Hello Everyone

The New Year is a month old and I have enjoyed almost everyday of it. Some days have been great, others challenging. Today was a good day. I stopped by a primary school in my community to talk to the girls. Today was Girls’ Day at the school. Only the girls came to school today, boys stayed home. It reminded me of “Take your daughter to work day” where girls got to go to work with their moms and the boys had to come to school.

The whole day was focused on empowering the girls. The principal brought in guest speakers to talk to the girls and I was one of them. Talked to the girls about the differences and similarities with girls in Jamaica and those in U.S. Encouraged them to stay in school and continue to pursue their goals. Had a question and answer segment with the girls where they could ask me anything. Mostly they wanted to know my favorite food, music, movie, etc….. It was a lot of fun.

Back to Normal

The Green Club will soon start the vegetable garden at the primary school and the children and I are really excited. Right now, we are working on clearing the ground of weeds and trash and building a secure fence to keep uninvited persons and animals from eating the vegetables. Last week, I took the children to a local farm so that the farmer could talk to us about growing a vegetable garden. I think the children really enjoyed the trip. We got to see the many acres of vegetables the farmer had growing on his land and we got to see his animals as well. I am planning on taking the children on more field trips this semester to educate them on the environment. A big trip that I am planning is to the Kingston Zoo. Money is a huge factor in anything that I plan so I am hoping to get local merchants and other sponsors to fund the trips.

Still working with the six graders to improve their reading skills. The GSAT is in March and how well the children score on the test will determine which high school they will attend in the fall. Those that score high marks get into the better high schools.

So many other projects I am working on. Have to take deep breaths and practice patience to see those projects through.

Gone Sporting

So it’s not all work. Had some time during the holidays to “go sporting” (having fun). Christmas was fun, spent it in Kingston with friends. New Year’s Eve was spent in Ocho Rios. There was plenty to do and see as the pictures tell. Even though I missed home, I did enjoy myself and tried my best not to be homesick.

Hope all is best with everyone.

Until later. Likkl muor.

Claudia

THE CONTENTS OF THE WEBSITE ARE  MY OWN OPINIONS AND DOES NOT REFLECT THAT OF THE PEACE CORPS OR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT