A Single Parents Alliance Support for Families in Need

This week on The Bright Side, we continue our theme of restoring dignity, this time through empowerment. For many single parents, the journey can feel like walking alone. Between balancing work, household responsibilities, and the emotional needs of their children, many often carry the weight of two roles: provider and nurturer, with little support. The emotional strain can be just as heavy as the financial one. Studies have shown that single parents are more likely to face burnout, anxiety, and social isolation. Yet, despite these challenges, they continue to show remarkable resilience, doing what they can, with what they have, for the ones they love most. But what happens when that strength is met with support, when someone steps in to help carry the load? A newly formed non-profit called the Single Parents Alliance is doing just that, changing the narrative for single mothers and fathers across Belize, one family at a time. Sabreena Daly tells us more.

 

Sabreena Daly, Reporting

Just a few minutes shy of four p.m., children of all ages gather at the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City, books open and voices eager. They sound out words, form sentences, and read aloud with growing confidence. It’s one of the first programs taking shape under the newly formed Single Parents Alliance, or SPA. The idea was born from a deep understanding of a growing challenge, families stretched thin, carrying the full weight of raising children with only half a support system. Founder Marie Muñoz calls it an epidemic. After years of raising her own children alone, she’s now doing her part to be the village that many single or struggling parents need, helping to lighten their load and restore a sense of community and dignity.

 

Marie Munoz, Founder, Single Parents Alliance

“ Every day in our news, we hear of families that are suffering going through that same thing, and it’s not really turning around. And so my mom and I came together to put our passions together. My passion is for the single mom, the single dad who is out there struggling. And my mom’s passion is for literacy.”

 

Advocacy, mentorship, and spirituality form three of the pillars that guide the work of the Single Parents Alliance. Together, they create a foundation of emotional and social support for parents who often feel they must do it all alone. But at the heart of it all is educational wellness, with a special focus on literacy, giving children the tools and confidence to rewrite their own futures.

 

Marie Munoz

“Reading allows for a child to become reflective. It gives the child empathy over time, and it helps them to think and make decisions. They’re seeing cause and effect in every story that they’re reading. They’re learning cause and effect. That is something more than likely, if they had both parents, they would be hearing. They would be corrected in certain areas and learning. Don’t do this, Johnny, because if you do this, this will happen.”

 

Marie Muñoz’s mom, Dr. Rosaline Bradley, a reading specialist, conducted research across eight schools in Belize City to assess the need for literacy support. The results, she says, were astounding. Many children were struggling to read at their grade level, and that finding helped shape the foundation of SPA’s literacy program.

 

 

Dr. Rosaline Bradley, Reading Specialist

“I think literacy is one of the key components, and especially in school, it’s gonna be difficult for you to do anything else if you are not able to read and write. So it’s a foundation of all other learning and so it is critical that the students develop that skill. We did a study at the standard three level, which at that point the students should be reading. They have done four to five years of schooling already. And so if they’re not reading at that level. It’s a problem. We can see that there’s gonna be a problem later on. Um, and so with the study, we found out that a lot of students at the center three level, were not reading at that particular level.”

Adriana Nuñez became a single mother after losing the father of her three children in a tragic accident. Despite the challenges of balancing school and parenting, she says it’s important for her children to read, knowing it will shape a better future for them.

 

Adriana Nunez, Single Mother

“I kinda struggle, a little. Not a lot. I find it really helpful that my kids could learn to read.”

Sabreena Daly
“Why is it important that your kids know to read?”

Adriana Nunez

“Because if you don’t have an education, they will take advantage of you and you won’t be able to get the jobs you want in life.”

 

Just two weeks after its official launch, SPA is already attracting students in large numbers. More than thirty children of varying learning levels now fill the upper floor of the public library, including some in their first year of high school, all eager to improve their reading skills. As part of the program, they are also provided with a free snack to keep them fueled and focused. Supporting this mission are dedicated mentors and volunteers including Jemiah, who got involved because of her love of reading. Together, they guide the students, helping them build confidence and unlock their full potential through literacy.

 

Jemiah Villanueva, Literacy Mentor

“To me, when I hear about a child not reading or not being able to read, it kind of breaks my heart because of how much I love reading.I want them to know, Hey, you can read too. You can practice, learn your stuff. Just put in a little more effort, and you can become more imaginative and even more outgoing.”

 

Marie Munoz

“ The children who are helping, if they don’t get the help, they’re four times more likely to drop out of school. And so we want those children to have a chance, have a chance to become. Despite the fact that they may come from a broken family, that they have a chance to go to high school, that they get a chance to go to college and they become whatever they dream of. And so in the long run, Belize will be a better society.”

 

From literacy to mentorship, the Single Parents Alliance is proving that support can make all the difference. For children like Adriana Nuñez’s, learning to read opens doors to a brighter future. For volunteers like Jemiah, it’s a chance to share a love of reading and inspire confidence. And for founder Marie Muñoz, it’s about giving single parents the village they deserve. Through programs like SPA, children are not only improving academically, but families are regaining hope, dignity, and the tools to dream bigger. One page, one lesson, and one act of support at a time. Looking on The Bright Side, I’m Sabreena Daly