Some words from one of our Founders, Derricia Jael
Ok where do I actually even begin?
Do I begin in 2013 when our Paul, Roshawan and I sat on Roshawan's dad's floor and decided we wanted more and started planning a new "community organization" to support the inclusion and visibility of LGBT persons in Belize?
Or do I begin with my return from Outright Action's International's Advocacy Week answering emails from regional and global networks asking how is life for LGBT-formed couples in Belize.
Or do I begin in 2016 when I sent the incorporation application to Belize Companies Registry and opened the bank account.
There have been so many steps to get to where we are today.
There are also so many people and organizations to thank. But a very special “thank you” has to go to my fellow social justice warriors and power houses.
Today is a celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Our Circle, but this journey didn’t start in 2013. I had been working for almost ten years before that to establish myself in the diversity space and eventually establishing the organization.
So why did we incorporate in 2017? Roshawan, Paul, Robert and I knew that the work was much bigger than just us. And once we had developed the brand it was important to protect the brand, and identity, so incorporation made sense. We had operated up to 2017 as an informal community group and, whilst that was good, it had limitations.
If we were to achieve our mission of creating a fairer and safer society, we knew we couldn’t work alone. We needed people and organizations to partner and collaborate with.
There have been some amazing highs and some truly awful lows, but on balance this work is incredible and it’s impactful. When people say “but what do you actually do” I sometimes recoil, I sometimes struggle to articulate. In the early days, people didn’t really understand when I said the word “equality”. But the world has changed. Dare I say the world has caught up! In 2016, the Section 53 Case really consolidated and legitimized most of our work, our purpose and mission.
I now need to champion the brilliant work of our various teams:
Our Circle is currently made up of really passionate and dedicated volunteers. I personally thank each and every one of them. You are all absolute stars and so, so very appreciated.
The Standing Board of Directors which has been led by some amazing people and with wonderful community support. Thank you for who making and keeping me both proud and humble. My heartfelt thanks also go to our Board President, Denae Fairweather, whose support, over the last couple of years particularly, has been massively appreciated. I would be on the floor right now if it wasn’t for the support I have received. It’s tough at the top!
Thank you to our ever expanding and amazing clients, donors, funders, sponsors and supporters. We have gone from being known as “the newcomers trying to find a place” to the Belize based organization to a globally recognized organization.
We now have a social media reach of almost 3,000 followers and our client list is quite frankly eye watering! This impact has been made possible by the constant, uber professional, curation of our communications team.
The media… we have featured and properly represented by most media houses in Belize. We collectively really are making quite an impact.
We have said farewell to some brilliant people from the Board, over the years; I thank them all for the generosity of their time, support and commitment. A new generation of Board members is joining us this year, at our annual meeting at the end of this month. I am excited to welcome each of them – literally on board!
And finally thank you to all of you for celebrating with us and supporting this amazing organization. Here’s to the next ten years and beyond.
Do I begin in 2013 when our Paul, Roshawan and I sat on Roshawan's dad's floor and decided we wanted more and started planning a new "community organization" to support the inclusion and visibility of LGBT persons in Belize?
Or do I begin with my return from Outright Action's International's Advocacy Week answering emails from regional and global networks asking how is life for LGBT-formed couples in Belize.
Or do I begin in 2016 when I sent the incorporation application to Belize Companies Registry and opened the bank account.
There have been so many steps to get to where we are today.
There are also so many people and organizations to thank. But a very special “thank you” has to go to my fellow social justice warriors and power houses.
Today is a celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Our Circle, but this journey didn’t start in 2013. I had been working for almost ten years before that to establish myself in the diversity space and eventually establishing the organization.
So why did we incorporate in 2017? Roshawan, Paul, Robert and I knew that the work was much bigger than just us. And once we had developed the brand it was important to protect the brand, and identity, so incorporation made sense. We had operated up to 2017 as an informal community group and, whilst that was good, it had limitations.
If we were to achieve our mission of creating a fairer and safer society, we knew we couldn’t work alone. We needed people and organizations to partner and collaborate with.
There have been some amazing highs and some truly awful lows, but on balance this work is incredible and it’s impactful. When people say “but what do you actually do” I sometimes recoil, I sometimes struggle to articulate. In the early days, people didn’t really understand when I said the word “equality”. But the world has changed. Dare I say the world has caught up! In 2016, the Section 53 Case really consolidated and legitimized most of our work, our purpose and mission.
I now need to champion the brilliant work of our various teams:
Our Circle is currently made up of really passionate and dedicated volunteers. I personally thank each and every one of them. You are all absolute stars and so, so very appreciated.
The Standing Board of Directors which has been led by some amazing people and with wonderful community support. Thank you for who making and keeping me both proud and humble. My heartfelt thanks also go to our Board President, Denae Fairweather, whose support, over the last couple of years particularly, has been massively appreciated. I would be on the floor right now if it wasn’t for the support I have received. It’s tough at the top!
Thank you to our ever expanding and amazing clients, donors, funders, sponsors and supporters. We have gone from being known as “the newcomers trying to find a place” to the Belize based organization to a globally recognized organization.
We now have a social media reach of almost 3,000 followers and our client list is quite frankly eye watering! This impact has been made possible by the constant, uber professional, curation of our communications team.
The media… we have featured and properly represented by most media houses in Belize. We collectively really are making quite an impact.
We have said farewell to some brilliant people from the Board, over the years; I thank them all for the generosity of their time, support and commitment. A new generation of Board members is joining us this year, at our annual meeting at the end of this month. I am excited to welcome each of them – literally on board!
And finally thank you to all of you for celebrating with us and supporting this amazing organization. Here’s to the next ten years and beyond.