Projects Abroad High School Volunteer Program in Jamaica

My name is Trystin St. Denis. I'm 16 and from San Jose, California. I participated in the Projects Abroad Care & Community program in Mandeville, Jamaica. This project was one of the most eye opening, incredible things I've ever done in my life. I lived with a wonderful host family -the Stewarts- and four other roommates. Aside from the actual volunteer work, they contributed greatly to my experience there. The staff support while in Jamaica was astonishing. While I was there, my dog back home died. The staff went out of their way to comfort me and provide me with anything I needed to get through my grief and allowed me time to myself to process, while still making sure I knew that they were there for me. I also got super sick while I was there(I get motion sickness easily) and they immediately called my parents and took me to the doctor and even paid for my medicine and doctors visit.
My roommates were easily one of the greatest parts of my trip. We were all near the same age, so I think that contributed to how well we got along, but they were also just incredible people with such big hearts; I feel so honored to know that they'll forever be apart of my life. I lost my wallet the very first day I was in Jamaica, and my roommate Cory helped me pay for anything and everything the rest of the trip. There's truly no one else like the other volunteers; they're so giving, understanding, and genuinely good people.
My actual project was also incredible, as I got to work with little kids(3-5 year olds), and help influence them and their future decisions. Being able to contribute to their future success and help the teachers there, who truly do need the help, felt so rewarding. I would do it a thousand times over again if I could.

I volunteered for Projects Abroad's 2-week Care and Community High School Special program for a summer camp at a primary school for children 4-17 years old around the Knockpatrick community. From the moment I signed up 9 months prior to my trip to Jamaica, my Projects Abroad volunteer advisors, travel team advisors, and other administration officers were very helpful and quick to answer all of my pre-departure questions, find the cheapest flights for me, and make sure I packed everything I needed for the trip. The Jamaica staff asked us how we were liking Jamaica, our placements, and accomodations, and if we had enough to eat and drink, if we have enough supplies to work with at our placements, and if we felt comfortable at our host family's home frequently to make sure we were all doing well during our stay. The children we worked with were underprivileged; some do not have much to eat at home, some do not have access to technology and other school supplies we deem necessary, and others do not receive much love and support from their families. The staff at our placement came up with numerous fun and creative activities for us to do/help the children with; some of which include many different arts and crafts projects for the children to enjoy and take home, scavenger and treasure hunts, photography, quiz competitions, acting out life lessons like being honest and helping the elderly, and teaching etiquette and sign language. Seeing the big smiles on the children's faces and hearing their loud laughter when they finished their arts and crafts, when we let them use our phones and cameras to take pictures, when we played all sorts of games with them outside, and etc. Our host family made us feel so at home. They always made sure we had plenty to eat for all our meals, and let us choose what type of sandwiches we wanted to take with us to our placements for lunch each day. The other volunteers at the home and I really felt like we were part of their family. The daily social events at the Projects Abroad office let all of the volunteers from the different high school special programs to get to be together with everyone, instead of only seeing people from our individual programs for 2 weeks.Since we were on the high school special program, the staff made sure we were always with at least one of the staff members, our host family, or a taxi driver for Projects Abroad to keep us safe. It was great to be able to learn so much about Jamaica's beautiful culture, provide joy and love to the underprivileged children, as well as become great friends with and learn about the other volunteers from all over the world. The girls and I could not believe that we had only been together for such a short amount of time, because it felt like we had been friends for years... but the 2 weeks went by so quickly, it felt like it was only 4 days! If you are a high school student looking for a great program to work with children, learn about Jamaica's food, language, way of life, and see some of Jamaica's beautiful scenery, I definitely recommend going on one of Projects Abroad's high school special programs!!