The People Project

7/31/2019 The People Project

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The People ProjectThe People ProjectThe People ProjectThe People ProjectBy Cisco Construction LimitedBy Cisco Construction LimitedBy Cisco Construction LimitedBy Cisco Construction Limited


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The Job:The Job:The Job:The Job:Dredging and Lining - Collet & North Creek Canals, Contract #1

Funded by OPEC Fund for Intl Development

In January 2012, as part of Phase II of the Southside Poverty Alleviation Project, Cisco Construction

Limited signed a contract - with the Ministry of Works, Government of Belize, to dredge the Collet and

North Creek Canals and to install one thousand, two hundred eighty (1,280) linear meters of concrete

drainage, pave adjoining carriageways, create parking areas, install safety rails, uplift existing sidewalks

and create green areas The total value of the project is calculated at 9.7 million Belize dollars. Phase 1 of

the contract is the lining of the Collet Canal and accompanying works. Phase 2 of the contract is the

lining of the North Creek Canal and accompanying works.

The project is currently in Phase 1, encompassing the length of Collet Canal from the Caribbean Sea

near Caesar Ridge Road to the Haulover Creek near Conch Shell Bay. In lining the canal, CiscoConstruction is using two different types of concrete structures: a) a breast plate and b) a U unit.

Dimensionally, the breast plate stands eight (8) feet high and twelve (12) feet wide. The U unit measures

fifteen (15) feet in width. Phase 2the dredging and lining of the North Creek canal will commence

shortly. Work on the ground began in mid-January 2012 and is scheduled to be completed within

seventeen months (June 2013).

Collet Canal March 2012

Collet Canal -September 2012


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Modus OperandiModus OperandiModus OperandiModus Operandi::::

Locally established in 1978, Cisco Construction Limited has become synonymous with construction in

Belize. The companys management team describes Cisco as a Belizean owned and operated

company with a social conscience. Over the last three decades, Cisco Construction has built a reputation

for safety, quality workmanship, and the completion of projects within time and financial budgets.

When Cisco Construction Limited was contracted to do works as part of the Southside Poverty

Alleviation Project, the management team took the name to heart. Despite Cisco Constructions cache of

heavy duty equipment, the company decided early on to make the project labour-intensive to create

training opportunities for otherwise unemployable residents from the Southside of Belize City.

To date, there are more than one hundred and fifty (150) men and women working on the Collet and

North Creek projects.

Shovelling crewMarch 2012


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TheTheTheThe ContextContextContextContext::::

In 2010, there were 312,698 people, representing a diversity of cultures, living in the Central American

nation of Belize1. Children and adolescents comprised 43.86% of the total Belizean population2. 41.3% of

Belizeans were poor (unable to meet food and essential non-food needs) in 2009, a significant increase

from a rate of 33% in 19953. More than 15% of Belizeans were considered indigent (unable to satisfy

basic food needs) in 2009, a significant increase from 2002 when the rate was at 10.8%4. The highest

poverty rates are in rural areas but the highest urban poverty rates (indigent and poor) are in Belize City.

The Southside area of Belize City is a concentrated urban poverty zone5. The Country Poverty

Assessment report of 2010 found that in one area of Southside, more than half the people heading the

household did not have a job. Southside is particularly prone to family breakdown, poverty and drug

trafficking that lead to a vicious cycle of anti-social behaviour, crime, stigmatization and social

exclusion.

For decades, Belize promoted itself as a peaceful Central American nation in the heart of the Caribbean.

Between 1993 and 2000, the country recorded an average of forty-eight victims of murder every year.

However, within the last ten years, Belizes murder rate has skyrocketed to an average of more than

ninety a year. That means for every one thousand persons, an average of thirty-four persons were

victims of murder. It is a rate that is among the highest in both the Caribbean and Central America.

Poverty, indigence and violent crime are part of the way of life on the Southside of Belize City. It is

estimated that approximately forty percent of the countrys murders occur in the Southside which has

less than ten (10) percent of the Belizes population6. Several gangs have laid claim to Belize City Streets,

predominately those on the Southside of the old capital. Those groups include, but are not limited to,the George Street Gang, Back-A-Town, P-I-V, Kraal Road, Taylor's Alley, and the Southside Gang7.

It is the members of those gangsmen and women who call the toughest neighbourhoods in Belize

homethat make up the core of the crews working directly for Cisco Construction Limited and its

subcontractors on the North Creek and Collet Canal dredging and lining project.

1Belize Census 2010

2The Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Belize. UNICEF, 2011

3Draft Scorecard and Outlook Report: Millennium Development Goals-Belize. UNDP 2010

4Ibid.

5The Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Belize. UNICEF, 2011

6CPA 2010

7www.7newsbelize.com, September 2, 2011 newscast


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TheTheTheThe Method to the MadnessMethod to the MadnessMethod to the MadnessMethod to the Madness::::

To make their idea work, and work well, Cisco Construction introduced a unique system to their

management structure on the job site. To start, at the onset of the project, the company hired Michael

Barrera. Armed with a Bachelors Degree in Social Work from the University of Belize and more than a

decade of experience working with at risk youth, prisoners and violent individuals, Barreras job

description is On-site Human Resource Manager. Essentially, he stays visible on the job site; earns the

trust of the workers; acts as a go-between for workers and the company and counsels as necessary.

Barrera also helps instil financial discipline, helping to create budgets and assists workers in setting up

bank saving accounts.

When it came to discipline, the company set rules in place. Workers were expected to show up on time,

have respect for each other, and be ready to learn how to do the job according to supervisor

instructions. All employees were initially placed on probation until they had proven themselves willing

to abide by the rules.

The companys policies on site also included that issues (disagreements, fights, etc) were to be

addressed immediately. Supervisors were to isolate the problem and resolve via mediation (in the

presence of the on-site HR manager) before work was allowed to continue.

The company also employed both verbal and non-verbal positive reinforcement messages to the

workers. A significant aspect of this strategy is periodic evaluation reports. Positive reports make the

employees eligible for merit commendations as well as increases potential for salary increases.

According to Assistant Site Supervisor Kevin Alvarez, the basic tactic is to instil pride by positive

motivation and incentives. I tell my guys all the time: I proud ah unu! I give them respect. That

positive enforcement and respect gives them pride in themselves and each other, the work they are

doing and it creates respect for authority. As part of the non-verbal aspect of the strategy, the company

has printed posters carrying inspirational messages (Bob Marley quotes have proven the most popular)

and set them up in and around the job site.

Cisco Construction has also created an environment where full-time employees are eager to share their

testimonials with the contract labourers. Alvarez, a former police officer, spent time behind bars


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himself. The subliminal message: your supervisors have a past but they are still being constructive

citizens. Yes, this can be you one day if you work hard. For Site Supervisor Dion Flame Burns, the

simple strategy of the company to treat the labourers as people has the most far reaching effect. When

these people come here, they are not street people or bad bway. We show them that we see them as

people with potential. And you start to see a little hope come into their eye.

The management team at Cisco Construction has also been keen to provide hands-on training

opportunities for the labourers at every juncture possible. Anyone willing to learn on site can receive

training in proper cement mixing, lab testing, surveying, steel bending and tying and form work, driving,

welding, mechanics, etc.

The company also participates in volunteer labour projects in the surrounding community to foster

goodwill. In one such project, the company teamed up with Wesley Upper School to construct a study

room. The school donated the necessary material and the company contributed the labour.


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TheTheTheThe ResultsResultsResultsResults::::

According to the Cisco Management team, their unique strategy is paying off in productivity on the

sitethe job is getting done within budget and according to schedule using a manual labour intensive

approach. And just as importantly, the compassion shown to workers is paying off dividends both on

site and in neighbouring communities.

On-Site Human Resource Manager Michael Barrera maintains, Because of their background, or even

their reputation, these individuals were considered unemployable. So until now, theyve been unskilled.

But over the last six months, Barrera says the change in attitude, appearance, and communication has

been tangible. For the first time in many of their lives, they are employed, they are bringing home a

regular salary, they are learning a skill. Thats a huge confidence boost for these men and women. They

come in as a common labourer; someone gives them hands-on training; they advance to working with

different types of equipment or welding or in the mechanic shop. They actually become self-aware of

what they can do and most importantly, that they can show up every day, willing to work.

The opportunities for skills-training have also revealed hidden talents. Twenty-nine year old Mervin

Underwood has been through a lot in his young life. Hes lost two brothers to gun violence and survived

two bullets himself. One day on the site, he was asked to help collect concrete samples for quality

assurance testing. Underwood flourished in the time consuming role and has proven to be a meticulous

worker and a math whiz. I like it wah lot. I woulda wah learn more bout it, Underwood says.

EMPLOYEE TESTIMONIAL: This job site dah no like odda place. When yu di look fu space out cause yu

need fu talk to somebody, odda place woulda tell yu, Work haffu get done! Work! But yah,somebody di watch yu and di seh, Yu look like yu di space out, whe gawn on? That feel good.

The company noted that body language on site became far less aggressive; communication on the site

became far more respectful; workers were/are sharing information and ideas to do the job more

efficiently. Essentially, barriers came down. People began to see the bigger picture...began to trust each

other and see themselves as part of a team.


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EMPLOYEE TESTIMONIAL: I used to thief bike fu hustle. Now I no haffu worry bout if police deh look

fu me. I no haffu di run from pipple whe di look fu deh bike. I no wah lose this job ah tall. I know I gat

money di come in steady.

Such realizations have produced positive results on site and at home. According to Barrera, the men

admitted that things at home became far less tense because of their new status. The conversations

gave me insight into their reality at home. Before becoming employed, the men confessed that they

avoided going home to avoid arguments about money and the lack thereof and admitted feeling

overwhelmed by the pressure to provide for their families. Now, they tell me they get respect from their

women; there are less quarrels; more loving scenariosthey are empowered by the sense that they are

meeting their responsibilities. They can actually be the man of the house and not a powerless

bystander.

Company surveys reveal that multiple households depend on the income of their employeeswith as

many as four individuals per household being direct dependents. According to Assistant Site Supervisor

Kevin Alvarez, spouses who visit the site report more stability in the home, peace of mind forthemselves and more quality time for the family unit. To this Alvarez insists, Whats happening on site

creates a ripple effect we are only now able to appreciatepositive impacts in the home, with the

children, in the neighbourhood and the community.Andall it took was one opportunity. The

opportunity meant hard work but it comes along with somebody that cares, people who have their

interest even when its not work related. Now these men are confident enough to open up about some

really personal issues. They are not distracted on the sitethey are working hard and actually coming

with ideas to get the job done faster.

And because the job is getting done, the management team at Cisco Construction says the dramatic

physical alterations of the site itself are proving positive reinforcement. There is a definite pride among

the employees when they see the aesthetic changes they are a part of. They feel good knowing that

they help build it, says Alvarez. And thats something that they take home. The children see the men in

their lives doing something positive.

Collet Canal October, 2012


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EMPLOYEE TESTIMONIAL: Neva tink I would see this place look like this. I could tell my pickney I dah

mi part ah this.

The company insists that on site tension and quarrels has not been an issue. Supervisors say they have

been pleasantly surprised that when issues do arise, the men remember that they represent the

company. Kevin Alvarez says, The behaviour change is remarkable. Youll see guys walking away,

looking for the HR manager to mediate the issue. These guys matured right on site. The communication

went from threats and hard talk to actual expression of what set them off and how it can be resolved.

Collet CanalSeptember 2012

Giovanni Heredia, Assistant Project Coordinator: Initially some of the guys appeared intimated to talk

to me. One day I noticed that one of them looked worried. Turns out a child was sick and needed a

medical test. I arranged for a salary advance so the test could be done as soon as possible. The next day,

that worker sought me out and couldnt thank me enough. Now the guys see that we want them to be

on top of their game and are willing to help them get there.

MICHAEL BARRERA, On Site Human Resource Manager: If the human resource is managed properly,

everything works better. When an individual is frustrated, they will not function well, theyll push the

machine until it breaks and then everything stop. But if you fix them when theres an emotional

breakdown, they have more energy, focus and motivation.


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What next boss?What next boss?What next boss?What next boss?

The politics of job creation looms large in a country grappling to sustain a small, open, highly vulnerable

economy in the midst of a world-wide recession, significant public debt and in the context of constant

threats from devastating hurricanes on major revenue earners: agriculture and tourism. Cisco

Constructions management team insists, We are not reinventing the wheel here. When we put people

to work, they can provide for their families, send their children to school...their lives get better. Their

outlook on life gets better. We start small and build on those successes.

The positive results both on and off the job site at the Dredging and Lining of the Collet Canal and North

Creek projects have not gone unnoticed by the employees. But today the Cisco Construction

Management team find themselves in a tough position. The workers are anxious to keep workingto

show this is not a one off thing. But this job will come to an end soon. We hope that by sharing whats

happening on a small scale with us, we can plant a seed that social input, a sense of ownership from

these communities, sweat equity, is crucial to overall success...the true means to the end we are all

trying to achieve: happier, healthier citizens. Wherever practical, we want to see this replicated in other

countries to make sure these types of projects live up to the spirit in which the loans were granted in the

first place.

The management team of Cisco Construction hopes that the results will create a new era of corporate

responsibility and set an example to other companies. We want to set new standards in contract

specificationssweat equity on each project.

For workers like 35 year old Stephen Cat Requena, a ranking member of the Ghost Town gang, the

Collet and North Creek job has opened his eyes to a new world of possibility. Weve built 600 U-units,

he says with obvious pride in his voice. Soon we will start to build the slabs for North Creek. We mixing

cement a totally different kind of waywith PSI, the right way. Weve got this down patmaking $75-

$80 a day. Thats better than most day jobs. Ive got a 15 man crew but more man want to work but not

enough to go around for everybody. And the guys I do pick to work, every day they want to know, what

will happen when this job done. What next boss?


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Collet CanalSeptember 2012

Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity...it is an act of justice. Poverty is not natural. It is man-made.

It can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Nelson Mandela.

Young boys fish in the Collet CanalMarch 2012

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The People Project