Jamaica Reflection, 2008

The trip spanned May 15-June 5, 2008.

Five second-year and four first year physical therapy students, along with two physical therapy faculty and their partners (who are also PTs) worked in Jamaica from May 15-May 24, linking exclusively with West Haven Children’s Home (15 people in all). On May 20, we received a tour of Cornwall Regional Hospital, hosted by Ms. Pansy Brown. We also met two PT staff at the hospital: Forsyth and Hoofung.

One faculty member of the school of ed, her son, one retired professor/administrator, three classroom teachers (graduates of Bellarmine), two current education students, one business/communications major, and one arts administration major (12 people in all) worked in Jamaica from May 26-June 5, partnering with Blossom Gardens Children’s Home, West Haven Children’s Home, and Wee Care Basic School.

We also had a chance to meet with Judge Rosie Feurtado and Attorney Jeanne Robinson (chairperson of the board at Sam Sharpe Teachers College) on June 4 to talk about new partnerships: conflict resolution, literacy and special education initiatives in Jamaica, generally, and the Copse Place of Safety for Boys, particularly (which houses 70 kids ages 6-17 years old with one teacher).

The following reflection on the experience is subdivided into several themes, which no doubt have common threads throughout them. This is the way they came to me. The themes (hopefully) articulate questions that emerged during the trip, conversations held into the darkening evening hours on the deck of the Grandiosa, and experiences with our Jamaican partners. As well, they attempt to interweave the poetry that Gina so artfully collected for our reflection and use Farmer’s Pathologies of Power as foundational. Finally, they try to bring old theory to bear (Freire, hooks, Solnit, Carlson, Johnson, Marcos, Che, etc.] in light of more recent exposures (Gutierrez, Sartre, Fanon, West, Lukacs, Marx, Checkov, Lebowitz, Jamaican columnists such as Robotham and Levy, etc.).

Your feedback and reflections are welcome!

For some context, you may view "A decade of work in the global south," in which Gina and I summarize and critique our first ten years of work in Jamaica.