So you are Bob Marley's biggest fan. How well do you know Bob Marley? Take this quiz to find out-  look for the answers in a future blog.

Mariko doing her presentation

Lights ...Camera... Action... On January 27, 2011 the Care Project Meeting once more added a bit of spice to things. The objective of this meeting was to inspire and influence; inspire the sometimes unreachable hearts for kindness and influence change in human behaviour towards children. With this in mind the Project Officer Patrina Thomas-Morrison embarked on a creative mission to have the volunteers do an Informational advertisement about bringing about social good for the children of the world.

The volunteers were given scripts to read from, the lines were short and easy to memorise, each volunteer had a few lines to deliver stating the importance of valuing our children and treating them with love and respect. A professional video shoot was done by the volunteers; a professional videographer was employed to do the shoot.

The volunteers were excited though anxious not to make mistakes while in front of the camera. The production was good and the finished product will be available in one week.

The Dirty Day champions and Meadow Gray staff pose after completeing a great job

January 21, 2011’s Dirty Day was held at the Meadow Gray Basic School in Caledonia Meadows approximately 13 minutes from the Projects Abroad Office. Eight taxis transported the thirty-five volunteers and five staff members to the Dirty Day site. All the volunteers attended the activity and participated in the painting tasks fully.

The Dirty Day activity for the Day was painting the outside of the school, the kitchen,the passage and the bathrooms. The outside and the kitchen were painted in Canary yellow. The passage was painted in Sweet Sari and the colour Heat Wave was used to paint the bathrooms.  White paint was used to paint the ceilings and the bathroom grills.

The activities were broken up so groups of volunteers with staff as supervisors were tabled into executing specific responsibilities. The groups were formed according to which area of the school you were painting. Often times one could hear shouts of competitive group boosts coming from the bathroom and passage crew. For this Dirty Day we brought music along so volunteers and staff alike could work along to the energetic beats of the music.

Volunteers really worked hard to complete the tasks and did a phenomenal job of giving the place a facelift. The Principal and staff of Meadow Gray were highly appreciative ofthe work that was done by the volunteers and staff of Projects Abroad Jamaica. The teachers even gave a vote of thanks after we finished painting.

Janoek adding a touch of art to the bathroom wall. At lunch time the volunteers were treated to a patty and a beverage of their choice. Afterthe work was completed most of the volunteers were transported back to the office,where they finalised preparations for their weekend trips.

Country Director presenting livelihood analysis

When Pastor Wenford Henry (Placement Supervisor for the Building Project – Adventist Development and Relief Agency) called on January 7, 2010 to invite me to a three day Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment Training, I thought, can I really spare three days given all that was happening at Projects Abroad Jamaica? However, I decided to attend because the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is one of our treasured partners. Having some knowledge of VCAs I realized that this training can be very useful in getting our volunteers on the Building and Disaster Management Projects to be more involved at the community level in terms of working with community groups to understand their risks and hazards and how best to mitigate these.

Approximately thirty three persons from the Jamaica Red Cross, ADRA, Habitat for Humanity and the Manchester Parish Council participated in the training. January 19-21, 2011 saw three intense days (8:30am – 6:30pm on two days and 8:00 – 1:30pm on the third day) of very useful information being shared by the Jamaica Red Cross, ADRA and Habitat for Humanity. Some of the areas covered included what is a VCA; key definitions such as Hazard, Risks, Capacity, Vulnerability, Disaster Mitigation, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Prevention; data collection techniques; tools use for conducting VCAs; dividers and connectors in community and principles of adult engagement and learning.

On day two I was asked to share information on data gathering techniques and tools and community dividers and connectors. I provided information on the various data collection techniques such as observation, interviews, surveys, focus group discussions and community meetings among others. I also recapped information gathering tools such as Seasonal Calendar, Historical Profile, Historical Visualization, Spatial Mapping and Institutional and Social Analysis. On Day two all the training participants went to the community of Marlie Hill in South Manchester, approximately 45 minutes from Mandeville to a practical session on what was shared in day one. This proved to be a very useful exercise in getting to use the tools first hand. We also met some community historians, leaders and advocates who kept us informed and entertained. I was able to see firsthand the VIP toilets (Ventilated Improved Pits) that the Projects Abroad building volunteers have assisted with putting in place for residents in the community.

Not only was knowledge enhanced but these training sessions provided an opportunity for networking and wholesome interaction which will ultimately serve to strengthen the partnership with ADRA and open new possibilities with Habitat for Humanity and the Jamaica Red Cross. Projects Abroad Jamaica lauds the efforts of our partners for putting on this VCA workshop and from our end will do our part in ensuring that this approach is used by staff and volunteers in helping to empower communities to be more resilient and self sufficient.

Yields 8.5 cups of drink

1. Spread the sorrel out on aluminum foil or a white cloth which will make it easy to spot and remove any debris or unfit sorrel pieces.

2. After you have cleaned the sorrel pour it into a large cooking pot with 8 cups of water. Add the two rounded tablespoons of ginger.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil and then leave mixture to cook for an additional10 minutes. Remove immediately and pour through a strainer into a suitable container.

4. Return the remains from the strainer and return to the cooking pot and add 2.5 cups of water. Bring to a rapid boil again and remove after 10 minutes.

5. Strain the mixture and discard the residue.

6. Sweeten with 1.5 cups of white sugar or Jamaican brown sugar to taste.

7. Cool then serve over ice. Refrigerate the remainder.

Projects Abroad Jamaica was introduced to the Manchester Infirmary in the summer of 2008.  The nationalities of the volunteers represented at the Manchester Infirmary since 2008 are; the United States of America, Canada, England and France.

We were very fortunate to have volunteers from Canada placed at the institution this summer, a male, Joonsuk Yang (William) and a female Sori Na. They proved to be very productive volunteers, who spent an entire month interacting with the residents; the interactions involved reading to them and playing games with them. In return the volunteers were able to become culturally integrated.

It was really interesting watching the residents teaching the volunteers to play dominoes and teaching them to speak patois (local Jamaican language).

The comments from the residents were favourable and the volunteers enjoyed the experience of working and socialising with the shut-ins.

I would therefore recommend this project to any individual or group, who is in search of the ideal platform for experiencing a rich cultural exchange and also to practice the ultimate gesture of social philanthropy.

Volunteers at briefing one done by the Country Director.

“Hi my name is...”  “Yes, pleased to meet you and my name is”

That is what the induction scene sounded like on Monday, January 17, 2011 after eight enthusiastic new volunteers met up at the Willowgate Plaza to begin the tour of Mandeville. Eight pairs of volunteer hands could be observed crisscrossing with the five pairs of staff hands all exuberantly introducing themselves. The volunteers were initially picked up by staff members who went to the various host families of the volunteers, showing them how to commute using public transportation.

The volunteer mix included one Austrian, three Australians, three Germans and one Japanese. There was also a husband and wife team (Australians). The volunteers seemed really excited and were keen on finding out each other’s home country and other light personal information.

The tour of Mandeville was given by the Project Officer for Care. By the start of the tour the remainder of the staff headed back to the office to prepare for their respective leg of the induction relays.

After the tour the volunteers arrived at the office for briefing one. This was done by the Country Director. Upon arrival the volunteers were given welcome gifts, Projects Abroad Jamaica T-Shirts and asked to sign the guest book by the Social Manager. After briefing one ended the staff and volunteers went for lunch, this provided the opportunity to bond an extra bit with the volunteers, learning about their culture and telling them about our culture. After lunch, each staff was responsible for taking their respective volunteer to their individual placements.

At the placements the volunteers were introduced to the placement supervisor/s, given a brief tour of their placement and were allowed to ask questions. After this the volunteers once more met up at the office for briefing two, done by the relevant Project Officers.

This was certainly a full day and the staff is now gearing up for the final leg; taking the volunteers back home to their Jamaican host family. The volunteers were once again instructed on taking the authorised “red plate” taxis and shown in detail where to find their taxis to return home.

The volunteers were vocal about their appreciation for the induction- many said the Induction was useful and that staff  Team Jamaica are very organised and made the induction process enjoyable.

1. Creole languages are in effect the modern languages of the world; and have evolved and developed with varying degrees of automaticity over the last 400 years.

2. There are more than 200 attested Creole languages in the world and represented in all continents of the globe.

3. Creole languages are popularly described as evolving from an earlier 'Pidgin', or putatively "less fully-developed form". However, this is merely a linguistic theory framed within a Western European ideological worldview.

4. The majority of Creole languages (again, the term 'Creole' is of European origin, and therefore troublesome for several reasons) have their origins in African languages. Thus, while their vocabulary or lexicon may be largely European-based their syntax or grammar is distinctly non-European, and certainly more closely African (a continent historically described as "the dark continent" and therefore genetically contributing hypothesized 'substrate' languages).

5. The Creole languages of the Caribbean Basin are essentially syntactically more alike than they are different in their underlying or deep structure, despite their surface phonological, morphological, and lexical differences.

6. Creole languages all adhere to linguistic standards. This means it is linguistically correct to speak of Standard English, as well as Standard Jamaican, Standard Haitian, Standard Sranan Tongo, etc., with these latter languages being separate languages and not dialects of English or Dutch.

7. These standards adhere to the rules of their own grammar, which makes communication reliable, uniform, and possible among speakers of the various Creole languages.

8. Creole is not the name of a language, but the family name of several distinct languages which include Jamaican, Haitian, Garifuna, Sranan Tongo -- and, yes, Afrikaans (in South Africa) and Yiddish (in Israel and other countries around the world).

9. All human languages belong to language families: as examples English, German, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish (to Germanic); Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese (to Latinate or Romance); Chinese, Korean, Japanese (to Sino-Semitic), etc. Languages which belong to the same language families can be expected to share similar phonological, lexical, morphological, and syntactic features; but they are different enough to be recognized as different languages, and not dialects of one another.

10. Languages, in general, are named after the countries that produced them natively: English (England); German (Germany); French (France); Spanish (Spain); Russian (Russia). Occasionally languages bear the name of ethnic or cultural affiliations. Thesis logically suggests that the language of Jamaica should more properly be called "Jamaican" -- certainly not "Patwa" or "Patois" which is a derisive term that was spawned by Europeans within a colonial imperialistic paradigm to describe and to maintain relations of inequity between 'slave' and 'master'. These terms should no longer be used, certainly not in Independent Jamaica.

11. All languages, including Jamaican, started out in spoken form only. That is a natural course of linguistic development. The written forms came afterwards. More importantly, all spoken languages can -- without exception-- be represented uniformly in writing.

12. When a language is represented uniformly in writing (i.e., when there is uniformity in phonemic-graphemic correspondence, prestige is given to the language around the world and literacy development of the speakers of that language is encouraged in the native language.

13. Most Jamaicans are bilingual to varying degrees in Jamaican and English. Of course, some Jamaicans are monolingual Jamaican, with a small percentage monolingual English (perhaps the British, Americans, or Canadians in Jamaica).

14. "Jamaican" is the native language of most of its speakers for whom English is indeed a second language.

15. It is psychologically uplifting and culturally empowering to be bilingual and bi-literate!

Truly enjoyable like a cold glass of Jamaican “sugar and water” – in other parts of the world it’s known as lemonade- was the January 12 Patois and Culture Class. The class was held at the Projects Abroad Jamaica Office (volunteer's lounge) beginning at 2:30pm. Twenty volunteers, staff and one guest/visitor (a former volunteer) trouped up for the class.

Volunteers were asked to introduce themselves and then a special acknowledgement was made to Daphne Wake who is volunteering in Jamaica through Projects Abroad for the third time.

For the patois Class the volunteers were given the standard hand-out giving a basic overview of patois as a language and the rules and guidelines that govern patois as a non-standard language. The Social Manager went through the hand-out with the volunteers providing examples where necessary. The volunteers were also given Jamaican riddles written in Patois and they were allowed to read the riddles and attempt the answer; this was to highlight to the volunteers how descriptive our language can be; also to follow clues-this helps the volunteer to listen to the language and use context clues.

They were also given the lyrics to a popular song "Clarkes” by Vybz Kartel a controversial Jamaican artiste. The volunteers read the words to the song, heard the interpretation and groups were then asked to D.J. the lyrics. They were also taught the Clarkes dance and while the groups made their D.J debut volunteers could be seen dancing away to the song.

For the culture section we discussed Jamaican deserts. To add to the authenticity of the presentation, a buffet of Jamaican sweet treats were presented to the volunteers for sampling. The offerings were drops, gizzadas, bustas, grater cakes, plantain chips, breadfruit chips, bulla, guava jam and rolls, tamarind balls and a cup of coconut water to finish it off. The preparation methods for each item were quickly explained to the volunteers as well as additional information relevant to the product.

The volunteers were given an evaluation to complete at the end most volunteers thought the class was a mix between good and very good.

Staff Member presenting Daphne with her gift.

The staff of Projects Abroad Jamaica gave her a welcome fit for a queen. We all journeyed to the airport to give her a special welcome. Having arrived at the airport well in advance of her arrival, we tentatively told persons at the airport our plan for Daphne and shyly (not so for all the staff members-some boldly took charge) asked them to: Upon seeing her, shout, “Welcome Back Daphne” after which we would sing, “For she is a Jolly Good Fellow,” and each staff member was to present her gifts symbolising the key features of Jamaica.

Well Daphne finally arrived and for a split second we forgot the plan; we were so excited to see her, at first it was a jumble of hi, Daphne and other incomprehensible things and then like clockwork we all chimed in and shouted at the top of our voices, “Welcome Home Daphne” we burst into chorus immediately singing, “For she is a jolly good fellow”  When Daphne could really process the spectacle before her she saw  five members of the Projects Abroad Staff standing behind a banner designed for  her saying, “Welcome Daphne” and smiling Jamaican faces. By the way the people we had petitioned to sing earlier, had copped out, only one man helped to sing along, but we were sure loud enough.

We all gave her a hug and presented the gifts to her telling her the symbolism of each. The gifts were the Jamaican flag and Keys to Jamaica- presented to her by the Country Director, the Ackee- presented by the Assistant Country Director and Desk Officer, the Jamaican Coat of Arms- presented to her by the Social Manager as a book marker, the Doctor Bird as a marvellously made cup-presented by the Project Officer for Care and the Lignum Vitae- presented by the Assistant Project Officer for Community and Culture.

Daphne’s arrival signalled the beginning of a volunteering experience at the Bethabara Primary and Junior and High School for one month and two weeks. You might ask the question, “Then why is Daphne so special?”  Here is the answer; Daphne has surely surpassed any volunteer in Project Abroad Jamaica’s history to be the first volunteer to choose Jamaica as a volunteering destination THREE times. For that we are honoured, humbled and happy. Daphne is a true inspiration, she has a remarkable personality and she is passionate about volunteering. Could you be the next Daphne?