PEACE CORPS ADVICE FROM OUR EARLY SERVICE TRAINING CONFERENCE
September 27 (my birthday) - October 1st our PC Group #81 met for our Program Development and Early Service Training conference. Each volunteer was expected to bring a community co- worker for the 1st three days to work on Program Development methods and skills. Mrs. Williams, our school guidance counselor, came with me. Our training was at the SandCastle Hotel in Ocho Rios. (This was the hotel we had stayed at last month!). Mrs. Williams and I had discovered a Pennsylvanian connection- she and her husband had worked near Chambersburg PA for a residential program for delinquent youth a few years ago! In fact, she met my son Chris in August when she and her son visited friends in Chambersburg! It was great to spend time discussing ideas and possible projects without all the usual school interruptions. We talked about strengthening fathers involvement in school, starting a school newsletter, improving our computer room usage, and starting/restarting possible after school clubs. It was great to see everyone from our group and hear of their projects and activities. The entire week we were together the island was visited by Tropical Storm Nicole. It rained constantly and some areas of the island really suffered with flooding, bridges out, no power. Some people couldn’t get home for a few days! At the hotel we were fine. And when I got home power had just been restored, and no flooding! I was sure lucky!
I visited 2 Police Youth Club meetings; they are primarily for young adults ages 16-24 and offer sports teams, speakers and service projects. The club that meets at my school hopes to rebuild a stone wall for the school and has asked Peace Corps volunteers to come and help. No date has been set yet though. These clubs offer social activities especially for youth not pursuing tertiary education (Jamaican term for any school after high school)
October 10th a bunch of us PCVs went to watch and help out at the Marlin Tournament and Health Fair in Oracabessa. It was a rainy day and no marlin was caught. But I enjoyed seeing the small open boats come in and have their fish weighed. This was a hand-line tournament, so no big rigs with the big fancy seats etc. Most of the fish that came in were small tuna, jackfish and a few Mahi- referred to here as dolphin fish. The Health Fair was giving away t- shirts to fisherman taking a non invasive HIV test. This is a population group not often reached.
October 14th was JAMAICA DAY or Culture Day at my school. Quite a day. It started with a guest speaker for devotions, and a soldier from the Jamaican Defense Force in the morning. There were displays on Jamaican history, fruits and vegetables, baked goods and old time artifacts. $50 JA tickets were sold for merry go round rides, snow cones and popcorn. Jerk chicken and roasted breadfruit were cooked for lunch. After lunch each class had a presentation- a song, dance or poem. I was informed that the teachers had to do a dance as well, and I was needed! Over much protesting and many promises of help, 3 Jamaican teachers and I practiced our traditional dance on Wednesday afternoon for Culture Day on Thursday! I still am a little unclear how some Jamaican teachers didn’t dance but I was needed! ? When the teachers weren’t laughing too hard, they were very encouraging. We were quite a hit and even had to come back for an encore. To me the best part of the day was the arrival of a troupe of JonKunnu dancers. Traditionally these dancers come out at Christmas time, and originated from Africa and the Jamaican slave days. The group was in wonderful, colorful costumes depicting the Devil, a Duppy (ghost), a Donkey, a Bull, Pitchy Patchy, a Belly Women, a young Boy plus their 4 man band. They danced and chased the kids, some of whom were truly afraid of them. Sort of reminded me of Halloween and Mardi Gras! Their dance was as wild and colorful as they were!
I was certainly exhausted by the end of that day! But happily we had no school on Friday, and Monday, Oct 18th is Heroes Day, a National Holiday to commemorate Jamaica’s six National Heroes.
I’m ready to get back to school and my kids- I really love working with them and trying to find ways to to encourage them to try, and to read more!