Week 1 - Publicity and Culture Shock
Reasoning went well on Wednesday and Mina happened to be there when the panel was discussing violence in schools. I doubt it was a coincidence that the day went down as one of the bloodier, more fatal days in contemporary Jamaican history. After highlighting the fact that the country was on the verge of another record year for murder rates, we invited Mina to speak a little about Project Nine Mile. It was a good prelude to the rest of the night’s discussion on finding solutions to the violent trends in Jamaica’s youth.
Now that Mina has a rental car, we should be heading to the parish of St. Ann tomorrow morning to get him acquainted with his soon-to-be new home for the next month or so. As far as Kingston goes, he has been to New Kingston (for Fashion Block), Hellshire beach (where he had the infamous fish and festival), Bembe (although he didn’t get a proper introduction due to rain), and various restaurants around town. The constant rainy weather was definitely a factor preventing us from showing him more places during the week. So far, he’s been doing well for a first-timer to Jamaica. I thought he would have have needed more time to adjust to the Jamaican atmosphere and temperament, but he seemed to have proven me wrong. I’m glad about that and have no doubt he will get along well with the citizens of Nine Mile.
As far as the project goes, in my capacity as Local Program Coordinator I hope to secure more funding soon. I’ve already had friends pledge portions of their paychecks to the cause, but we are yet to be blessed with a partner in corporate Jamaica. I remain positive and hopeful for the future of the Stepney All Age students.
Reasoning
I’m heading to the radio station with Gavin momentarily to talk about Project Nine Mile on his show Reasoning (there’s a link at the bottom of the page). He’s also doing an interview with a 14 year old girl who has been traveling the islands giving talks about violence in schools. Should be [...]
Lazy Sunday
Sunday is a slow, leisurely day in Jamaica. Most stores aren’t open, there’s not much more to do but relax and enjoy yourself, which is what we were dedicated to today. After breakfast, we hung out and chatted for a while and just as we were thinking about going for a walk around the area so that I could get acquainted, a big storm rolled through. We ended up staying inside and learning a card game named “Grass” that was such an intelligently designed game. I’m going to try to find it and bring it back to play at home.
Made in Jamaica
After several delays, none of which I minded much as I was still preparing to leave, I have arrived in Kingston and met up with Lesley and Gavin, and we are becoming fast friends. Lesley was gracious enough to give me a room to stay in while in Kingston, where I’m writing from now, [...]
Donations
For anyone interested in making donations directly to Project Nine Mile, regardless of your attendance at our fundraiser this Wednesday, you can do so online by visiting our donations page. Please remember to select “General Fund” from the Fund dropdown and specify “Project Nine Mile” in the Notes section when making a donation. You can [...]
