Day 4 kids... well afternoon of day 4. My favorite meal is tonight i think - PUMPKIN SOUP! This morning was full of traveling around the parish (like a country) of St. Mary and meeting some people. I got to see 2 year old triplets and meet their mommy - baby gate on their CSI house is a wooden plank that they've had to add to as the boys have grown... very serious babies! Their mom was reading before we got there but she pretty much stays in the house with them all day everyday. She made me think about a potential future "Mom's Group" with childcare, Bible Study, support, socializing, perhaps some sort of activity once a week. The lives of the women here revolve around babies, and if their baby daddies are at work they are alone most of the time. My heartstrings were with her today. Also went to 2 elementary schools - eye opening indeed. Will make things look different if I have children in school in the states for sure! Also visited some others who have had recent issues, and encouraged them to contact their local pastors for assistance, or to seek medical attention. I just want to do medical home visits - and could honestly spend 24 hrs a day doing that and never be done. So many variables here lead to illness, as well as poverty.
Visiting with some of the itty-bitty kids in school was so fun, and they are just so smiley and adorable in their uniforms. Sad though that all day they eat junk and maybe nothing else. On-site at each school is a "tuck shop" which is like a tiny convenience store ON SCHOOL GROUNDS so the kids get bag juice (big popsicles) and cookies and soda at every break, before and after school. Awesome. No school lunch programs really, even at private schools so this is what is filling their bellies. Seriously fresh fruit is everywhere and this is what they are selling these children.
I also saw the prison - which is relatively low security, as I saw prisoners walking around in the bush "chaperoned" by a guard with a machete. Apparently they comply because the Kingston prison does not have such a shining reputation. Meeting local people was the highlight of my day really, because relationship building is key to feeling a part of the culture here. Also it's key to doing the work that I want to. The idea I think is that I will be working on Program Development and Training for the new Community Center. There is a lot of flexibility in this which I like - and I can take it in a number of directions. Also potentially even before I arrive I might be helping manage the account of the new project called RAISE. I'll send more on that later - but basically it is the community development initiative currently underway here through CSI. The idea is to invest in local people through work programs, training, faith building, and empowerment to build up their community and train others. Right now they have cleared 1 acre (by hand!) for test plots for organic farming. They've planted cucumbers and watermelon and hope to market it to the tourism industry. Next up is clearing more land (there are 193 rough acres total!) for a combo soccer/cricket field. That will be the start to the community center before a building is in place. Check out the Project RAISE details at Aaron and Melissa Blacks blog missionhighgate.com click the Project RAISE tab on the left.
The names of locals are cracking me up - but make it much easier to remember who they are! Cleveland, Energy, Brown Man, Cocoa, Fitzy, jack Frost, and so many more. I've met a lot of new people just in the last few days... i've started a list of who people are and why i should know them/where they live/what color their house is/or some other defining characteristic. I feel a little like Michael Scott from The Office making notes on his clients. I do these things in the car, so they don't feel like I'm taking a census, but I want to remember who I can! So many remembered my face from ONE WEEK a year ago.
This one started out pretty short, and just expanded. Keep in mind I'm journaling, too so LOTS of thoughts this trip. I will summarize by saying today and last night have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Learning so much, and reflecting on this being my future have been challenging. I suppose that's normal. Looking forward to spending the morning Marymount Girls High School. They are having an assembly in the morning, and I'm told they often sing. In the afternoon more country travels with Nick Vrettos. Thursday another Kingston trip, and Friday will be spent helping the infirmary with a fundraiser. I like having a plan!!!
I'm sitting in front of a television trying to get my brain to relax, but I flipped the channel and The Ladies Man is on. Huh...
More tomorrow! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement, and for reading my randomness. Love you all.
Big Al
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