One Month Later

The temperature in NYC has dropped.

School is in full session.

We have been home for over a month.

Our experiences in Jamaica have helped both Everton and I transition into our new positions. Having spent three weeks in Kingtson has given me a taste of Jamaican culture, history and Jamaican children. Everton and I now both teach at new schools with a mostly Caribbean population. The three weeks in Jamaica has also made the transition more difficult in some ways.

The children here are different. The children here do not have to worry about not having money for school shoes, text books, and their parents do not have to pay for the school's utilities.

I see so many opportunities here that the children in Kingston do not have. I saw so much hope in Kingston that the children here do not have, or do not think they need to have.

In the last month, Everton and I have kept in touch with the happenings with Youth Crime Watch Jamaica, the Burgher Progressive Youths, and the McIntyre Villa Community Center.

Since we have been gone, this is a bit of what has happened in Kingston.

The Burgher Progessive Youths had their pageant. We were there on the night that the idea was proposed to the Youths, and it was put on hold for further discussion. The original date was to be the first week of September, but because many of the Youth leaders are in school, they decided to have it the week after. Everton wanted to get involved and sent US$100.00 to help the cause.

Within weeks, a beauty pageant was born!

The event was held on Sunday, September 12 2010 at the Eastern Peace Center,

The goal of the event was to change the image of Burgher, a community that experienced much violence three years ago. The leaders of the Burgher Progressive Youth Group wanted to change the perception of their community, the goal is to show unity in the community and to display the beauty and talents in and around the Burgher community.

In a couple of weeks, this is what was organized!

Minister Paulwell attended and was the event's main sponsor.

A former Miss Jamaica served as one of the guest judges.

Knife was the guest speaker.

LA Lewis and his crew provided entertainment along with the Burgher Progressive Dancers.

I received an email the day after the event, and could feel the pride and joy of Randi, the President of Burgher Progressive. They felt that it was a mission accomplished. They had fun, they entertained, were entertain and saw how the Burgher community gathered in peace.

In the first week of school, I was able to fundraise with some of my friends to send some funds to the children at the McIntyre Villa Community Center. The US$300.00 helped to pay for school supplies, books and school shoes.

From reading the Jamaican Observer, we see that Knife is Knife. Knife is giving lectures, meeting and connecting people, and inspiring us here in NYC.

Here is an article that he was recently featured in.

]http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Entrepreneur-offers-guidance-on-starting-a-business-in-Ja_7946031

Next steps for us:

We are in the process of working on our resumes, and personal statements and goals for next summer. We have gathered a group of interested teachers to go to Jamaica with next summer. We hope to 1. train teachers and social workers in the area of alternative education and 2. volunteer our time to the various community centers in Kingston.

We hope to raise some funds for this effort.

Little by little, penny by penny, we are trying to raise monies. At my school, we are collecting cans and bottles to redeem for cash, and this cash will go to Kingston to help pay for school supplies. So little can do so much in Jamaica, and we want to do as much as possible.

Reflections on Jamaica

Black, yellow and green adorn cars, buildings, notebooks...

Children recite their heroes and history.

Religion is everywhere, and a part of everything.

Everything grows. Plants grow on top of plants. Weeds grow on wires.

The powerful sun rise in the John Crow mountains, a full moon shines calmly infront of the Blue Mountains.

Wealth and poverty sit alongside each other.

Physical walls are put up. I caught a glimpse of what lies behind the gates, the tin fences and the wooden boards.

The people are the bridges that connect.

Potholes that are bigger than small children.

Art blooms in the jungles of Kingston.

Rampant political corruption.

People that come together to make a change.

Communities that come together in song and dance.

The power of mothers.

Scars on peoples' bodies.

Smiles on peoples' faces.

Children raising children.

Higglers on the corners.

Delicious ganapes for 50 JD.

A screeching pig being pulled into slaughter...he was going to be jerk pork.

Delicious fruits and vegetables off the trees.

Rastas dance the night away, and the spirit and the struggle of rastas in this country.

Slowing the breath to deal with the heat, cooling down in a stream in the bush.

Telling time by the appearance of mosquitoes, catching mosquitoes with wet hands.

Two sisters who begged for wood to rebuild homes that were destroyed by their government.

Everyday heroes of this country's past, present and future.

Spirit and resilience.

Inspiration to do more.

I lost my shoes but found a new purpose.

Our Final Day in Kingston

Two years ago, Everton and I sat down to plan this fellowship.

We saw that more and more of our students were experiencing crime and violence in their communities due to the struggling economy. We saw that our students were having more difficulties in their school work because of the increasing distractions in their communities. We saw the need to learn from what others are doing to reduce crime and violence and to increase youth involvement in these efforts.

We came to Jamaica to learn what is happening in the communities, and we are leaving Jamaica with so much. We have seen the power in the people here, we have seen grassroots organizations that work to sustain themselves, and we have met amazing individuals who make a difference in their communities.

We spent our final day together at UWI wrapping up our project, and setting up some plans for next summer.

This is what we hope to do.

In our immediate plan, we want to raise some funds to buy school supplies for Miss Pet/Miss Cookie's afterschool program. School begins in two weeks, and there is tension in Jamaica. School is not free for the children in Jamaica. Parents are struggling to send their children to school, to pay for the utilities in the school, to buy uniforms, supplies and textbooks in a terrible economy.

The children will be returning to school during the day, and will continue to go to the community groups in the afternoons and on the weekends.

Crime Youth Watch Jamaica works with the groups to develop self-sustainability through enterprise. Knife's students at UWI have developed a business plan for the McIntyre Villa Community Center. But...in the meantime, we want to give the children in the group a strong start to the school year.

In the longterm, we hope that we can gather a group of our colleagues in the areas of math, science, special education, English and the arts to come back to Jamaica next summer to do two things: train and teach.

Everton and I have both heard about the challenges in Jamaica's classrooms from both teachers and students, and we see that there is a need for different types of professional development for the teachers.

As teachers who have worked in NYC's alternative school settings, we can return to train the teachers and faciliators in Jamaica who are trained in a more traditional sense to work with all different kinds of learners.

In addition, this group of teachers will volunteer in the youth groups. Ideally, we would set up training sessions for the adults in the different subject areas while we run simultaneous sessions in the youth groups.

As an American, I knew very little about Jamaica beyond what is presented in the media. I knew of the beaches, the music, the dance, the jerk chicken, Bob Marley, and of course, the negative coverage of the crime and poverty. Lately, the coverage of Kingston has been terrible. But...what I have seen has been amazing.

As a Jamaican, Everton saw that he needed to return to his homeland to reconnect, to see what has been happening. He has said time and time again that there is something special about this generation, there is so much happening now, everyday people are doing so much on the grassroots level.

We both came to Jamaica as learners. We hope to come back next year to do more.

Miss Samantha's Class

Please note: we do not have pictures of this site visit, I will try to post a video later on.

While I was away in Port Antonio last weekend, Everton spent some time in Nannyville, close to the UWI campus.

Nannyville seems calm now but there was a war there about three years ago. The streets seem to be calmer, cleaner and generally nicer. Everton surmises that the war was bad enough to make the community come together to rebuild and to keep the peace.

Knife and Allan brought Everton to see Miss Samantha, another one of Jamaica's unsung heroes, another face that does not appear in the news, and another story that does not get any airtime.

I listen to the radio for about an hour each morning, and it makes me crazy paranoid. I want to run out and get a security gate, a guard dog and a can of pepperspray! The news is very biased, and reports only the crime and the grit. Incidentally, many of the media companies also invest heavily on security systems companies.

THIS blog is to celebrate the good things that are happening in Jamaica, and our fellowship here is to learn from all the good that is here, to learn from all the everyday people who despite the negative circumstances, are fighting the good fight- often times without proper funding and support.

Miss Samantha is a woman in her thirties who has her own story. She came into the world of youth groups and volunteerism years ago because of her own experiences. Like Miss Cookie, Miss Pet and the other volunteers, Samantha saw a need in her own experiences and in her community and decided to do something about it. She became a mother a a young age and did not receive support from her family. One of her goals in this group is to offer parenting classes to older and newer parents, to help families communicate better.

The group Everton visited is called Nannyville Uprising Youths in Action (I love these names!) and it meets in a shared public space. Because of this, sometimes the group cannot meet because someone else is occupying the space. In addition, the space is one that requires a fee, and this is also a problem for some members and groups in the community.

During his visit, Everton saw the portion of the day that focuses on the 6-8 years olds. Two other groups use the space, and they are broken into 8-9 year olds and 9-12 year olds. This is different from other groups that we have visited, and the only reason the children are broken up is because the space cannot hold the entire group of kids together. It is a big group.

Attendance in this group is also voluntary, and Samantha also is a volunteer.

Everton saw that even though the children were so young, they were well-versed in Jamaican history and culture. The children talked about heroes like Marcus Garvey (whose birthday was celebrated last week), Bob Marley, Olympian Bolt. This is something that I see everywhere, the people young and old are proud of their country. Jamaican flags are everywhere, from cars to food labels. Green, yellow and black decorate this beautiful nation.

Nannyville Uprising Youths in Action offers services like speech, dance, theatre, academic skills, community events and food drives. It meets during the summer, and on the weekends.

Like the other groups we have visited, the children struggle with their math education. This is something quite pervasive in this country. Class sizes range from 40-50 children, and this has a seriously negative impact on the learning environment. On top of that, in the 1990s, teachers in the areas of math and science have been heavily recruited in the states, particularly in NYC and this brain drain has had a ripple effect in this generation of students.

This of course makes us want to return next summer with our team of teachers to train the teachers and facilitators, to share our experiences as alternative school teachers, and as educators in an urban environment.

Everton spent the latter part of his day with a youth who was recently accepted to UWI's medical program but he cannot attend because he cannot afford the tuition. This young man, Doneilo Thomas grew up in this program, and returns to work with the babies.

Doneilo's situation is another example of the nation's educational crisis. Not only do the children lack proper teaching in the lower grades, but tuition for higher education is too expensive. Unlike the states, the children do not have a free education here. It is a struggle in this economy for families to send their children to school. Parents pay for things like uniforms, textbooks, and utilities. Many of the students are not being properly taught. For the students who do excel, tuition at the colleges is too high.

In the evenings, we spend some time with the teens from Portmore and talk about the educational system. These are youths from a more middle class working neighborhood, and though they excel in schools and in their standards (exams), there are no scholarships available to them. Students who work hard to excel receive no support. What about the struggling students? By the way, there is no special educational system here to support struggling learners.

What happens to a generation that is not given the right to an education? How does this affect the crime rate? The unemployment rate? The murder rates? The nation?

People like Miss Samantha, Miss Cookie, Miss Pet, Youth Crime Watch in Jamaica are trying to (and from what I see, doing a great job at) help the community, one youngster at a time, one family at a time through educational empowerment and enterprise.

Port Antonio, Portland (Trip outside of Kingston)

I just returned from three days in Portland, 90 miles and 2 hours away from the hustle and bustle of Kingston.

Portland is a rural parish, and one of the safest. It was the one of the first major tourist sites in Jamaica, and over the years places like Negril, Mo'Bay and Ocho Rios have overshadowed Portland's tourism industry. PLEASE,VISIT THIS GORGEOUS PARISH! HELP REBUILD THE ECONOMY AND SUPPORT THE PEOPLE.

You can see ghosts of great hotels past all over the place. British novelist Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond series there and American actor Errol Flynn purchased much of the area. It's abundantly green and lush, mountainous and along the coast.

Because of the recession, the tourism industry has suffered, and because of the hurricane five years ago, most of the roads are in terrible condition. It was a rough ride there, but once I got there, I was amazed by everything.

I visited and stayed at a place called Great Huts. I had read about it on line, and in the guide book as a unique spot for ecotourism and decided to check it out. http://www.greathuts.com/

I arrived on Friday, and there was a conference on homelessness and mental illness for the next two days.

The owner of Great Huts is Dr. Paul Rhodes, a doctor from Brooklyn who did his medical residency in Jamaica in the 70s. He returned in 1994 and continued to form his connections in Portland. Currently, he operates the Portland Rehabilitation Center and works with the homeless people in the community, people who are often ostracized for being mentally ill, unemployable, and for of course being homeless.

The center opened last year www.prmhomeless.org and it serves to feed, house, clean, clothe, nourish, and educate the homeless in Portland. Lloyda McIntyre lloydamcintyre@yahoo.com runs the center. Dr. Paul is the medical doctor on staff, and volunteers from all over the world are invited to work at the center. I met Peace Corps volunteers, and everyday activists at the conference, as well as doctors, nurses, social workers, health care workers from Jamaica, and from abroad.

Again, here is an example of an everyday person (a foreigner at that!) filling the void in the infrastructure of health care in this country.

I attended the conference on Saturday 8.23. This conference addressed the issue of mental illness, specifically schizophrenia in Jamaica, and the mistreatment (both socially and medically) and treatment of those with the illness. The keynote speaker Dr. Bernard spoke of the connection between mental illness and homelessness, and the need for the creation of social services to help the mentally ill, and not just medicate the mentally ill.

I visited the Portland Rehabilitation Center the next day. The center is nestled on top of a hill. There is green all around, and must of the center is painted green. It has a soothing and calming feel to it.

The center can house up to 16 people, male and female, young and old. During the day, clients are out and about, many of them are working or trying to work. The clients sleep in a dorm on one side, and share a common area on the other side. The center hopes to build a chicken coop and develop a farm on site to develop skills for the clients, and to also feed the community.

Because of the potential employment opportunities in Kingston, it has nearly half of the country's population. In addition, half of Jamaica's homeless population live in Kingston, and from talking to some health care workers at the conference, there is also a lack of support systems in Kingston for these individuals. The ghettos of Kingston are crowded, hot and there is much poverty there. Homelessness and mental illnesses exacerbate these problems.

Everyday people that I have met are the true heroes, taking a stand, and making a change. I feel inspired and invigorated by the people I have met.

As our trip here to Kingston is winding down, Everton and I are dreaming about our next steps.
He plans to return this December to continue to form connections and to strengthen our current ones.

We plan to gather a group of our colleagues, teachers in the areas of English/literacy, math, science/health and arts. We hope to return for two weeks to volunteer at the various centers that we have visited and learned so much from.

This is really an inspirational beginning to something special.

Rastaman Vibration

For the past two days, we have been at the University of the West Indies (UWI) attending the RastafariConference. http://myspot.mona.uwi.edu/proffice/uwinotebook/entry/3878

Knife, our colleague has played a major part in this event, and has been apart of several panels and lectures.

The opening day began and ended with a Nyabinghi Chant, which was amazing. Drumming, singing, dancing...these chants are a way for the Rastas to gather and share in a sacred space.

During the conference, I learned a lot about the history of Rastafarians, the brutality and oppression that they faced in Jamaica, and the role that Rastafarians play in the country's history, culture and economy. Ironic that the Jamaican ministry of tourism promotes the smiling Rastaman on the beach, while the reality is so different, while the history was so brutal.

One major theme of the lectures was to promote political and economic freedom by living a life that is similar to how the 'ancients' did years ago. The idea is to go back to the land, to grow the food, to save the environment and to live a life that is more sustainable.

This is something that we are also pushing in the states. For example, we in the states are reminding ourselves to eat what our grandparents ate. We are encouraging our schoolchildren to read labels, to eat better and to move their bodies. We are trying to turn NYC spaces into greenspaces, and more and more people are growing their own food, and reducing the carbon foodprint, and waste.

One lecture was about making agriculture into a pop culture, where even the teens and youth in Jamaica will do it because it is promoted as a part of theri every pop culture.

I wonder why we had to get so far away from nature and its simplicity and beauty to go back to it. I hope more and more people can eat better, to live better...just like our 'elders' did.

The idea of self sustainability ties directly into what Youth Crime Watch is promoting to the youth. YCWJ is encouraging the youth to start their own businesses, often through agricultural production since Jamaica is such a fertile and rich place to grow things. Plants grow on the tree stems and branches here!

YCWJ urges the youth to start businesses, to then link up and form companies, and to employ the people in the communities. In addition, the message to these youth groups is not to depend on charity and contributions that may or may not be consistent, but to earn money to support themselves, the members of the community, and their organizations too.

At the end of the evening, representatives from the Burgher Progressive Youth Club came to UWI's campus to meet Knife. BPYC is already a registered part of YCWJ, but the President and Vice President of the Youth Group wanted the opportunity to meet Knife, and to invite him to a future meeting.

We had a chance to check in with Randy and Fitzroy. They have decided to proceed with the Miss Burgher and Mr. Burgher fundraiser, and the date will be in the middle of September, after classes have started.

Everton will be attending the meeting at BPYC this Saturday.

I will be visiting a youth club that is financed by UNICEF and the Jamaican government in Portland this week.

The trip ends in a week, and so much needs to be done.

We are already planning to return next summer. Our goal is to spend two weeks in Kingston, with a larger group of teachers from NYC who can volunteer their services/talents/skills and time to youth groups.

Interested?

Stay tuned.

Burgher Kings and Queens...

What do inner city kids in Kingston do on Saturday nights? Go to the movies? Parties?

Well...not quite.

There is a group of kids in Burgher Gardens, Kingston that meet every Saturday, from 7-9 in a church classroom.

These are not just ordinary high school and college kids, these kids are a part of the Burgher Progressive Youth Club where young people from the ages of 5 and up meet throughout the week.

This club started under a tree two years ago, the group celebrates its second anniversary this October. Group members: Randy, the President/Commandante, Fitzroy, the VP, Kethania, the Secretary, Avonda, the Assistant Secretary, Robert, the Treasurer, Renny and Kenny, PRO, and Shawn and Conrad, the Sports Coordinators.

Burgher Gardens experienced a 'war' in the community three years ago, and many of the group leaders grew up in this environment. As a result of this, they formed the Burgher Progressive Youth Club. The clubis a registered part of Youth Crime Watch, and because of this, it has a bank account set up, and links to a network of resources and is featured in their latest newsletter http://www.ycwa.org/world/jamaica/watchmanv1n2.pdf

This group aims to address several things. It aims to reduce the negative stigma of Burgher. Because of the community violence, many people do not want to be associated with it, and don't want to admit that they are from this area. The group aims to reinforce the sense of self-identity, discipline, and self-respect. It offers homework support, tutoring, travel and recreational activities and mentoring.

Like many other inner city areas of Kingston, the youth face dire futures. They cannot get jobs, they drop out of schools and they cannot afford the ever increasing tuition of Jamaica's colleges. These problems are especially prevalent among the males of the inner city.

Males make up about half of the leaders of this youth group, and two of them are college students. One is a college graduate who cannot get a job. What are young, talented, intelligent, passionate youth to do with no jobs, no support? They can either turn to the streets OR they can dedicate their time, and volunteer their energy to create a youth group.

The members of this group have board meetings to discuss the needs of the group, and the group's mission and vision.

Each meeting begins with introductions of visitors, and ends with a prayer circle, giving thanks for the meeting.

The group was told that we were coming to visit so they spent some time tidying up the space. The space is a nursery school by day and a community center by night, and all the meetings are lit by one single light bulb that dims occasionally. The pictures are very dark, again because of the lack of artificial light. Outside of the school house, there is a tremendous field where the neighborhood children and stray dogs hang out and patronize a teeny tiny store front, also lit with a single light bulb. There is a tree in the field, and this is where this project all began...under a tree.

Saturday (8/14) was Talent Night and members were asked to share their talents. Young and old, male and female got up and sang, danced, and recited poetry. A little girl named Rambo danced her heart out to every song.

We sat in a room with about 30 young people. The babies were in the very front, carefully looked after by the older members of the group.

After the Talent Show, it was announced that there was a trip to Mo Bay at the end of the month. The babies went home and the older group members debated on whether or not they would hold a Burgher King/Queen competition to improve the reputation of the community. They debated on whether or not they would use this event to raise money. The item was tabled to be discussed at their next board meeting.

So...what were we thinking after we left?

These kids are AWESOME!

1. They have an executive model which is excellent practice for the 'real world'
2. They are super organized and articulate
3. They have entrepreneurial potential. They wanted to fundraise, and Everton emphasized the importance of setting up small businesses as a way to 1. employ people 2. set up capital for themselves and for the group
4. They emphasize education, and they are an academically mixed group that will influence each other
5. They operate in a mixed age group setting. These groups that we are seeing are really on to something with the kids of different ages together
6. They are all taking part in the raising of each other. They are each others' role models, and parent/adult figures. They see that there is a lack of leadership in the adults in their community and they are stepping up to fill this void.

We plan to make one more visit to the Burgher Youth Progressive Center. We have much to learn from these powerful youth!

facebook_burgherprogressiveyouthclub

This group is also featured in the Jamaica Gleaner. Check it out! Very impressive.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100517/business/business1.html

National Center for Youth Development Fair in Manchester

Yesterday, we drove an hour away from the crowded streets of Kingston into Manchester. Manchester is in the mountains, it is much much cooler and rainier than Kingston, and it is also a calmer.

Our colleague, Knife was the guest speaker at the National Center for Youth Development Fair at Manchester High School.

National Center for Youth Development NCYD targets the youth in the community, to expose them to organizations (mostly volunteer and non for profit) that will help them in their next steps after high school.

Keitho Nembhad knembhard21@gmail.com ran this program for the youth in the community. At this fair were representatives from organizations like the Ministry of Health who was there to promote safe sex and to screen for HIV. In addition, there were services like loan and credit approval, and immigration services.

One of the main components of this fair was Heart Trust /National Training Agency. This group aims to develop the youth's entrepreneurial spirit by training them in both academic and vocational skills in their community. The point is to have the youth leave high school with a skill that they can develop into a business, to help them create a career path that will lead to their employment, and the employment of their future employees.

Knife, the guest speaker spoke about the importance of building up Jamaica's economy through Jamaica's youth. He focused on the year 2030, and stated that many of Jamaica's youth will not see 2030 because the violence is so rampant that many males don't make it to their 23rd birthday. This is a tragic statistic and staggering reality. I listened to the radio this morning, and there is an entire segment dedicated to funeral announcements, and most of the people who are being announced are young people.

Knife emphasized that if given the proper nurturing learning environment, Jamaica's youth will be saved, and save and help others. He spoke of the over 140,000 at-risk youth in Jamaica that will face a dire future, unless they are given the skills to be business owners and employers.

His message was to reset the priorities in the country to focus on the country's natural resources beyond tourism (since most of the money does not benefit Jamaica or Jamaicans) but to finance Jamaica enterprises, grow Jamaican crops, to sell Jamaican products, to employ Jamaican people. He pushed the youth to create a new race of Jamaicans, a race that would be empowered to embrace their culture, their resources and their identity as individuals and as a collective.

Afterwards, I sat in on a focus group run by Young Women of Power www.wix.com/youngwomen/y-wop. This is an organization started a year ago as a mentoring program for young women. This group was founded by Lanisia Rhoden, Manchester's Festival Queen of 2009 and a requirement of this title is to start a project for the community. There were young women and young men who were in this focus groups inquiring about services, referrals and becoming apart of the program. I saw another group of inspirational young people committed to the future of Jamaica, and I hope that they flourish in the work that they do.

There is something in the air here. Jamaica is a country in crisis and there are many people who are actively engaged in saving the youth and in saving Jamaica.

Math, Literacy and Yoga in Miss Pet's Class

We spent the day in Miss Pet's class at the McIntyre Community Center, in Dunkirk, Kingston.

This is a center that plays an integral role in the community. Youth Crime Watch of Jamaica partners with this project because it specifically targets the youth of a community that is crime-ridden and impoverished. The children are the future of Jamaica, and without the proper supervision and guidance from community leaders and volunteers, they will almost certainly be led astray by the temptations of the street.

On the outside, there are broken bottles, undrained sewage, rubbish, broken fences and busted up streets. Walk through a gate (that is securely locked throughout the day, and a specific child is in charge of the key) and there is a vibrant family of children, all under the supervision and care of their teachers Miss Pet and Miss Cookie.

When we arrived, the children were leading their own morning prayer session. This is a routine that they are accustomed to. Miss Pet has set up a lot of routines, they are a must because a lot of the time, she is alone with 25 children, ages 5 t0 17. The older children help to set up the routines and look after the babies. The younger children require more of her attention and time, and she sets up activities and programs for the older children to be a part of.

The space feels like a busy well-oiled household. Everyone contributes, everyone benefits and everyone functions as part of a whole.

We began the day with an icebreaker, facilitated by one of the older children.

Afterwards, I led the group through a morning stretch and yoga class. We inhaled, exhaled, laughed and reconnected with our bodies.

Everton taught and reviewed consecutive numbers and mathematical functions. The children love math and were eager to learn, to share and to experiment with numbers. After math, I led them through a letter writing activity. The children wrote to their local councilman to express their concerns about their community. During our first visit two days ago, almost all of them commented on the crime and the decay of their environment. One young man suggested that the government should fix the streets and create more jobs by doing so. We returned yesterday with the intention of building on what he had said by leading them through the letter writing activity. We also wanted to reinforce what they are learning about being active agents of change in their own lives and in their communities through these letters.

The students took great pride in these letters. They wrote them in groups, revised them in groups and proudly read them aloud to the class.

Miss Cookie will mail these letters to the councilman.

We ended the day with an interview with Miss Pet. She is from the community and lives up the road from the center. She has a total of 9 children and 6 of them are a part of the program. She runs classes from 8:30 to 3, but on most days, the children stay with her until 8 at night because they don't want to go home...even though some live across the street.

Most importantly, Miss Pet is a volunteer. She teaches, nurtures, mothers and cares for these children for half of the day, and then returns home to her own family at night. I asked her what brought her to this, and she said that it was something that she knew she had to do, for the children. She joked that she once did not like children...one could never tell. The children, big and small are drawn to her.

The center is a sanctuary for them, and she and Miss Cookie are their mothers.

Miss Pet is not a trained teacher, but she is a natural. I watched in amazement as she organized, faciliated, structured and taught all the children. She is aware of all their needs, strengths, weaknesses and quirks. I have met many many teachers in the years I have been teaching, and she puts most of us to shame. She is a natural, and above all, she is a mother to these children.

The children have no bathroom, the door and the window is broken but everything else is magical.

I hope to return next year to volunteer some time to these children. Everton and I are thinking of ways to start a teacher exchange and volunteer program. This is the beginning of something special.

Kingston's Culture and Spirit

Kingston continues to amaze me. The streets are alive. Culture bursts from every corner.

Everton, a son of Jamaica has noticed the many many changes in Kingston in the last year. Due to the recent political upheaval in May, 2010, there has been an increase of police presence, though the country only has 10,000 police officers and 3 million people. Plus there are 150,000 at-risk youth!

One of the major changes in the streets of Kingston is in the curfews that have been instituted in places like Tivoli Gardens, where people must be indoors from 6 am to 6 pm. In case you forgot? It's HOT HOT HOT here, and people need to be outside. In a place that is so densely populated, peopled need to socialize and interact.

A major part of the culture here is Passa Passa, night parties on the street that used to go all through the night, until the morning. Now, the parties end at 2 am.

Why is this important?

Many Jamaicans make a living at Passa Passa as vendors selling things like jerk chicken. Families prepare for days to sell the product during these parties, but because the parties are shorter, people are spending and making less, in an already depressed economy.

Passa Passa is a big part of the culture, of the country's identity and for some peoples' economy. This is being shut down by a police state that is forcing people indoors, off the streets, off the radar to make them, or at least try to make them more invisible.

Again, Kingston does not have a good reputation and people are discouraged from going. Who is promoting this message? We are to focus on the tourist spots like Mo'bay and Negril and ignore Kingston?

What happens to a people when you ignore them?

1. Their streets and neighborhoods are broken
2. Their children are deprived of basic services like schooling, feeding programs and SAFETY
3. The adults cannot continue to work to support their families
4. Violence increases
BUT...
5. People step up to make a difference

We came to Kingston to learn about the many many people who have stepped up to fill the void that the government left/created to care for its people. People all over the communities are getting out there, in a pure grassroots fashion to do SOMETHING! To feed, to educate, to empower, to save lives! It seems like this generation of young people are super committed and dedicated to improving their lives, and the future generation.

Tonight, I met a girl who was raised in one of the ghettos and her sister is now a part of the police force, focusing on youth crime. This young woman's sister, who was also raised in the ghetto used to go out on the streets to educate people about sexual health and took her little sister with her. Now she is working with the youth, taking them into retreats to train them to do similar work.

This is what happens when a people are pushed aside time and time again, they rise to take care of themselves, and each other. Spirit and survival are a part of the Jamaican identity. In case you did not know, the people here have strong unbreakable spirits...many are descendants of rebellious slaves that were sent here to be 'broken.'

Speaking of community leaders...we went to visit the home of the late Bob Marley, Jamaica's son, a prophet from the streets of Kingston, a voice that was once silenced by his leaders, a neighbor that was once shunned.

It was incredible. Years after his death, the Marley magic continues and grows.

The Bob Marley Museum is a beautiful, simple space dedicated to Bob's beautiful and simple ways. It is a shrine to his music, his contributions, and his legend.

Miss Cookie, Bob Marley and Noni Juice

As an American coming to Jamaica, I was told time and time again to be careful and to not come to Kingston.

Not come to Kingston? What would this experience be like? What would be the point?

Kingston is not promoted by the Tourism Bureau.

Kingston is not in the Come to Jamaica and Feel Alright commercials.

Kingston is the heart of Jamaica's culture.

Kingston is the spirit of Jamaica's people.

Kingston is where we started today.

The first stop in Kingston was Trenchtown, where we went to Bob Marley's former home, now a historical site. Bob Marley is a part of nearly every conversation in Jamaica...This was part of my own personal pilgrimage here...more on that later...

Trenchtown Culture Yard is looking for ways to document rastafarianism and Bob Marley, through a documentary and through archives, to preserve and celebrate the rich history of Trenchtown.

I spent time with a rasta who reads stones and trees. Natural mystic flowing through the air, this is what Bob must have seen. We will be going back later this week for a more formal tour.

After that, we went to Arnette Gardens, where Knife grew up. We saw Unity Park, a place where flora will be turned into food. The garden sits alongsite an empty field full of garbage and the ubiquitous packs of smart street dogs. This was just another example of the dualism that is Jamaica. Beauty lies alongside trash and there is strength in defeat, and spirit in sadness.

Unity Garden will play a major role in the community- it will provide a meeting space for people, a place for people to grow food- to promote urban architecture in a land that is so rich and fertile, and to for people to get involved in providing fresh food to local businesses. The space is beautifully maintained by a volunteer welds and gardens with love and care.

Everton is thinking of creating a curricula that incorporates urban agriculture, economics, entreprenuership and experiencial learning. He envisions a class where people can grow local, grow organic and grow their community.

We stopped for a yummy vegan lunch at Country Farmhouse, a business that is a part of RBPA, the Rastafari Business & Professional Association. Everything on the menu is VEGAN! and grown, produced and sold by a group of local people. Knife is interested in connecting some of the youth from Kingston with RBPA using the entrepreneurial and social agricultural skills that they develop from Youth Crime Watch.

Besides having delicious food (I had a bean and corn stew, Everton had the BBQ soy cubes with calalloo and cabbage, along with a calalloo patty!) the place had such a wonderful feeling. The family owned restaurant is located in the middle of a compound-like mall and is surrounded by the two kitchens that produce the food sold at the restaurant and distributed to other restaurants in the community. The contact person for this place is Ras Imo, cflifeline@hotmail.com.

After leaving Arnett Gardens (with a quick stopover for sugar cane juice, coconut jelly and noni juice...Knife eats a strictly raw diet) we went into the highlight of our day...Ms. Cookie's class, a part of the Positive Youth in Action group which gets support from Crime Youth Watch.

Miss Cookie's class...blew my mind!

These children attend the program everyday from 8 to 3. 25 children, their ages ranging from 3-18 sit in a spartan room (air conditioned, only by default since the program inherited a space which was formerly a computer lab that was destroyed by the hurricane in 2007).

The group is faciliated by Miss Carol 'Cookie' Cook and Miss Petrona Barnet. Miss Cookie works with the Ministry of Education and has been volunteering her time to the children in her community for almost 15 years.

The two amazing women teach skills like: conflict resolution, self-esteem, health, STIs and HIV/AIDS awareness, music, theatre and drama, body awareness along with academic skills.

HOW DO THEY DO THIS IN A GROUP SO MIXED IN AGES???

They have a captive audience who come come everyday, on a voluntary basis in order to better themselves.

Everton and I wanted to know what brought these children to the group and each of them said that it offered new opportunities to them, and taught them new skills and mostly they hoped for a better, brighter future for Jamaica and for themselves. Almost all of the children hope to enter a profession to help others in the future.

They shared their concerns about the violence in Kingston. Children in the primary schools said that there was violence that they witnessed everyday. In fact, some said that they don't go to school on the last day of school because of the anticipated gang violence.

One beautiful young man said that he wished that the politicians in his community would fix his streets, and create jobs for the people. I never knew that children could be so politically conscious and aware.

The children spoke of their dreams for a Jamaica that is peaceful and calm, a Jamaica that the world can enjoy and learn from.

Despite all that is being accomplished in this spartan room, there was no funding for the program, and so much needs to be done. We are hoping to set up something to send school supplies to these children. They deserve so much. Pens, markers, paper...there is no bathroom for the program and the door to the room was broken but the childrens' spirit was unbreakable.

At the end of the day, they were fully charged from playing Bob Marley Trivia with Miss Barnett (they had visited the Bob Marley Museum earlier). Everton had a chance to do some math problems with them, and they rose to the challenge.

Miss Cookie and Miss Barnet are amazing, and an inspiration to watch. Motherhood, strength, survival, and power...I was so moved by this work.

We will be spending a lot of time in Miss Cookie's class...

What a day...I was surrounded by hope, beauty, fresh faces representing the future of Jamaica and rastafarians who cut me fresh fruit from the trees...what a day.

Portmore's Mosquitoes Welcome Me

Greetings!

We are both in Jamaica.

I arrived last night and boy is it hot here. Hot food, hot temperatures, hot music and HUNGRY AGGRESSIVE mosquitoes that serve as the unofficial welcoming committee for new blood.

The country is gorgeous. There is music everywhere, the people are warm, and they are proud of Jamaica's heritage, culture and history. School children can buy composition notebooks with the Jamaican flag on it, imagine if our kids came to school with notebooks covered with American flags?

Currently, we are in Portmore, a commuter neighborhood for the many people who work in Kingston.

We spent some time at Hellshire (a fisherman's beach) today. Taking in the sites, sounds and sun with the many many families on a Sunday afternoon, we are ready for tomorrow.

While I was in NYC getting ready for this, Everton was pretty busy in the last few days.

Travelling with Youth Crime Watch, he has visited youth in Arnett Gardens, where the director of Youth Crime Watch and lecturer at the University of West Indies Dr. Knife Kadamawe grew up and is still actively involved in. The youth there were involved with beautifying a local park.

He also visited a voluntary community summer school program where the teacher was discussing the importance of self discipline with a group of 8-13 year olds.

The people involved want to make a change, to reduce poverty and crime, to get kids off the streets and to create jobs and training programs. Mothers, fathers, teens, college students, teachers...people, young and old are a part of this, and we are thrilled to see everyone in action.

Tomorrow, we begin our work. We will be going to the University of West Indies with Knife. We will see more groups in action, learn more about what they do and film/document the groups in action.

Stay tuned...

Rasta has Landed

Rasta Everton has landed! He is in his country, among his people and the work has begun.

He has been meeting with different people, making connections, setting up meetings, agendas and fish fries in the effort to raise money to support the group!

I think I arrive in time for a fish fry! EXCITED!!!

Good timing for us, we are so excited to be a part of this important project, Everton says they do so much for the kids, with the kids with so little and we want to be a part of it, to learn, to raise awareness, and to help raise funds for this important service.

We want to help, we hope you can help.


Here is a current newsletter for Youth Crime Watch, its first edition called The Watchman.

Please take a look, so much good is being done.

http://www.ycwa.org/world/jamaica/watchmanv1n2.pdf