We are very proud that we continue to serve these rural communities that first invited Global Volunteers to share their homes, their lives and their dreams. Global Volunteers currently serves in two Blue Mountain communities -- Woburn Lawn and Mount Vernon.
Woburn Lawn is a small, close-knit, farming community located in the Blue Mountains. The population hovers at 300 people. Our most recent team to Woburn Lawn took place in February of 2005. This team worked on several different projects, which included:
1) Coffee Plant Nursery: Woburn Lawn has an old coffee plantation covered with vines and brush that will be leased by the host committee for a coffee nursery. The volunteers and local persons used machetes to clear it, dig out roots, burn brush, and then fill small black bags with sifted dirt and fertilizer in which to start seedlings. Over 1000 bags were filled. Since there is no water on site, the group purchased PVC pipe and couplings and tied into existing water pipes to establish water to the site.
2) Preschool Playground: The original swings were gone and not replaced, so the team installed two new swings. The sandbox was completely empty of sand, in part from theft and in part from hurricane water rushing through the area. The volunteers filled several bags with sand from the river and manually hauled it up the steep path to the preschool, since it was not possible to drive to the preschool because of the rocks and hazardous slope on the road. Also, the slides had
3) Teach/ Computer Supervision in the Primary School: The primary school has around twenty-seven students and three teachers. It was quickly determined that the volunteers were best used in the computer lab, where they have four new computers donated by the British consulate. They have a few programs, mostly for the early primary years. The team supervised the computer use and provided basic instruction.
4) Medical Blood Pressure for Shut-ins: There was a registered nurse on this team, and she worked with Pauline Carson, a local person who volunteers with medical issues. The volunteer went with Pauline up and down the mountain to visit shut-ins and take their blood pressure in the communities of Woburn Lawn and Hagley Gap. When their blood pressure was high, she advised them to see a doctor in the nearest of Cedar Valley.
Mount Vernon is an even smaller farming community located at the base of the Blue Mountains with a population of just fifty people. For the past two years, community leaders have asked for assistance in constructing footbridges, road improvement and other infrastructure projects. Our last team to Mt. Vernon, which occurred in July of 2004, was part of a highly successful service program. The team interacted with the community, helped to complete the community's project, fulfilled their goals, and had a good time.
The community decided that this team's project would be to build a retaining wall to shore up the road just outside the gate to a community member's house. This would support the roadway at a place of great concern because of prior erosion. Loss of the roadway at this location would be a major loss of access for taxis taking children to school. Further erosion could jeopardize the face of the mountain alongside the road, and in the worst case scenario would lead to a serious landslide. The community, with assistance from the volunteers, built a retaining wall approximately two to three meters high, six meters long, and a half-meter wide. The project was completed in its entirety.
The community host, Leaton Thompson, also gave his approval for volunteer Pat Casey to set up a summer school enrichment program to be conducted at the Campbell House. Pat received assistance on a rotating basis from many other volunteers on the team. The children colored work sheets, reviewed math and reading skills, played outdoor games, sang songs, and made bead bracelets and necklaces.
The most exciting event on this program was the "jerk chicken barbecue" on Thursday night of the first week. The entire community, as well as others from close by communities, came out for the event. The music, barbecue, fellowship, dancing, conversations went on and on and were ended only when rain showers arrived (some stayed on even in the rain!).
Team leader John Casey describes this community well in saying, "Mount Vernon is a gem of a place nestled in the hills of the Blue Mountains. The people are wonderfully welcoming and the children are kind and share what they have with one another. It is a special place and no volunteer leaves without a tear or two from the eyes."
While Global Volunteers is very proud of our accomplishments thus far in Jamaica, much more remains to be done. We are grateful to our volunteers for the twenty years of service to these communities, and we hope to serve them for twenty more.
In July, both of these communities were ravaged by Hurricane Dennis, which resulted in the last-minute cancellation of a Global Volunteers team to Mount Vernon. We were deeply disappointed by this turn of events and are anxious to return to the Blue Mountains to assist in repairing these communities. Please consider joining us in 2006.
We hope you enjoy these host country updates to stay current on developments in the community where you've served. For information on Global Volunteers' other host countries, please subscribe to our monthly online newsletter the LINK here.
Traveling from the coast up into the lush, rugged terrain of the island's Blue Mountains, volunteers see a Jamaica that few tourists ever reach. These villages are home to vibrant, strong communities made up of people who are hard-working, spiritually enriched, and hopeful for the future.