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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE October 7, 2007
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| August 15, 2007 |
Montego Bay, Jamaica – Fostering Talents, Safeguarding from Violence: The Montego Boys and Girls Club |
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| Participants make friends with the youth of the Club and find out more about their lives |
Nowhere in the tourist brochures promising sandy beaches and coconut palms will you find the real images of Jamaica’s street violence. Beyond the luxury resorts of “Mo-Bay”, prolonged economic hardship has forced many of the country’s youth into the quick gains and tragic cost of gang crime. Its turf wars over drugs and money are fuelling one of the highest murder rates in the world, with 1,340 being killed last year alone. Yet one place is providing an alternative route for local youngsters. The Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club offers an escape as well as the chance to make something of their lives. “The children don’t want to be involved in the violence,” says head of the Club, David Earle. “They want to be here”. On August 15, as the ship came into port, one group of Peace Boat participants went to join them and find out why. |
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| Fabian Gifford is a figurehead for the ‘family’ of youths at the Club |
For the past 65 years, the Club has been channelling its members’ energies into positive activities including music, sport and even vocational skills. Its history bursts from the walls of the main hall, covered with pictures and newspaper cuttings of former members who have gone on to greater things. This is not just part of the community, it is the local community. “We’re all one big family here. I’ve been coming since I was six,” says Fabian Gifford proudly, now 20 years old and a figurehead for the younger kids. “We all grow up together,” he beams. |
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| Children are keen to come to the club and enjoy their creative talents, such as music, as well as meet friends |
Around 50 children and youths rush through the Club every day around their hours of schooling, which members must also attend if they want to stay. The policy means everyone is kept away from the lure of gang culture from morning until evening whilst getting a good education at the same time – something the Club is clearly keen on with its small library shelves bowing under the strain of weighty maths books and encyclopaedias. Yet this not just a place for more academic learning – it is a space for fun, creativity and socializing. Thirteen year old Kashwane Vassell has been coming to the Club for five years. “I come because I like to run relay and play the side drums,” he says. “And because I have a lot friends here”. |
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| “Japanese” relay, as it is called here, is one of the most popular sports played at the Club |
Participants got the chance to try out these activities for themselves, as they were welcomed to join the excitement of relay running and the adrenaline of Jamaican game, Dog and Bone. With the same high energy the Club’s marching band struck up, filling the hall with its big sound of crashing drums and powerful brass. Even the youngest members can play instruments – a testament to their passion and the Club’s positive environment. |
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| The Jamaican girls try on Japanese yukata dresses during the cultural exchange |
After the adrenaline of the sports and music, there was also time for a more relaxed pace of cultural exchange, as the Jamaican children tried on traditional Japanese costume, while the visitors had their hair plaited Caribbean-style. Others went to explore around the grounds where creative talents are also put to use in the kitchen or through woodwork – skills that can later be used for employment. Towards the end of the stay, everyone came together to practise their artistry and create a lasting mural of the visit adding their hand-prints to its colourful rainbow. |
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| Delroy Reid puts his success and skills as footballer and musician down to the Club |
Amid the bustle of activities and din of newfound friends chatting away, Delroy Reid stands looking at icons such as Martin Luther King alongside a picture of the Jamaican football team. Through the club, he found his love of the game and even made it to the junior national side. Now at 32, he relies on his musical skill as a drummer for his band, Tru Life. “I learnt all of my music here at the Club,” he says excitedly. “Now I play all the major festivals in Jamaica and we play on a cruise ship”. His experience at the club not only safeguarded him from the troubles of the island, but has quite literally taken him a long way. |
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| Peace Boat participants leave a lasting mark as they help the children decorate their newly refurbished computer room |
Delroy is not the only one who appreciates the opportunities the Club gave him. Many of its ex-members return as adults, volunteering their time to help out, knowing what a difference it made for them. After seeing its impact firsthand, several participants could also understand its vital importance. “I realise now it is a very poor country, not just island beaches and a perfect blue sea,” notes Michiko Suzuki. “I work with children, and in this environment especially, it is important for them to have a future goal”. By taking them away from the violence and fostering their talents, the Club continues to help hundreds more children to find their goals and go after them.
Keep up with the latest work and activities of the Club at:
www.mbbgc.org |
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