Sunday was my first time attending a Catholic Jamaican church service. As volunteers, we belong to the Immaculate Conception Parish in Stony Hill, where we live. Each week, we go to the service at this church on Sunday morning, followed by the church service at our primary mission in the afternoon. In my case, I will go to Mt. Friendship each Sunday. This week, however, there were no services in the four missions: Devon Pen, Tom’s River, King Weston, and Mt. Friendship. Instead, there was a pilgrimage in which people go to pray for God to spare them from the hurricanes and other natural disasters. August through the end of October is considered the hurricane season for Jamaica. Since I have been here, I have heard many natives of the island say that we are due for a severe hurricane this season because of the record breaking, hot temperatures this summer. As volunteers, we go to a nearby house that can withstand the winds and forces of a hurricane. We are lucky, but many of the people on the island, like during past natural disasters, will stay in their homes. Prayers welcome!
As we wait for school to start in September, we have decided to help a group of Canadians with a summer camp they are running in Kingston this week. They are a great group of college students to work with. Today was my first day at the camp (yesterday I couldn’t go because of Immigration like things). The camp name my fellow volunteers gave me is “Stubbs.” It’s a long story of why they chose that name, and I was interested to see how the kids liked my camp name.
Today was “Earth Day,” and we started the morning off with a little demonstration about the water cycle. This was after a few warm-up songs to get the kids having fun. I was a leader in the 8-11 year olds, and we soon got started on a small project of what is most precious to you on this Earth. I did my best to help the children figure out what was important to them from the Earth, like trees, flowers, the sun, water and why they are so essential to our life-not TV or other material things. A game of animal Pictionary followed, as well as a walk through the neighborhood to pick up trash.
So far since I have been here, I have seen the rural poor of Mt. Friendship. Today I saw first hand the inner-city poor of Kingston. It may easily have been the poorest I have ever seen. It makes my heart ache to see how little these children have, or the conditions they live under. There were large amounts of trash everywhere, especially in small, dirt streets. Things like glass and rusty metal were beginning to get picked up by the children. Needless to say, I had concerns about whether the kids were understanding what is appropriate to pick up, and what is not.
I don’t know enough about this particular community to say that the children are deprived of opportunities; but my guess is they are. But, as my fellow volunteer Matt put it, at least this camp gave them the opportunity to stay out of trouble for the day and learn something new. The children in Jamaica are generally very friendly, and are not afraid to come up to you and give you a giant hug, say “I love you,” or ask if they can play in your hair. They have endless amounts of energy and love to give you. It truly is a joy to know these children and see their happiness and love for others.
As we wait for school to start in September, we have decided to help a group of Canadians with a summer camp they are running in Kingston this week. They are a great group of college students to work with. Today was my first day at the camp (yesterday I couldn’t go because of Immigration like things). The camp name my fellow volunteers gave me is “Stubbs.” It’s a long story of why they chose that name, and I was interested to see how the kids liked my camp name.
Today was “Earth Day,” and we started the morning off with a little demonstration about the water cycle. This was after a few warm-up songs to get the kids having fun. I was a leader in the 8-11 year olds, and we soon got started on a small project of what is most precious to you on this Earth. I did my best to help the children figure out what was important to them from the Earth, like trees, flowers, the sun, water and why they are so essential to our life-not TV or other material things. A game of animal Pictionary followed, as well as a walk through the neighborhood to pick up trash.
So far since I have been here, I have seen the rural poor of Mt. Friendship. Today I saw first hand the inner-city poor of Kingston. It may easily have been the poorest I have ever seen. It makes my heart ache to see how little these children have, or the conditions they live under. There were large amounts of trash everywhere, especially in small, dirt streets. Things like glass and rusty metal were beginning to get picked up by the children. Needless to say, I had concerns about whether the kids were understanding what is appropriate to pick up, and what is not.
I don’t know enough about this particular community to say that the children are deprived of opportunities; but my guess is they are. But, as my fellow volunteer Matt put it, at least this camp gave them the opportunity to stay out of trouble for the day and learn something new. The children in Jamaica are generally very friendly, and are not afraid to come up to you and give you a giant hug, say “I love you,” or ask if they can play in your hair. They have endless amounts of energy and love to give you. It truly is a joy to know these children and see their happiness and love for others.
Ok -- dish about the nickname. Sounds like you got a call-sign!! Ha! Now tell the backstory! :)
ReplyDeleteHope that you're enjoying your time, sounds like you're going to be making a difference--great job!
Alright it is kinda stupid but, the boy I went out with for four years gave me that nickname for some unknown reason. So obviously he called me "Stubbs" all the time. Never Tracy. Now we have a stray dog here that the volunteers have in a way adopted named "Stubby" due to her short tail. My roommates often call her "Stubbs" for short. I mentioned that calling her this nickname was confusing to me...I would often answer. The found it funny that I had this nickname from a boyfriend. So, when it came time to pick campnames....they gave me Stubbs. Extremely interesting story I know!
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Stubs! I love it. I hope you have extended this story to Gimpster, I am sure he would find a grand amount of humor in it! :)
ReplyDeleteAny way, it looks like you're having loads of fun, Trace. I am so happy for you (and jealous!). I hope the elder's prediction does not become truth, that would be a terrible thing to go through for yourself, let alone helping the families in the aftermath. I hope it is an oddly dull hurricane season while you are there!!
--Cindy