Wednesday, January 6, 2010

FRIENDS - HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM JAMAICA

It’s been a while since our last blog sometime in October. We got sidetracked with activities here in Jamaica and with the expectation of heading back to the U.S. Our family got together in the US for Thanksgiving and a good time was had by all. While it wasn’t particularly cold it was a relief to get away from the heat and the first time we were back in the states for any length of time since last Christmas. We arrived in Hartford on November 24 in order to beat the Thanksgiving traffic. Our destination was Hardwick, MA with our good friend Art Dell Orto. Our two boys arrived on the evening of the 25th when the celebration began in earnest (See Pics). In addition to good food, family, friends, and good ole’ R & R our time home was great. This is our last trip home until we depart in late July or early August. In addition to the R&R I ended the trip in Boston and specifically at Boston University, where I attended the dissertation defense of my last doctoral graduate student (we’ve been communicating via email and phone for the past year). She did a great job and will finalize her writing prior to the birth of her second child in April.
On the Jamaican front it was pretty quiet during the month of December---the English influence brings things to a slow (slower than normal) pace during the Christmas holidays. As soon as we returned from the US Margaret found out that we (the community) were awarded a $983K grant for a computer center at our local Community Center. This application began over 6 months ago. The next goal is to get the Center secure so that we can house the 10 computers and peripherals. Exciting times for the community!
Stephen came to visit for Christmas. It was great fun to have him here. He spent 2 ½ days in Chapelton and saw us at work. He even helped the Senior Citizens’ group deliver food packages to elderly shut-ins. Then we took him to the north coast and Ocho Rios where we spent the day at Dunn’s River Falls. The Falls are about ¼ mile long and we climbed them together with him then he did a timed climb of 8 min. 50 seconds. It was fun and exciting. We stayed in a villa of a couple US missionaries we’ve met. We had a beautiful view of the Caribbean .
Leaving Ochi our destination was to get indirectly to Kingston. So, we headed east along the coastal highway to Port Maria. It seems that the southwest [recall Treasure Beach] and the northeast coasts are the nicest places on the island, relatively untouched by tourism. Yet both areas are distinct in vegetation, dry and arid in the south and wet and tropical in the north.
Stephen’s last 24 hours were in Kingston. We stayed at our favorite hotel where it was very plush: a pool, gym, internet service, cable tv, wonderful food, a tropical ambiance, and great service. Then we walked over to the Peace Corps office where he met several staff members. We ended his stay with a taxi trip to downtown through the grand market [blocks and blocks of higglers in stalls selling anything and everything] and over to the rural bus park where we got out to catch a bus home and he was taken to the airport. He headed back to Florida to start his new job as a scout for the Texas Rangers [team not police].
I (GS) have written two grant proposals for two different communities. The Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives funds projects all over Jamaica for democratic governance and human rights. I worked with the Social Development Commission in an attempt to provide funds to move a rural Basic School that currently is held in the last five rows (pews) of a local church to a one room Community Centre. The CC needs an addition so that there is a kitchen and toilet facilities for faculty and students. The problem with holding the school in the church is that when they have events during the week (conferences or revivals) the school takes a back seat and is closed during this time.
The second grant, also to the CFLI, is for sanitation facilities for seven residents here in Sangster Heights. When the Health Inspector did a survey last spring they discovered that almost 10% of those surveyed had no toilet facility in their dwelling. This proposal simply asks for money to provide pit latrines or toilets for seven of these residences. I submitted a similar grant last June to another agency that has yet to fund our request…though they haven’t rejected the proposal. The CFLI meets in May to decide whether to fund these projects.
Not to be outdone Margaret has been working on a LARGE grant from the National Health Fund to establish a healthy lifestyles program that basically will train teachers and parents on the essence of health lifestyles (exercise, nutrition, hygiene, and stress management). They will then train others…a pyramid type methodology. The chairman of the grants section of the NHF is a friend who we have played golf with on a number of occasions. Sometime during October Margaret had spoken to him about a series of lectures she was doing on lifestyle. He was impressed with the content and asked Margaret to submit a grant so that this program could be implemented Island wide. She is currently working on a submission deadline of January 15th. This grant has the potential of being in excess of $1 B Jamaican which is the equivalent of 11 million US. Margaret may stay in Jamaica for the next 10 years to run this grant! NOT!
NOT is right. The six year project is designed to be self sustaining by the end of the first year. I expect that after we leave in August that I’ll have to return on a consulting basis a few times over the next 18 months but after that they ought to be fully operational on their own. Twice I’ve told our friend that I’ll be leaving and will need to return on a consulting basis and he never blinked.