January 22, 2008

Happy New Year from Jamaica!

School is back into the swing of things with many activities planned and much to learn this second term of school.

The weather here is absolutely beautiful right now, with comfortable temperatures soon to rise. Students are working on events for Sports Day on February 4th—an all-day track and field competition, with complete cheerleading being the first judged activity. It is a serious undertaking for the students and teachers to prepare for this much anticipated day.

Plans are also being formulated for February 28th, our “Celebrate Me, Celebrate School, Celebrate Jamaica” day. Each class will take one group of people responsible for making Jamaica the island it is in 2008 and study that culture—including religion, jobs, recreation, education, food, music, etc.  On the 29th, the school will be open for view as each group stands ready to present their findings. This is an island-wide celebration and promises to be quite an event.

It was a joy to see the children spend a Saturday afternoon at the Immanuel United Church Sunday School Treat Day enjoying food, fun, fellowship, and a concert where everyone participates.

At Immanuel United Church Saturday, January 12, we had a “treat” for the Sunday School students. This is an annual event usually held at Christmas but which had been postponed. It was enjoyable afternoon of food, fun, fellowship, and a “concert” where everyone presented something. It was fun and a joy to see the kids at church on a Saturday afternoon when they could have been at the beach. They look forward to this event, and everyone had a good time and too much to eat.

As I have mentioned before, I teach many children who have one or both parents elsewhere making a living. An article in the paper this week helps explain this situation.

Jamaica is an island with many opportunities to learn a trade. Because of the lack of well paying jobs here, the tremendous needs of the people, and jobs elsewhere with larger salaries and benefits, many Jamaicans to leave for work in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Canada.

This month, 40 Jamaican carpenters were hired by construction companies in Canada. It had been a four-year negotiation.

The president of the National Workers Union (NWU) encouraged the carpenters to represent Jamaica well and enable others to follow them. This is another example of people leaving their island home to better their wages. They will then share those wages with those remaining in Jamaica. It is a cycle that has taken place for many years and will continue for many more.

This movement to work off the island leaves many children in the care of either one parent, grandparents, or guardians. This is very common here and it’s why many children here only see their parents when they leave the island on holidays and summers to visit those off making a living for them. This is another reason why Jamaica remains a developing nation struggling to become a developed nation.

We are at the height of tourist season. Other than some slight rain at night, the weather is perfect and the beach is gorgeous. As I end this letter, many of you are in very cold and uncomfortable places. This is when I say I am having “another day in paradise” and truly wish you were here to enjoy it with me.

In the belief that “With God all things are possible,”

Vicki Smith

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 266