Volunteering Abroad in Jamaica

We came to Jamaica as a semi-retired couple wishing to combine visits with our grandchild and her parents who live in Jamaica with a volunteer experience. The Jamaica Volunteers program provided us with both great accommodations during the week and an incredible experience teaching at Constant Spring Primary and Junior High School.

We were treated like family at Smokey Manor by Maureen Wright-Evans, her family and staff. The meals were true Jamaican cuisine`and plentiful. Situated in the hills overlooking Kingston, the air was sweet and the views lovely.

On our first day at the Constant Spring School, we were warmly welcomed by the Principal and Vice Principal and immediately brought to a 5th and 4th grade class respectively. Within minutes of arriving in the classroom we were given the opportunity to teach a class! While quite energetic, the students were respectful, eager to learn and very affectionate. During our 2 weeks, we taught and experienced classes in grades 2,3,4,5, and 6. Despite large class size (32-40), cramped conditions, and constant noise (many classrooms were rail car style with no door and only a low thin wall) the classrooms themselves were quite rich with many pictures and much information on walls and hung on strings that stretched across the class room. The curriculum was very rich covering not only the typical 3 R academic subjects, but also included religions of the world, social studies and even Spanish! The teachers were mostly excellent, with an amazing ability to maintain classroom order, while keeping the students engaged and interested under very difficult conditions. A highlight of the week for us was introducing all 3 4th grade classes to Judaism, which included the blessings at the beginning of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. The kids were most interested and it was a great experience for all!

I am visually impaired and volunteered at Constant Spring School working closely with a fellow volunteer. The children at the school were incredible and truly touched my heart. They were sometimes boisterous but so willing to help. I often had five children escorting me around the school. On our last day we bought some sports equipment for the school and they gave the most amazing thank you ceremony which included children singing and a patois poem. These children made such a huge impression on me and I hope I made an impression on them.
The tours are spectacular and you really get to see how beautiful jamaica is but it's the local people we met that really make jamaica beautiful. Hellshire beach was my favourite tour because you get a chance to chat to the locals. It's such an amazing place.

Smokey manor is lovely. The walls are thin so you can hear other volunteers. There was a great mixture of old and young volunteers and we all got on well. The food was great but I would have liked some spicy food and the opportunity to eat out. I had my 40th birthday while volunteering and it was the best birthday. The highlight was the Norwegian girls singing happy birthday and the dance class given by Lovely Lanette.

I would have liked the opportunity to go to a local market and talk to more local people.

We did so much in 2 weeks. It was a trip of a lifetime and one I will never forget . Thank you JVP

The program was great! I had a blast and loved being part of the experience. I felt part of the family as soon as I walked in the door. Maureen honestly felt as my Jamaican momma. My favorite part of the trip was talking with her about being a strong woman in Jamaica. She had wisdom and an understanding about being a woman and what that means in the world today. One thing I wished we had an opportunity to do during this trip would be to sit down one-on-one with more Jamaican adults and hear about everyday life, politics and culture. I didn't feel that we had a chance to talk to adults about life here being in the schools. I also wished we had more of an impact in the schools. I felt that we weren't needed in the schools and if anything, we were more of a distraction to the teachers. I have nothing but respect for Jamaican teachers. The respect the students have the the teachers is undeniable. Coming into the classroom I felt that there was something more we could do but I felt as if we were used as a way for the teachers to have a break from the class and leave the class to us. Not being a education major made the time in the schools less helpful and more underwhelming. I felt that the school needed and appreciated us being there but didn't know what to do with us. I also felt that the only time we were immersed into the culture was through tourist attractions. I wish we had a chance to see everyday life and talk to locals. I understand that it is dangerous here and I don't know what could change to make it a happy medium between tourist and local attractions but it was something that was talked about with the group multiple times. Overall the trip was great! I've been surrounded by laughter, good company with good hearts all in the Jamaican air. Overall no complaints!

My normal day in Jamaica is to wake up with breakfast prepared by amazing staff. Then on weekdays we would go to our day programs such as teaching math and reading at Manning primary school and others will work on building the playground at Manning hill basic school for the young children. After work around 2:30 pm we would come back and get some time to relax before dinner. Dinner was always filling and great. Best things we have experienced would be site seeing such as blue mountain, maroon village, hillshire beach and dunn's river falls. The culture here is excellent and the staff does a great job highlighting it to the group.

Staying at Smokey Manor with the Wright-Evans family has been an incredible experience. I felt welcome immediately upon entering the house and continued to feel so throughout my two-week stay. Every morning began with incredible cooking from Jerry and Louise; every bus ride ended safely at our volunteer site (Mannings Hill Primary School); every evening settled down in the tidy and homey dorm rooms. The view from the house is incredible, not to mention the community the volunteers who are staying there provides. Meeting people from around the world who have chosen Jamaica as their ideal volunteer spot has been such an enhancement to the already vibrant cultural exchange found in Jamaica. The school invited us in and even the surrounding businesses welcomed our group with love and pride. Furthermore, each outing provided incredible and overwhelming amounts of history, excitement, and culture. Overall, my stay at Smokey Manor has been incredible, and I could not have imagined a more wonderful Jamaica experience.

The trip I went on had six days of volunteering (every Monday through Wednesday) and adventure days the rest of the week that immersed us in the Jamaican culture. I worked at a school that had never had volunteers before and they were overjoyed to have us. We started to build a play area for them and had lunch with them. We played with the kids (ages 2-5) and had so much fun. We also spent time at a local orphanage and donated items they really needed (with a list provided by our hosts)

Every outing provided new insights to the culture from history to the food and landscape. We never went anywhere alone and the hosts made sure that every step of the way we were having fun and learning.

This experience has been amazing! We have gotten to experience both service work and the cultural aspects of Jamaica! The staff has been MORE than friendly and helpful with everything. One thing that we got to do was supply and build a playground. This provided a place for the students to play and will always be there! Also the different cultural trips we went on, like Blue Mountain, were great ways to show us the Jamaican Cultural, while still having fun.

I really enjoyed this program because safety seemed to be the number one goal for each and every volunteer. I really enjoyed being in the mountain as well as having safety with our food and water each and every day.