Kathleen Esquivel

Kathleen “Kathy” Esquivel (born 24 October 1947) is a distinguished Belizean educator, writer and community leader whose life’s work bridges education, the arts and public service. She taught high school mathematics in Belize for twenty-five years before serving as Managing Director of a mid-sized business. A committed advocate for social development, she researched and wrote or steered two UNICEF publications and has held several national leadership roles, including Past President of the National Women’s Commission (1993–1998), Past Chairperson of the National AIDS Commission (2008–2014), and Founding Member, Past President and current Secretary of the Belize Mental Health Association (since 1997).

An accomplished author and playwright, she has written and produced multiple one-act and full-length plays, and published a short story, two novels and a memoir. Her books are available on Amazon and in bookshops across Belize.

Email: pcom@btl.net

Bibliography

Novels/Short Stories

Under the Shade (1991) – Adventure story tracing early drug trade in Belize and its effects on Belize and its interaction with ethnicity.

The Fragrance of Jasmin, a short story in Memories, Dreams and Nightmares, Vol. 2 (2005) – The reaction of an adolescent girl to discovering that she belongs to the second, “outside”, family of her father.

Benjy (2019) – A story centred around a main character with a diagnosis of schizophrenia exploring how his illness affects his family and others with whom he comes into contact.

Still Waters (2022) – a biography/memoir of Sir Manuel Esquivel covering his personal and political life in Belize and my involvement in this life.

Plays (Full length and produced in Belize)

Such Good Children – Introducing four 5-year-old children in Belize with all the promise they bring and tracing their lives as young adults.

Caan Walk Da Mi Plantaish – A musical featuring folk songs of Belize within a story set on a farm in rural Belize.

SCAM – A comedy telling the story of an attempt to improve the lives of 6 down and outs by teaching them to become better beggars.

Neighbourhood Watch – A comedy about setting up a Neighbourhood Watch group in a village and the confusion and snitching it produces.

UNICEF Publications

Right to a Future (1997) – Wrote and researched this situation analysis of children in Belize.

From Girls to Women, Growing up Healthy in Belize (2000) – helped steer this updated situation analysis of children in Belize.