to our Full Project List!

Meaning of SOZO

SOZO is a Greek Word  from the new testament in the Bible that means

• to save, keep safe and sound, 
• to rescue from danger or destruction or to rescue one (from injury or peril)  
• to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, 
• to make well, heal, restore to health  to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, 
• to save or rescue  to save in the technical biblical sense  to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment  
• to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance