We just returned from the aptly named, Treasure Beach. What a wonderful find for anyone with modest means. Unsullied by commercialism and tourists, this place in the southwest corner of Jamaica is really something to “treasure”. It has a climate and vegetation unique from the rest of the island, hot and arid. Rainfall is low because the Santa Cruz Mountains to the north and east block most of it from reaching the area. There are loads of cacti varieties and relatively little vegetation compared to the rest of the island. Even though it’s hot, there is a constant cooling breeze from the time the sun dawns at about 6 AM until it sets at 7 PM.
We spent 4th of July weekend there to gather with our fellow volunteers for a one year anniversary celebration for those of us who have survived thus far. From the original 52 who arrived with us a year ago (July 3rd) only 63% are left; 33 hardy souls remain.
But, back to Treasure Beach and its wonders: Peace and quiet; no loud music or barking dogs, day or night. Just a few healthy looking dogs wandering the streets, but, like the sheep of Wales; goats wander freely about the community. They all seem to be tagged and owned by someone and each one appears to know to which herd it belongs and where they collectively coalesce. No beggars. No sexual harassment or innuendos. In 48 hours we were only greeted with friendly ‘hellos’, ‘good mornings’, and the Jamaican “good evening” which is ‘good night’. Relatively little litter, probably not more than we see in America. The highlight of Saturday morning was a six mile walk where only three vehicles passed us. One was a small pick-up truck carrying large fishing pots out to the beach (see pix). The walk took us down a peaceful winding road that was above the Caribbean Sea all the way until it gradually made its way down to the sea…as we walked west the sea was on our left; to our right the land rose fairly dramatically with limestone outcroppings all along the way. Great restaurants with affordable prices; we ate at Jakes, probably the most well known, where the tail of a two pound lobster cost $15. Very private beaches and [it seems] beautiful beach front and ocean view properties still available.
All in all it was the first locale in JM (that really looks like Jamaica – and not a US resort) that we both agreed we’d like to go back to. It allows the visitor to simply relax as if they we’re visiting a private island, but at an affordable price. The cost of a round trip flight from NYC to Montego Bay is now $250 and with bus and taxi fares visitors can get to Treasure Beach for under $1,000 JM/person [~$12]. At the lovely guest house where we stayed it was $60 US/night and included an ocean view, a few rides to area locales, king sized bed in a large room, delicious English breakfasts [the gracious owner, Roger, is from the UK] with a Jamaican touch, internet service, and enough DVD’s to keep you entertained for months.
On another front Margaret was in Montego Bay two weeks ago for three days of training on “exclusive breast feeding”. The Jamaican Ministry of Health has made it a priority to get every mother to exclusively breast feed for the first 6 months and to continue breast feeding with complimentary feedings until at least age 2. Their purpose is to improve the health of both mother and child and reduce the ‘Nestle Impact’ which will also save precious $$$. It was three days of intense training with 38 very motivated and knowledgeable health professionals. These people will become the trainers of trainers throughout the island.
On the second morning Margaret went for a run at 5:30, tripped on one of the frequent rough spots in the sidewalks [she’d just picked up her pace in a modest attempt to challenge herself for the impending National Seniors Sports Day Championships], fell with her hands missing the street edge of the sidewalk where she was located, landing face first on the curb edge and rolling into the street. She hit the curb’s corner edge on a diagonal across her face from the right eye to the middle of her mouth. She broke her upper right front tooth, it passed through her lip, she had a knot the size of a golf ball above her right eye and lots of blood. But otherwise she was fine.
The Peace Corps sent her to a private hospital where she got standard American treatment in the emergency room AND THEN she went to a dentist office near the hospital for further care. That was an unbelievable experience! The dentist, John Gordon, had all the highest-end technology. Within minutes of entering the dental chair the doctor took an x-ray with a hand held camera; it appeared instantly on an adjacent computer screen and showed the clear break above the gum line of the twisted tooth. He told her what he could do in the long and short term which would involve seven long 5-6 hour one-way trips to Montego over 6 months in order to replace the tooth with an implant because the break was too high up for him to do a root canal and crown. Then he emailed the x-ray to “the Caribbean Endodontist”, Dr. Shasha Nallapati in Kingston. Three minutes later they were discussing the options over the phone and Nallapati said he’d have no problem doing the crown on a root so short. They decided to push the tooth back in place and splint the tooth using a thin wire [looks like a retainer] and clear laminate to hold tooth in place. The wire and laminate are now placed over the front four teeth until she heals and meets with Nallapati on July 7.
The story gets even better after that. Gordon then sewed up her lip with 8 stitches on the inside and one on the outside. He lasered the outer stitch and all the severely abrased areas on her face. He told her not to expect any scarring. Not only are there no scars, some of her wrinkles and age spots are gone [of course on only one side of her face]. One Peace Corps Volunteer who saw her two days after the accident and then at Treasure Beach a week later said she wants to start doing whatever Margaret is doing to heal so fast.
As a close to this saga, on our way to Treasure Beach Friday, Dr. Gordon called to see how she was doing. Never has a dentist done that for either of us in the USA. As a further example of how caring Jamaican’s are, each of the 37 other conference attendees [who had never met her before], at some point in the remaining day and half [she made it back for the afternoon session that day], made it a point to check on her and let her know how concerned they were about her. So, for a while she looked like a domestic abuse victim [when Gary first saw her the next day his first words were “you look horrible”-in JM they call it Mashed Up]; but with great treatment and lots of ice she’s nearly back to normal.
Wak Gud, Margaret & Gary
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
About to finish our first year
Mangoes and more Mangoes…and Labor Day!
None of you can imagine the impact mangoes [mang is pronounced like song or mongoes] have on daily life in May and June. It’s a veritable community passion for those little babies. Everyone’s eating them [including the dogs] and comparing theirs with those of others’. Just here in Chapelton there are thousands of trees each with many hundreds hanging from them; they are simply everywhere. You can’t look in any direction and not see several mango trees within your reach. And then there are the pits, large and golden [~ 1” X 2”], scattered all over the roads, the product of the locals’ mango orgy that ends with a simple toss to the roadside.
The varieties are called Common, Milli, Black, East Indian, #11, and a dozen other titles we haven’t yet learned. So many have shared their bounty with us that we could get sick [Mrs. Rumble eats six in one sitting] if we didn’t resist to some degree. So far Milli’s are our favorite. Common aren’t bad but they leave long stringy fibers hanging from your teeth. All are soft, juicy, and sweet. There’s another month left with more new varieties appearing each week.
We get them either from our friends and neighbors or just pick them up off the trail or street where they have fallen from a tree. The library has two large mango trees and we make a point of looking for drops each time we go. Many others do the same; so, unless you arrive early the ground’s already been cleared. When you come upon a tree with lots of drops the view is something akin to a fish feeding frenzy, everyone grabbing for one of those tasty treats.
Labor Day!
Two weekends ago the Jamaicans observed their Labor Day. Very unlike “our” Labor Day in September. The Jamaican Labor Day is a day for volunteerism particularly meant for residents to go out and do something for the community. This could include cleaning the streets, cutting the grass back off the streets up to the curb, planting trees in the park (something that Margaret helped with at a local park), picking up litter, or any other job that would help to beautify the area. The recently formed Senior Citizens’ Association, of which I am an ex-officio member and facilitator, decided that the Labor Day weekend would be a good time to run a fundraising dinner to feed the various workers who didn’t have time to prepare meals for themselves. This event took many days and lots of seniors to plan. After all the provisions were bought the cooking and preparation began about three days before the event, Monday, May 25. Our fare was fried chicken, curried goat (and yes I helped butcher the goat for the event), mackerel rundown, goat soup, and of course rice and salad (a slaw without mayo). The event went off as planned, albeit a little slow with customers. From noon to 6 pm on Monday the 25th many seniors helped with the cooking, serving, and general organization of the event. The economy here is no better than in the US….as you can imagine the number of people able to come up with $250-$300 Jamaican (about $3 US dollars) significantly affected our proceeds. After all was calculated we took a loss…but learned a lot for next years attempt. One of the most important factors (as suggested by one of the seniors) was that we had no music. Music is a big draw to any event in Jamaica…although I thought the sunny and breezy day without the ear throbbing reggae was quite pleasant.
Butchering of the goat was quite an experience. The Jamaicans are quite resourceful (as we have mentioned before) and this process was no exception. They used the head, the stomach, intestines, skin, not just the muscle we use for meat. Without going into specific detail about the whole process I will mention one thing that further convinced me of this. Nearing the end of the butchering process I took one of the hoofs of the goat, cut it off the leg and then discarded it in the trash. The man who was the main butcher about 30 minutes later said, “Gary, where is the front foot?” I responded rather sheepishly, “it’s in the trash.” He immediately gave me a lecture about how the Jamaicans use all parts of the animal and that I should retrieve the hoof. I found the hoof and was informed that the process was to take the foot and roast it over the outside wood fire….until the hair was burned off…then it was scraped of the skin and then put into the “manish” goat soup for flavor. WHO KNEW!
The summer is pretty quiet with regards to holidays…the next events will focus on Emancipation Day, August 1st, and Independence Day, August 6th. Margaret and I will join a number of other Peace Corps volunteers on a southern coast beach for the U. S. July 4th weekend. The younger volunteers are going to rent a house which will have wall-to-wall sleeping arrangements. We are going to check-in to a local motel!
None of you can imagine the impact mangoes [mang is pronounced like song or mongoes] have on daily life in May and June. It’s a veritable community passion for those little babies. Everyone’s eating them [including the dogs] and comparing theirs with those of others’. Just here in Chapelton there are thousands of trees each with many hundreds hanging from them; they are simply everywhere. You can’t look in any direction and not see several mango trees within your reach. And then there are the pits, large and golden [~ 1” X 2”], scattered all over the roads, the product of the locals’ mango orgy that ends with a simple toss to the roadside.
The varieties are called Common, Milli, Black, East Indian, #11, and a dozen other titles we haven’t yet learned. So many have shared their bounty with us that we could get sick [Mrs. Rumble eats six in one sitting] if we didn’t resist to some degree. So far Milli’s are our favorite. Common aren’t bad but they leave long stringy fibers hanging from your teeth. All are soft, juicy, and sweet. There’s another month left with more new varieties appearing each week.
We get them either from our friends and neighbors or just pick them up off the trail or street where they have fallen from a tree. The library has two large mango trees and we make a point of looking for drops each time we go. Many others do the same; so, unless you arrive early the ground’s already been cleared. When you come upon a tree with lots of drops the view is something akin to a fish feeding frenzy, everyone grabbing for one of those tasty treats.
Labor Day!
Two weekends ago the Jamaicans observed their Labor Day. Very unlike “our” Labor Day in September. The Jamaican Labor Day is a day for volunteerism particularly meant for residents to go out and do something for the community. This could include cleaning the streets, cutting the grass back off the streets up to the curb, planting trees in the park (something that Margaret helped with at a local park), picking up litter, or any other job that would help to beautify the area. The recently formed Senior Citizens’ Association, of which I am an ex-officio member and facilitator, decided that the Labor Day weekend would be a good time to run a fundraising dinner to feed the various workers who didn’t have time to prepare meals for themselves. This event took many days and lots of seniors to plan. After all the provisions were bought the cooking and preparation began about three days before the event, Monday, May 25. Our fare was fried chicken, curried goat (and yes I helped butcher the goat for the event), mackerel rundown, goat soup, and of course rice and salad (a slaw without mayo). The event went off as planned, albeit a little slow with customers. From noon to 6 pm on Monday the 25th many seniors helped with the cooking, serving, and general organization of the event. The economy here is no better than in the US….as you can imagine the number of people able to come up with $250-$300 Jamaican (about $3 US dollars) significantly affected our proceeds. After all was calculated we took a loss…but learned a lot for next years attempt. One of the most important factors (as suggested by one of the seniors) was that we had no music. Music is a big draw to any event in Jamaica…although I thought the sunny and breezy day without the ear throbbing reggae was quite pleasant.
Butchering of the goat was quite an experience. The Jamaicans are quite resourceful (as we have mentioned before) and this process was no exception. They used the head, the stomach, intestines, skin, not just the muscle we use for meat. Without going into specific detail about the whole process I will mention one thing that further convinced me of this. Nearing the end of the butchering process I took one of the hoofs of the goat, cut it off the leg and then discarded it in the trash. The man who was the main butcher about 30 minutes later said, “Gary, where is the front foot?” I responded rather sheepishly, “it’s in the trash.” He immediately gave me a lecture about how the Jamaicans use all parts of the animal and that I should retrieve the hoof. I found the hoof and was informed that the process was to take the foot and roast it over the outside wood fire….until the hair was burned off…then it was scraped of the skin and then put into the “manish” goat soup for flavor. WHO KNEW!
The summer is pretty quiet with regards to holidays…the next events will focus on Emancipation Day, August 1st, and Independence Day, August 6th. Margaret and I will join a number of other Peace Corps volunteers on a southern coast beach for the U. S. July 4th weekend. The younger volunteers are going to rent a house which will have wall-to-wall sleeping arrangements. We are going to check-in to a local motel!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Latest news from JA
We’ve just completed our second Trimester Report for Peace Corps Jamaica and the US Government. It’s a fairly comprehensive outline of all that’s been accomplished in the last four months. While filling it out it occurred to us that you might be interested in some of the smaller activities we’ve been involved with beyond the Wellness Program and the Citizen’s Association.
Our level of involvement may be an explanation for how well accepted we are in the area. The Jamaican’s seem to appreciate all we do. Almost everyone knows our name and greets us with enthusiasm. We are accepted members of the community; they look after us and are concerned for our well being and comfort. So, here is a brief description of what we’ve done in the last four months.
The Citizens’ Association had a huge breakthrough last week when we were in Dallas seeing the boys. They met without us, had the largest turnout ever, and new business items were introduced by residents!! It was great news to our ears. Everyone was very excited about the result. Before our departure the Executive Committee was anxious; until this success they all thought nothing would/could occur without us. We told them that if that happened our work would have been a failure.
Margaret’s been tutoring high school athletic coaches on improved training techniques; the football, basketball and track coaches attend weekly one hour sessions on relevant issues affecting athletes’ health, conditioning, and performance. Topics include: orthopedics/biomechanics and anatomy/physiology. The football coach has taken this very seriously and has totally revamped his training and conditioning regime for the players. She taught him how to analyze posture imbalances in order to identify potential future injury sites. That all began because several of his players complained of back pain. Now he’s analyzing everyone in site, players as well as his high school faculty/staff colleagues.
256 pairs of exercise shoes have been collected by US residents; 100 have been received and distributed thus far; the last 156 are still sitting in California waiting for us to get clearance for receipt of them. Each day Margaret gets a request for a pair of shoes from someone: a player, her exercise students, athletes, children on the street, and/or doctors for their patients. It’s been difficult to understand why receipt of the last 156 has been so hard to come by.
Then there are the regular weekly presentations to the Hospital patients on health related topics like: hand washing, healthy snacks, food preparation, STIs & HIV/AIDS, violence prevention, oral hygiene, exercising tips, breast cancer, cervical cancer, “Active Children and Their Health in Childhood and as Adults"; "Health Concerns for Sedentary Jamaican Women"; and "Osteoporosis, the Invisible Epidemic for Jamaican Women”.
Margaret teaches two sections of exercise classes twice per week for staff at the hospital and residents at the Community Center. So far there are ten regulars with more enrolling each week. They are dedicated and disciplined about getting in their exercises. They even met when we were in Dallas.
Margaret is teaching two men how to read. One has some simple basic goals like being able to right his name but the second wants to become a minister and be able to read the Bible.
Gary has developed the Electrocardiography Laboratory & trained nurses, community health aids, and doctors on how to use it. He’s collected loads of data during this project and wants to find a Jamaican source where it can be presented. Among other items he’s identified that men are three inches taller than their female counterparts but 30 pounds lighter; i.e. rural women are generally obese and the men lean.
Gary also submitted a grant for improvement of sanitation facilities in Sangster Heights, Chapelton environs. 11.2% of households in the community lack toilets or running water. He’ll learn in January what the result will be.
He also participated in a health fair in Canaan Heights, one of the most dangerous places in Jamaica. A wonderful humanitarian, Bill Shagoury, was the source for this initial venture into an otherwise off-limits area. He provided safe transport in and out of the community. It was a possible lead up to our opening a Wellness Program for those residents.
We both participated in the Sangster Heights Football/Netball Association fundraising. Recall we did the same for the Football Assoc. last December. Then the girls got themselves organized to the point that it’s now a joint association.
Finally, we both recently began planning for an Emancipation Day Fundraiser [Aug. 1] for Chapelton Community Hospital's purchases of two computers for the Records Room [Recall the hospital has 69,000 registered patients and all those records are currently maintained manually] and a DVD player for the Patient Waiting Room, as well as funding to repair the water piping system [there are copious leaks] so the hospital can depend on a daily supply of water [imagine your hospital operating without water; it’s a regular occurrence here].
There are more things in the works that we’ll begin working on as each of these activities becomes independently functional. Each day we are occupied with one or more activity[s] but that doesn’t mean we don’t miss many of you and those comforts of home. Several of you have asked if we’re having a good time. If it’s fun they are thinking of, no [accept for our times with Mrs. Rumble and/or our times on leave], there’s nothing fun about our roles. Rewarding, yes; we feel like we’re developing some sustainable programs that will remain after our departure. That is a heartwarming, albeit unfun, feeling.
More lata, Margaret and Gary
We’ve just completed our second Trimester Report for Peace Corps Jamaica and the US Government. It’s a fairly comprehensive outline of all that’s been accomplished in the last four months. While filling it out it occurred to us that you might be interested in some of the smaller activities we’ve been involved with beyond the Wellness Program and the Citizen’s Association.
Our level of involvement may be an explanation for how well accepted we are in the area. The Jamaican’s seem to appreciate all we do. Almost everyone knows our name and greets us with enthusiasm. We are accepted members of the community; they look after us and are concerned for our well being and comfort. So, here is a brief description of what we’ve done in the last four months.
The Citizens’ Association had a huge breakthrough last week when we were in Dallas seeing the boys. They met without us, had the largest turnout ever, and new business items were introduced by residents!! It was great news to our ears. Everyone was very excited about the result. Before our departure the Executive Committee was anxious; until this success they all thought nothing would/could occur without us. We told them that if that happened our work would have been a failure.
Margaret’s been tutoring high school athletic coaches on improved training techniques; the football, basketball and track coaches attend weekly one hour sessions on relevant issues affecting athletes’ health, conditioning, and performance. Topics include: orthopedics/biomechanics and anatomy/physiology. The football coach has taken this very seriously and has totally revamped his training and conditioning regime for the players. She taught him how to analyze posture imbalances in order to identify potential future injury sites. That all began because several of his players complained of back pain. Now he’s analyzing everyone in site, players as well as his high school faculty/staff colleagues.
256 pairs of exercise shoes have been collected by US residents; 100 have been received and distributed thus far; the last 156 are still sitting in California waiting for us to get clearance for receipt of them. Each day Margaret gets a request for a pair of shoes from someone: a player, her exercise students, athletes, children on the street, and/or doctors for their patients. It’s been difficult to understand why receipt of the last 156 has been so hard to come by.
Then there are the regular weekly presentations to the Hospital patients on health related topics like: hand washing, healthy snacks, food preparation, STIs & HIV/AIDS, violence prevention, oral hygiene, exercising tips, breast cancer, cervical cancer, “Active Children and Their Health in Childhood and as Adults"; "Health Concerns for Sedentary Jamaican Women"; and "Osteoporosis, the Invisible Epidemic for Jamaican Women”.
Margaret teaches two sections of exercise classes twice per week for staff at the hospital and residents at the Community Center. So far there are ten regulars with more enrolling each week. They are dedicated and disciplined about getting in their exercises. They even met when we were in Dallas.
Margaret is teaching two men how to read. One has some simple basic goals like being able to right his name but the second wants to become a minister and be able to read the Bible.
Gary has developed the Electrocardiography Laboratory & trained nurses, community health aids, and doctors on how to use it. He’s collected loads of data during this project and wants to find a Jamaican source where it can be presented. Among other items he’s identified that men are three inches taller than their female counterparts but 30 pounds lighter; i.e. rural women are generally obese and the men lean.
Gary also submitted a grant for improvement of sanitation facilities in Sangster Heights, Chapelton environs. 11.2% of households in the community lack toilets or running water. He’ll learn in January what the result will be.
He also participated in a health fair in Canaan Heights, one of the most dangerous places in Jamaica. A wonderful humanitarian, Bill Shagoury, was the source for this initial venture into an otherwise off-limits area. He provided safe transport in and out of the community. It was a possible lead up to our opening a Wellness Program for those residents.
We both participated in the Sangster Heights Football/Netball Association fundraising. Recall we did the same for the Football Assoc. last December. Then the girls got themselves organized to the point that it’s now a joint association.
Finally, we both recently began planning for an Emancipation Day Fundraiser [Aug. 1] for Chapelton Community Hospital's purchases of two computers for the Records Room [Recall the hospital has 69,000 registered patients and all those records are currently maintained manually] and a DVD player for the Patient Waiting Room, as well as funding to repair the water piping system [there are copious leaks] so the hospital can depend on a daily supply of water [imagine your hospital operating without water; it’s a regular occurrence here].
There are more things in the works that we’ll begin working on as each of these activities becomes independently functional. Each day we are occupied with one or more activity[s] but that doesn’t mean we don’t miss many of you and those comforts of home. Several of you have asked if we’re having a good time. If it’s fun they are thinking of, no [accept for our times with Mrs. Rumble and/or our times on leave], there’s nothing fun about our roles. Rewarding, yes; we feel like we’re developing some sustainable programs that will remain after our departure. That is a heartwarming, albeit unfun, feeling.
More laita, Margaret and Gary
Our level of involvement may be an explanation for how well accepted we are in the area. The Jamaican’s seem to appreciate all we do. Almost everyone knows our name and greets us with enthusiasm. We are accepted members of the community; they look after us and are concerned for our well being and comfort. So, here is a brief description of what we’ve done in the last four months.
The Citizens’ Association had a huge breakthrough last week when we were in Dallas seeing the boys. They met without us, had the largest turnout ever, and new business items were introduced by residents!! It was great news to our ears. Everyone was very excited about the result. Before our departure the Executive Committee was anxious; until this success they all thought nothing would/could occur without us. We told them that if that happened our work would have been a failure.
Margaret’s been tutoring high school athletic coaches on improved training techniques; the football, basketball and track coaches attend weekly one hour sessions on relevant issues affecting athletes’ health, conditioning, and performance. Topics include: orthopedics/biomechanics and anatomy/physiology. The football coach has taken this very seriously and has totally revamped his training and conditioning regime for the players. She taught him how to analyze posture imbalances in order to identify potential future injury sites. That all began because several of his players complained of back pain. Now he’s analyzing everyone in site, players as well as his high school faculty/staff colleagues.
256 pairs of exercise shoes have been collected by US residents; 100 have been received and distributed thus far; the last 156 are still sitting in California waiting for us to get clearance for receipt of them. Each day Margaret gets a request for a pair of shoes from someone: a player, her exercise students, athletes, children on the street, and/or doctors for their patients. It’s been difficult to understand why receipt of the last 156 has been so hard to come by.
Then there are the regular weekly presentations to the Hospital patients on health related topics like: hand washing, healthy snacks, food preparation, STIs & HIV/AIDS, violence prevention, oral hygiene, exercising tips, breast cancer, cervical cancer, “Active Children and Their Health in Childhood and as Adults"; "Health Concerns for Sedentary Jamaican Women"; and "Osteoporosis, the Invisible Epidemic for Jamaican Women”.
Margaret teaches two sections of exercise classes twice per week for staff at the hospital and residents at the Community Center. So far there are ten regulars with more enrolling each week. They are dedicated and disciplined about getting in their exercises. They even met when we were in Dallas.
Margaret is teaching two men how to read. One has some simple basic goals like being able to right his name but the second wants to become a minister and be able to read the Bible.
Gary has developed the Electrocardiography Laboratory & trained nurses, community health aids, and doctors on how to use it. He’s collected loads of data during this project and wants to find a Jamaican source where it can be presented. Among other items he’s identified that men are three inches taller than their female counterparts but 30 pounds lighter; i.e. rural women are generally obese and the men lean.
Gary also submitted a grant for improvement of sanitation facilities in Sangster Heights, Chapelton environs. 11.2% of households in the community lack toilets or running water. He’ll learn in January what the result will be.
He also participated in a health fair in Canaan Heights, one of the most dangerous places in Jamaica. A wonderful humanitarian, Bill Shagoury, was the source for this initial venture into an otherwise off-limits area. He provided safe transport in and out of the community. It was a possible lead up to our opening a Wellness Program for those residents.
We both participated in the Sangster Heights Football/Netball Association fundraising. Recall we did the same for the Football Assoc. last December. Then the girls got themselves organized to the point that it’s now a joint association.
Finally, we both recently began planning for an Emancipation Day Fundraiser [Aug. 1] for Chapelton Community Hospital's purchases of two computers for the Records Room [Recall the hospital has 69,000 registered patients and all those records are currently maintained manually] and a DVD player for the Patient Waiting Room, as well as funding to repair the water piping system [there are copious leaks] so the hospital can depend on a daily supply of water [imagine your hospital operating without water; it’s a regular occurrence here].
There are more things in the works that we’ll begin working on as each of these activities becomes independently functional. Each day we are occupied with one or more activity[s] but that doesn’t mean we don’t miss many of you and those comforts of home. Several of you have asked if we’re having a good time. If it’s fun they are thinking of, no [accept for our times with Mrs. Rumble and/or our times on leave], there’s nothing fun about our roles. Rewarding, yes; we feel like we’re developing some sustainable programs that will remain after our departure. That is a heartwarming, albeit unfun, feeling.
More lata, Margaret and Gary
We’ve just completed our second Trimester Report for Peace Corps Jamaica and the US Government. It’s a fairly comprehensive outline of all that’s been accomplished in the last four months. While filling it out it occurred to us that you might be interested in some of the smaller activities we’ve been involved with beyond the Wellness Program and the Citizen’s Association.
Our level of involvement may be an explanation for how well accepted we are in the area. The Jamaican’s seem to appreciate all we do. Almost everyone knows our name and greets us with enthusiasm. We are accepted members of the community; they look after us and are concerned for our well being and comfort. So, here is a brief description of what we’ve done in the last four months.
The Citizens’ Association had a huge breakthrough last week when we were in Dallas seeing the boys. They met without us, had the largest turnout ever, and new business items were introduced by residents!! It was great news to our ears. Everyone was very excited about the result. Before our departure the Executive Committee was anxious; until this success they all thought nothing would/could occur without us. We told them that if that happened our work would have been a failure.
Margaret’s been tutoring high school athletic coaches on improved training techniques; the football, basketball and track coaches attend weekly one hour sessions on relevant issues affecting athletes’ health, conditioning, and performance. Topics include: orthopedics/biomechanics and anatomy/physiology. The football coach has taken this very seriously and has totally revamped his training and conditioning regime for the players. She taught him how to analyze posture imbalances in order to identify potential future injury sites. That all began because several of his players complained of back pain. Now he’s analyzing everyone in site, players as well as his high school faculty/staff colleagues.
256 pairs of exercise shoes have been collected by US residents; 100 have been received and distributed thus far; the last 156 are still sitting in California waiting for us to get clearance for receipt of them. Each day Margaret gets a request for a pair of shoes from someone: a player, her exercise students, athletes, children on the street, and/or doctors for their patients. It’s been difficult to understand why receipt of the last 156 has been so hard to come by.
Then there are the regular weekly presentations to the Hospital patients on health related topics like: hand washing, healthy snacks, food preparation, STIs & HIV/AIDS, violence prevention, oral hygiene, exercising tips, breast cancer, cervical cancer, “Active Children and Their Health in Childhood and as Adults"; "Health Concerns for Sedentary Jamaican Women"; and "Osteoporosis, the Invisible Epidemic for Jamaican Women”.
Margaret teaches two sections of exercise classes twice per week for staff at the hospital and residents at the Community Center. So far there are ten regulars with more enrolling each week. They are dedicated and disciplined about getting in their exercises. They even met when we were in Dallas.
Margaret is teaching two men how to read. One has some simple basic goals like being able to right his name but the second wants to become a minister and be able to read the Bible.
Gary has developed the Electrocardiography Laboratory & trained nurses, community health aids, and doctors on how to use it. He’s collected loads of data during this project and wants to find a Jamaican source where it can be presented. Among other items he’s identified that men are three inches taller than their female counterparts but 30 pounds lighter; i.e. rural women are generally obese and the men lean.
Gary also submitted a grant for improvement of sanitation facilities in Sangster Heights, Chapelton environs. 11.2% of households in the community lack toilets or running water. He’ll learn in January what the result will be.
He also participated in a health fair in Canaan Heights, one of the most dangerous places in Jamaica. A wonderful humanitarian, Bill Shagoury, was the source for this initial venture into an otherwise off-limits area. He provided safe transport in and out of the community. It was a possible lead up to our opening a Wellness Program for those residents.
We both participated in the Sangster Heights Football/Netball Association fundraising. Recall we did the same for the Football Assoc. last December. Then the girls got themselves organized to the point that it’s now a joint association.
Finally, we both recently began planning for an Emancipation Day Fundraiser [Aug. 1] for Chapelton Community Hospital's purchases of two computers for the Records Room [Recall the hospital has 69,000 registered patients and all those records are currently maintained manually] and a DVD player for the Patient Waiting Room, as well as funding to repair the water piping system [there are copious leaks] so the hospital can depend on a daily supply of water [imagine your hospital operating without water; it’s a regular occurrence here].
There are more things in the works that we’ll begin working on as each of these activities becomes independently functional. Each day we are occupied with one or more activity[s] but that doesn’t mean we don’t miss many of you and those comforts of home. Several of you have asked if we’re having a good time. If it’s fun they are thinking of, no [accept for our times with Mrs. Rumble and/or our times on leave], there’s nothing fun about our roles. Rewarding, yes; we feel like we’re developing some sustainable programs that will remain after our departure. That is a heartwarming, albeit unfun, feeling.
More laita, Margaret and Gary
Monday, April 27, 2009
The latest news
It’s Sunday and the end of the month so things are quiet. We’ve both been able to do a lot of catching up, among them is this blog; but tomorrow things will likely change on two fronts. First, last Wednesday the government passed a 20% increase in the gas tax [among other tax increases] and it goes into effect tomorrow [pretty quick turnaround for a country known for takin’ it ezee]. “Demonstrations” [some say riots] are expected. Ten years ago the same happened and after three days of rioting the tax was rescinded. Now the government says they won’t do the same again [there’s a ¼ trillion dollar budget deficit]. We’re safe in Chapelton, there’s enough food, water, and good people to take care of us; but island-wide PCV’s have been warned to stay near home and get their shelves stocked. Keep an eye on the news for updates on the situation.
Second, it’s the time of the month when our work picks up. We’ll be doing our Wellness Evaluations, planning for the upcoming Citizens Association, Senior Citizens’ Association, and Youth Group meetings [meet with Executive Committees, make flyers, put them up around town, & attend the meetings], teach exercise classes, make presentations, meet with individuals, do EKG’s, etc.
On Good Friday the Sacred Concert was a big success. Its theme was community unity and we think it struck a cord with many attendees. Because of that we anticipate a very large turnout for the next Citizens’ Association meeting [at least we hope so]. It was one of the first activities that Jamaican’s played a major role in. We had a fundraising committee that came up with the idea and plans and I just helped facilitate it. It went from 4-8:30 PM and the only complaint was that it wasn’t longer. So, next time, the second annual sacred concert will go until10 PM. At the event several churches brought “items” [song, poem, reading, skit, etc] and three speakers talked briefly about community unity. There was a band that kept things lively and a chairperson [emcee] who really livened up the performance [she was an item unto herself]. Over a hundred showed up and we raised $25,000 JA [sounds like a lot but it’s only about $270 US]. It will be enough to soundly secure the Community Center’s room where ten computers will be housed for training and community access.
One reason the Concert was so successful may have been that there is so little to do in Chapelton. An event is something people don’t want to miss. Taking that into consideration I suggested to a woman who directed a charming skit for the concert that we think about having an evening of dramatic skits. She jumped at the chance and said Jamaican’s love the idea of drama. We’re going to do it in June and see what happens. I’ll keep you posted.
Following on the theme of nothing to do for community members, we will help raise money for the Hospital’s Emancipation Day event. The staff at Chapelton Community Hospital is planning to hold a Jamaican Cultural Day Fundraiser on Saturday August 1. The twofold purpose is to raise money for: 1) all that is involved in computerizing their Records Room [all records are manually maintained…… all 69,000 of them]; and 2) re-piping the Hospital’s water system in order to regain greater control of the water supply [presently there is no water available other than in barrels about 50% of the time…pretty tough going for a hospital]. It seems the pipes are very old and leak so badly that when the water tank is filled to supply the Hospital for two weeks it only lasts a day or two. Since there’s no money from the government [they can’t even afford plastic bags to line the garbage cans let alone new piping] the staff decided to take things into their own hands.
The day will begin at 10 AM with a parade through Chapelton, complete with a traditional Jonkoono band [historic Jamaican band with instruments we haven’t seen] and mascots [guys on stilts, giant cow heads, etc]. The parade will end at the Market Place in Chapelton Center where authentic culture foods will be sold and historical items will be on display. The day will close with a concert from 6 to 10 PM. It sounds like a very big event where they hope to raise at least $200,000 JA [~$2,200 US]. That will be enough for two computers; security & voltage regulation for them and a chunk of the data processing to get many of the 69,000 records electronically entered. Any extra monies will go toward addressing the water debacle.
The computer side is so inexpensive because I organized an island-wide movement to get a Jamaican PC provider to sell refurbished computers to Peace Corps projects for $120 US. The service will offer the computer, monitor, all cables, voltage regulation [very important here, Gary’s first EKG was fried because of it], all necessary software for personal and internet use, 2 ½ year warranty, and technical support for that price. The two computers and security will cost $440 US and the data entry will be $2,000 US. Will keep you abreast of how this project unfolds. AND! Please pray no hurricanes hit on August 1!!!
It’s getting hotter and more humid, approaching what it was like when we arrived last July. We shower and clean up for work and in ¼ of mile we’re soaked. It appears that the comfortable weather runs from November to mid-April. Keep that in mind if you’re thinking about a visit.
Mangoes are everywhere, hanging like sexy little teases from every fourth tree. I can’t imagine what the feeding frenzy will be like once they’re ripe in May and June.
We leave May 7 for five days in Dallas. Not that we’re too excited or anything! We’re also coming home for two weeks at Thanksgiving and already have our itinerary set [not just the flight schedule, the day to day plans]. Some would call that sick….. we call it missing home, homeland, and the boys. Thank goodness we’re in Jamaica.
Love to all, Margaret
Second, it’s the time of the month when our work picks up. We’ll be doing our Wellness Evaluations, planning for the upcoming Citizens Association, Senior Citizens’ Association, and Youth Group meetings [meet with Executive Committees, make flyers, put them up around town, & attend the meetings], teach exercise classes, make presentations, meet with individuals, do EKG’s, etc.
On Good Friday the Sacred Concert was a big success. Its theme was community unity and we think it struck a cord with many attendees. Because of that we anticipate a very large turnout for the next Citizens’ Association meeting [at least we hope so]. It was one of the first activities that Jamaican’s played a major role in. We had a fundraising committee that came up with the idea and plans and I just helped facilitate it. It went from 4-8:30 PM and the only complaint was that it wasn’t longer. So, next time, the second annual sacred concert will go until10 PM. At the event several churches brought “items” [song, poem, reading, skit, etc] and three speakers talked briefly about community unity. There was a band that kept things lively and a chairperson [emcee] who really livened up the performance [she was an item unto herself]. Over a hundred showed up and we raised $25,000 JA [sounds like a lot but it’s only about $270 US]. It will be enough to soundly secure the Community Center’s room where ten computers will be housed for training and community access.
One reason the Concert was so successful may have been that there is so little to do in Chapelton. An event is something people don’t want to miss. Taking that into consideration I suggested to a woman who directed a charming skit for the concert that we think about having an evening of dramatic skits. She jumped at the chance and said Jamaican’s love the idea of drama. We’re going to do it in June and see what happens. I’ll keep you posted.
Following on the theme of nothing to do for community members, we will help raise money for the Hospital’s Emancipation Day event. The staff at Chapelton Community Hospital is planning to hold a Jamaican Cultural Day Fundraiser on Saturday August 1. The twofold purpose is to raise money for: 1) all that is involved in computerizing their Records Room [all records are manually maintained…… all 69,000 of them]; and 2) re-piping the Hospital’s water system in order to regain greater control of the water supply [presently there is no water available other than in barrels about 50% of the time…pretty tough going for a hospital]. It seems the pipes are very old and leak so badly that when the water tank is filled to supply the Hospital for two weeks it only lasts a day or two. Since there’s no money from the government [they can’t even afford plastic bags to line the garbage cans let alone new piping] the staff decided to take things into their own hands.
The day will begin at 10 AM with a parade through Chapelton, complete with a traditional Jonkoono band [historic Jamaican band with instruments we haven’t seen] and mascots [guys on stilts, giant cow heads, etc]. The parade will end at the Market Place in Chapelton Center where authentic culture foods will be sold and historical items will be on display. The day will close with a concert from 6 to 10 PM. It sounds like a very big event where they hope to raise at least $200,000 JA [~$2,200 US]. That will be enough for two computers; security & voltage regulation for them and a chunk of the data processing to get many of the 69,000 records electronically entered. Any extra monies will go toward addressing the water debacle.
The computer side is so inexpensive because I organized an island-wide movement to get a Jamaican PC provider to sell refurbished computers to Peace Corps projects for $120 US. The service will offer the computer, monitor, all cables, voltage regulation [very important here, Gary’s first EKG was fried because of it], all necessary software for personal and internet use, 2 ½ year warranty, and technical support for that price. The two computers and security will cost $440 US and the data entry will be $2,000 US. Will keep you abreast of how this project unfolds. AND! Please pray no hurricanes hit on August 1!!!
It’s getting hotter and more humid, approaching what it was like when we arrived last July. We shower and clean up for work and in ¼ of mile we’re soaked. It appears that the comfortable weather runs from November to mid-April. Keep that in mind if you’re thinking about a visit.
Mangoes are everywhere, hanging like sexy little teases from every fourth tree. I can’t imagine what the feeding frenzy will be like once they’re ripe in May and June.
We leave May 7 for five days in Dallas. Not that we’re too excited or anything! We’re also coming home for two weeks at Thanksgiving and already have our itinerary set [not just the flight schedule, the day to day plans]. Some would call that sick….. we call it missing home, homeland, and the boys. Thank goodness we’re in Jamaica.
Love to all, Margaret
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Why We Didn't Need to Go to Africa!
Recall our original assignment had been to Sub-Saharan Africa. Initially we were both let down when the Dark Continent became Jamaica. I couldn’t imagine their needs could be greater than that of Africans. Similarly, I was disappointed when we got our Chapelton (dead center of the island) assignment instead of more exotic sites like Ocho Rios, Treasure Beach, or Negril posts. I’ve finally come to realize that I was meant to be here, if for no other reason than to work for those who are in such great need. There was no necessity to travel halfway around the world; we only had to fly 75 minutes south of Miami for the experience.
On Saturday the second Football/Netball Funday Fundraiser was held. We helped with the effort to raise $$$ for the teams to get uniforms so they can qualify to play in Parish contests. If I haven’t already mentioned it, there haven’t been teams in our district for fifteen years. With NOTHING to do for the youths one dedicated citizen took up the task of leading the fundraising effort.
Now, fundraising in rural Jamaica has no semblance of what we’re accustomed to in the US; a donation of $ 2.00 US is considered reasonable and $20 is very generous. After months of planning, 80 man-hours of work on Saturday with 10 volunteers we raised $2,300 JA or $26, about enough to buy three shirts for the team. It will take a lot more fundraising to get 15 shirts each for the football and netball teams. In the meantime, players share shirts during a game. As a player comes out he/she takes off the shirt and gives it to his teammate to wear.
Uniforms are nothing, though, to what I experienced at the food booth where we worked that day. The major way to raise the necessary money is to sell food and drinks during the games. We sold traditional Jamaican fare; chicken, goat head soup, slaw, and rice & peas (red beans to us) along with beer, juice and water. At the end of the day the players were hanging around the food booth to see if there might be any leftovers for them. They couldn’t afford the J$250 (~$ 3.00 US) to buy the food. Finally, I was able to dole out to the girls’ net ball team the one chicken back left with a large serving of rice & peas. Ten of them carefully split it up and shared equitably without complaints or groans. A little later I was able to serve up the soup but there were only six cups remaining with perhaps 50 servings left in the pot. These hungry kids (perhaps 25-30) stood in line, got a cup, ate it and handed the cup off to a friend. They tried to use plastic soda bottles found on the field that had the top ripped off, but when I realized the bottles had been lying on the ground, ants crawling all over them, and who knows drinking from it I said no to that (not that the shared cups were any more sanitary). Only until the pot got low did a few kids get pushy about getting some soup.
But then I began to serve out the remaining rice and peas and that was the most telling incident of all. It was in half of a five gallon pot that had cooked all day and was dry and burnt. No matter, they were hungry and needed it. We had many more plates than cups and no utensils so only a few had to share plates but all had to eat with their hands. Fortunately, the rice was dried out so that I could spoon it out in large chunks, so eating it was easier than if it had been moist and separated. Needless to say there wasn’t a grain of rice, a drop of soup or even a chicken bone left to clean up. No food was thrown away. As I was serving the soup and rice & peas I couldn’t stop thinking of how fortunate our American children are. Even under bad financial times like these I can’t imagine many, if any, asking to eat what we would consider inedible food under quasi-sanitary conditions.
On the upside, we had a joyous First Annual Sacred Concert and Community Unity Fundraiser on Good Friday night. Our purpose was to raise money to buy computers and secure them in our local Community Center. Christianity and their churches are very important to large numbers of Jamaicans so a sacred concert was appealing particularly when there’s nothing much else to do. Many of the area churches sent “items” (an act) for the performance: choral groups, soloists, musicians, children singing, skits, and readings. We invited a director from the Social Development Commission and two ministers to speak about community unity. The new president of the Citizen’s Association was the chairperson (emcee) and she was a pistol, a veritable one woman show. Eighty people paid JA$200 admission and another 40 stood outside the gate to watch and listen. We didn’t know what to expect; but it was intended to run from 4-6 PM and went on until 8:30 with moaning that it should have gone on longer (It was outdoors and we only had one fluorescent light once the sun went down). We haven’t totaled the earnings because some money is still coming in from churches but I expect we made $16,000 or about $170 US. That’s enough to get a good start toward the computer room security and voltage regulation installed plus do some other small things for the Center.
Mango season is coming and the anticipation is much like that for Christmas. Citizens have been talking about it for months. Apparently you eat nothing but mango in all its permutations for two months.
More good news, we think we’ll be getting a high speed internet hook-up at our house next week (Jamaican next week could mean within the month). If that’s the case we may be able to produce more blogs and certainly spend more time communicating with all of you who email us.
If you’re not already doing it, count all your blessings,... the Jamaican’s do it each day!!!!
Blessa, Margaret
On Saturday the second Football/Netball Funday Fundraiser was held. We helped with the effort to raise $$$ for the teams to get uniforms so they can qualify to play in Parish contests. If I haven’t already mentioned it, there haven’t been teams in our district for fifteen years. With NOTHING to do for the youths one dedicated citizen took up the task of leading the fundraising effort.
Now, fundraising in rural Jamaica has no semblance of what we’re accustomed to in the US; a donation of $ 2.00 US is considered reasonable and $20 is very generous. After months of planning, 80 man-hours of work on Saturday with 10 volunteers we raised $2,300 JA or $26, about enough to buy three shirts for the team. It will take a lot more fundraising to get 15 shirts each for the football and netball teams. In the meantime, players share shirts during a game. As a player comes out he/she takes off the shirt and gives it to his teammate to wear.
Uniforms are nothing, though, to what I experienced at the food booth where we worked that day. The major way to raise the necessary money is to sell food and drinks during the games. We sold traditional Jamaican fare; chicken, goat head soup, slaw, and rice & peas (red beans to us) along with beer, juice and water. At the end of the day the players were hanging around the food booth to see if there might be any leftovers for them. They couldn’t afford the J$250 (~$ 3.00 US) to buy the food. Finally, I was able to dole out to the girls’ net ball team the one chicken back left with a large serving of rice & peas. Ten of them carefully split it up and shared equitably without complaints or groans. A little later I was able to serve up the soup but there were only six cups remaining with perhaps 50 servings left in the pot. These hungry kids (perhaps 25-30) stood in line, got a cup, ate it and handed the cup off to a friend. They tried to use plastic soda bottles found on the field that had the top ripped off, but when I realized the bottles had been lying on the ground, ants crawling all over them, and who knows drinking from it I said no to that (not that the shared cups were any more sanitary). Only until the pot got low did a few kids get pushy about getting some soup.
But then I began to serve out the remaining rice and peas and that was the most telling incident of all. It was in half of a five gallon pot that had cooked all day and was dry and burnt. No matter, they were hungry and needed it. We had many more plates than cups and no utensils so only a few had to share plates but all had to eat with their hands. Fortunately, the rice was dried out so that I could spoon it out in large chunks, so eating it was easier than if it had been moist and separated. Needless to say there wasn’t a grain of rice, a drop of soup or even a chicken bone left to clean up. No food was thrown away. As I was serving the soup and rice & peas I couldn’t stop thinking of how fortunate our American children are. Even under bad financial times like these I can’t imagine many, if any, asking to eat what we would consider inedible food under quasi-sanitary conditions.
On the upside, we had a joyous First Annual Sacred Concert and Community Unity Fundraiser on Good Friday night. Our purpose was to raise money to buy computers and secure them in our local Community Center. Christianity and their churches are very important to large numbers of Jamaicans so a sacred concert was appealing particularly when there’s nothing much else to do. Many of the area churches sent “items” (an act) for the performance: choral groups, soloists, musicians, children singing, skits, and readings. We invited a director from the Social Development Commission and two ministers to speak about community unity. The new president of the Citizen’s Association was the chairperson (emcee) and she was a pistol, a veritable one woman show. Eighty people paid JA$200 admission and another 40 stood outside the gate to watch and listen. We didn’t know what to expect; but it was intended to run from 4-6 PM and went on until 8:30 with moaning that it should have gone on longer (It was outdoors and we only had one fluorescent light once the sun went down). We haven’t totaled the earnings because some money is still coming in from churches but I expect we made $16,000 or about $170 US. That’s enough to get a good start toward the computer room security and voltage regulation installed plus do some other small things for the Center.
Mango season is coming and the anticipation is much like that for Christmas. Citizens have been talking about it for months. Apparently you eat nothing but mango in all its permutations for two months.
More good news, we think we’ll be getting a high speed internet hook-up at our house next week (Jamaican next week could mean within the month). If that’s the case we may be able to produce more blogs and certainly spend more time communicating with all of you who email us.
If you’re not already doing it, count all your blessings,... the Jamaican’s do it each day!!!!
Blessa, Margaret
Monday, March 30, 2009
The World Economic Downturn Has Struck in JM
Something’s happening in rural Chapelton. It’s become physically noticeable since we’ve been here; more and more men have taken on a gaunt ghost-like appearance in their face. It seems to be related to the downturn in the economy and the subsequent loss of income and thus available food. There is 60% unemployment in Clarendon Parish (our ‘county’). Forty percent of women are clinically obese and many more, who are undocumented in the research, are overweight; so, it’s harder to notice weight loss in them. But in the men it’s easy, only 16% of men are overweight according to the research. With men already lean, any fat loss will be noticeable. I hadn’t identified it earlier even though it may have already been happening because men tend to wear loose clothing; I assume to keep cool. But, as I’ve made more Jamaican friends whom I regularly see and talk with, there’s an opportunity to see and grasp what is happening. These men, young and old, are farmers trying to feed their families and are sacrificing their personal well-being for their children and “wives”.
I’ve written letters requesting financial assistance from the government in the name of two of these men who are illiterate (this is the standard approach for those affiliated with the political party in power…those in the other party are just out of luck until or if there’s a change with an election). It’s heart breaking to hear their stories as I interview them for information to include in their requests. There simply is no work and thus no money to buy food beyond what they specifically grow or raise. There is lots of sharing and bartering but it must not be enough.
Sometimes when I consider the wellness programs we’ve started I feel a little foolish. Yes, the obese and overweight women benefit, but there is an underlying larger issue; we don’t have the tools to deal with seeing that all 3,000 residents have adequate and nutritious food supplies. One thing I’m going to suggest to our nutritionist is that when she sees the Wellness clients that she ascertains their ability to access food and, where applicable, school them on what Jamaican foods give the biggest bang for the buck.
And then there’s one effort Gary’s working on; he’s trying to get some kind of basic sanitation facilities to 11% of the dwellings in our immediate neighborhood that have no toilets or water. He’s written a grant to see if funds are available to have them built. We’re confident he will get at least four toilets built for one very large family compound. At that location we’ve tried to estimate how many people actually live on the site and are certain that it’s at least 25 but likely many more. Currently these people use the helicopter approach: eliminate in a plastic bag, tie it shut, twirl it around, and let it fly into the bush. You may be disgusted or amused by the approach but at this point there’s no other option. At the same time, just try to imagine what it would be like if 11% of your neighbors did the same; like here, vectors would be everywhere spreading infectious disease.
What lessons we’re learning!!!
On a high note, I had a fellow stop me recently and say, “hey, you’re the lady at the hospital who taught me how to wash my hands so I can stay healthy (most Americans do it all wrong too). I said yes, I’m the one, and then asked him three key questions: what is the one thing you have to have to kill the germs when you wash; what kills the germs; and how should you dry your hands? He got them all right!!!: clean water, friction (rubbing hard) all over the hands, fingers, and under the nails, and either let them drip dry or use a clean paper towel. It was good to get that simple but very positive feedback; I hope all those hundreds of other souls listening to me in the hospital waiting room over the weeks have learned as much.
We’re coming home again to see John and Stephen for a long Mother’s Day weekend in Dallas and are really looking forward to it even if it will be short. There’s nothing like hugging the two of them. Most of our fellow volunteers spend their time and money seeing the island (we’ve done a little of that) but we’d rather save up our days-off to see those wonderful guys.
Laita, Margaret
I’ve written letters requesting financial assistance from the government in the name of two of these men who are illiterate (this is the standard approach for those affiliated with the political party in power…those in the other party are just out of luck until or if there’s a change with an election). It’s heart breaking to hear their stories as I interview them for information to include in their requests. There simply is no work and thus no money to buy food beyond what they specifically grow or raise. There is lots of sharing and bartering but it must not be enough.
Sometimes when I consider the wellness programs we’ve started I feel a little foolish. Yes, the obese and overweight women benefit, but there is an underlying larger issue; we don’t have the tools to deal with seeing that all 3,000 residents have adequate and nutritious food supplies. One thing I’m going to suggest to our nutritionist is that when she sees the Wellness clients that she ascertains their ability to access food and, where applicable, school them on what Jamaican foods give the biggest bang for the buck.
And then there’s one effort Gary’s working on; he’s trying to get some kind of basic sanitation facilities to 11% of the dwellings in our immediate neighborhood that have no toilets or water. He’s written a grant to see if funds are available to have them built. We’re confident he will get at least four toilets built for one very large family compound. At that location we’ve tried to estimate how many people actually live on the site and are certain that it’s at least 25 but likely many more. Currently these people use the helicopter approach: eliminate in a plastic bag, tie it shut, twirl it around, and let it fly into the bush. You may be disgusted or amused by the approach but at this point there’s no other option. At the same time, just try to imagine what it would be like if 11% of your neighbors did the same; like here, vectors would be everywhere spreading infectious disease.
What lessons we’re learning!!!
On a high note, I had a fellow stop me recently and say, “hey, you’re the lady at the hospital who taught me how to wash my hands so I can stay healthy (most Americans do it all wrong too). I said yes, I’m the one, and then asked him three key questions: what is the one thing you have to have to kill the germs when you wash; what kills the germs; and how should you dry your hands? He got them all right!!!: clean water, friction (rubbing hard) all over the hands, fingers, and under the nails, and either let them drip dry or use a clean paper towel. It was good to get that simple but very positive feedback; I hope all those hundreds of other souls listening to me in the hospital waiting room over the weeks have learned as much.
We’re coming home again to see John and Stephen for a long Mother’s Day weekend in Dallas and are really looking forward to it even if it will be short. There’s nothing like hugging the two of them. Most of our fellow volunteers spend their time and money seeing the island (we’ve done a little of that) but we’d rather save up our days-off to see those wonderful guys.
Laita, Margaret
Friday, March 27, 2009
The latest for us in March 2009
March 27, 2009
Fruits, veggies, and more…..
Our regular walks in the community are usually dictated by the weather. If there has been a significant rain the night before we avoid the bush walks because of all the puddles and mud. So we are then relegated to the road walks which aren’t bad if we stay off the main road where some crazy taxi drivers come ever so close to picking you off.
On our most recent walk through the bush (where we usually find an orange or two to nibble along the way) we noticed that the oranges were for the most part picked…we were informed that it is the end of the orange season. A few trees still are full of oranges..mostly because these are the sour oranges..apparently they use these to make marmalade. But to our surprise we noticed little buds and then on one tree some flowers…the turn-around time from the last orange to new buds is quite fast. I stopped and asked a man in one of the orchards…he said that in five or six weeks there will be new oranges on the trees ripening. Right now it is spring…but it seems like summer with many other fruits starting to become available. Papayas are now coming into season…not very sweet yet, but good nonetheless. And then there are the custard and star apples, they taste and have the texture of custard. We cut them up and put them on top of cake or cookies, it makes a delicious substitute for ice cream and it’s much healthier. In about 6 weeks mangos will be the rage…I’ve heard lots of Mango stories…all types of varieties from big to small…from sweet to very sweet. For all intents and purposes we have been told that there is less cooking going on from May to mid-July because of all the ripe mangos. When we arrived last July the mango season was coming to an end….…so we’re looking forward to the mango harvest.
We started a garden (small area) last fall to grow some basil…(can’t find it in the produce departments of the food stores)…it is now flourishing. Our host mother has had most available parts of the property turned over for planting….tomatoes, callaloo, spinach, peas, beans….already on her property (which is a small lot about 20 ‘ x 60’) is sugarcane, banana plants, breadfruit tree, ackee tree, apple tree (Jamaican apple), and gongoo peas. You’d think it was summer back home…but its spring. Speaking of fruits and veggies the tomatoes in Jamaica are great….they are good all year long..not just during August in New England. The one thing I miss is nice green lettuce and romaine lettuce…we only have access to iceberg lettuce here…dark green callaloo replaces the spinach and is quite good.
Straying from the gustatory delights of fruit, we’ve noticed that culturally there are frequent births and deaths in our community. There are only 1,500 people in Sangster Heights which is the district or neighborhood of Chapelton where we live. There’s a funeral every week or two and twice that in births. Strangely, we have never seen or heard of one marriage that has taken place since we’ve been here. We can’t explain it culturally but it is hard to understand.
Otherwise, we are getting very busy. Yesterday's schedule was how it's becoming. 6:15 AM: ran two miles, 6:45: breakfast and shower, 7:30: Walk to hospital, 8: presentations to patients on handwashing and obesity, met with hospital staff about a fundraiser for buying computers for the records room [Chapelton Hospital is only one of two in the Parish that still handles patient records manually], & misc work in our office, 10: walked to library, 10:15: searched on the internet for information on teaching adults how to read, 11; walked to town to get some phone minutes, met with the manager of the local bank about free checking account for the local Citizen's Association and the donation of a computer or two for the hospital, walked to the Middle School to see if they had a literacy screening test that I could use with adults, walked to a local restaurant to get some flyers copied to advertise a community meeting, and had lunch, 12:45: walked to the high school for a weekly tutorial in Exercise Physiology for the football, basketball and track coaches, 2: walked back to the hospital to prepare and teach a 3 PM exercise class for staff who have done the Wellness Evaluation; 4:15 walked home, 5 waited for my second literacy student who turned out to be a no shoe [I was so thankful for the break], 6: ate dinner, 6:15 PM walked to meet a local Bishop about borrowing his church's drum set and keyboard for a Sacred Concert the Citizen's Association is holding on Good Friday. Came home and watched American Idol and was in bed by 8:30.
Tek cyar of usef an odders, Margaret & Gary
Fruits, veggies, and more…..
Our regular walks in the community are usually dictated by the weather. If there has been a significant rain the night before we avoid the bush walks because of all the puddles and mud. So we are then relegated to the road walks which aren’t bad if we stay off the main road where some crazy taxi drivers come ever so close to picking you off.
On our most recent walk through the bush (where we usually find an orange or two to nibble along the way) we noticed that the oranges were for the most part picked…we were informed that it is the end of the orange season. A few trees still are full of oranges..mostly because these are the sour oranges..apparently they use these to make marmalade. But to our surprise we noticed little buds and then on one tree some flowers…the turn-around time from the last orange to new buds is quite fast. I stopped and asked a man in one of the orchards…he said that in five or six weeks there will be new oranges on the trees ripening. Right now it is spring…but it seems like summer with many other fruits starting to become available. Papayas are now coming into season…not very sweet yet, but good nonetheless. And then there are the custard and star apples, they taste and have the texture of custard. We cut them up and put them on top of cake or cookies, it makes a delicious substitute for ice cream and it’s much healthier. In about 6 weeks mangos will be the rage…I’ve heard lots of Mango stories…all types of varieties from big to small…from sweet to very sweet. For all intents and purposes we have been told that there is less cooking going on from May to mid-July because of all the ripe mangos. When we arrived last July the mango season was coming to an end….…so we’re looking forward to the mango harvest.
We started a garden (small area) last fall to grow some basil…(can’t find it in the produce departments of the food stores)…it is now flourishing. Our host mother has had most available parts of the property turned over for planting….tomatoes, callaloo, spinach, peas, beans….already on her property (which is a small lot about 20 ‘ x 60’) is sugarcane, banana plants, breadfruit tree, ackee tree, apple tree (Jamaican apple), and gongoo peas. You’d think it was summer back home…but its spring. Speaking of fruits and veggies the tomatoes in Jamaica are great….they are good all year long..not just during August in New England. The one thing I miss is nice green lettuce and romaine lettuce…we only have access to iceberg lettuce here…dark green callaloo replaces the spinach and is quite good.
Straying from the gustatory delights of fruit, we’ve noticed that culturally there are frequent births and deaths in our community. There are only 1,500 people in Sangster Heights which is the district or neighborhood of Chapelton where we live. There’s a funeral every week or two and twice that in births. Strangely, we have never seen or heard of one marriage that has taken place since we’ve been here. We can’t explain it culturally but it is hard to understand.
Otherwise, we are getting very busy. Yesterday's schedule was how it's becoming. 6:15 AM: ran two miles, 6:45: breakfast and shower, 7:30: Walk to hospital, 8: presentations to patients on handwashing and obesity, met with hospital staff about a fundraiser for buying computers for the records room [Chapelton Hospital is only one of two in the Parish that still handles patient records manually], & misc work in our office, 10: walked to library, 10:15: searched on the internet for information on teaching adults how to read, 11; walked to town to get some phone minutes, met with the manager of the local bank about free checking account for the local Citizen's Association and the donation of a computer or two for the hospital, walked to the Middle School to see if they had a literacy screening test that I could use with adults, walked to a local restaurant to get some flyers copied to advertise a community meeting, and had lunch, 12:45: walked to the high school for a weekly tutorial in Exercise Physiology for the football, basketball and track coaches, 2: walked back to the hospital to prepare and teach a 3 PM exercise class for staff who have done the Wellness Evaluation; 4:15 walked home, 5 waited for my second literacy student who turned out to be a no shoe [I was so thankful for the break], 6: ate dinner, 6:15 PM walked to meet a local Bishop about borrowing his church's drum set and keyboard for a Sacred Concert the Citizen's Association is holding on Good Friday. Came home and watched American Idol and was in bed by 8:30.
Tek cyar of usef an odders, Margaret & Gary
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