We had another amazing day with the kids! We brought fresh orange juice and baby bananas for everyone and Antoinette made us her homemade carrot cake–wow! I realized as I left a little teary eyed, that these kids had touched my heart in indescribable ways. Both Tom and I have so much love for everyone there! We know we just have to stay connected and help them there in any way we can. We loved meeting Antoinette, her beautiful family and all the volunteer staff there. During our interviews we learned that no one working there is paid. They all do it for the love of the children and they are all very special people!
Jamaica is the most beautiful place I have ever been but as in all things, there is darkness here too. While we have been here, the government has had Jamaica in a “state of emergency” because of gang violence in big cities like Montego Bay and Kingston. Even Negril has had some unusual violence and this school is in an area of town that serves kids that in my opinion, will be using their education to mold Jamaica’s future. It is such important work that they are doing there!
Tom and I brought to the school a little microscope that goes on a cell phone and a whole bag of plants we had identified already. We knew they are studying plants and food, and we had this cool gadget, so we thought we would gift it to them. We planned to enjoy it with them as a learning project that involved using the laptop and projector while we were there. It was a hit! All the adults loved it first thing and used it to look at all kinds of things. The kids took a bit to understand what was going on but when they did, their curiosity was peaked! We got amazing photos and video during both visits and our interview was great too. I am so excited to bring these photos home to everyone and to use them to help them more. Some of the kids took pictures with their art and others crowded around Ms. Simmons with all the seeds and plants we brought. It was a great visit!