One of the things you may notice on your first visit is the  amount of poverty that exists in Jamaica.  If you take the bus from  Montego Bay to Negril (which we highly recommend), you get to see the countryside close up. The poverty one sees is shocking at first--many families live in shacks made of tin and tarpaper--but the Jamaicans are  a proud people, and for the most part, hard-working and industrious.

Yes, Jamaica is a "third world" country, whose economy has been  in shambles for decades, but if you look a little closer, you'll notice  that the schoolchildren are always dressed in their school uniforms which are all nicely starched and pressed. The Jamaican people put a lot of emphasis on education, because they know that the education of  their young is their only hope of lifting themselves out of the  grinding poverty that persists in this beautiful tropical paradise.

Some tourists think that tipping resort personnel (which is strictly against the rules, and can get them fired on the spot if they are seen accepting a gratuity) is an effective way to help out. Not  so!! Sure, a twenty discreetly pressed into the palm of your favorite bartender or chambermaid will help some, but by Jamaican standards,  resort employees
are fairly well compensated for the long hours they  put in. Resort staff jobs are highly sought after, and there are  sometimes hundreds of applicants for every job opening in resort areas like Negril.

Several years ago, a group going to Hedonism II started an informal project to help the local schools. It's rather simple:  Everyone set aside a bit of room in their luggage to bring some supplies for donation to the schools.  With the help and coordination  of  a manager in the Hedo front office, supplies are distributed where the need is seen to be the greatest.

This is by far the most efficient way to help out; the same  twenty dollars mentioned above, when invested in pencils, paper, flash  cards, coloring books, etc. will go a lot farther than a tip ever  could, because it is really an investment in Jamaica's future.

Don't think you're just limited to twenty bucks or so. . .if you can afford more, fine! If you have some sort of a connection to  the manufacturing and/or distribution of any education-related items, even better!!  One year, for example, someone donated a gross of solar-powered calculators!!

If there's sufficient interest, we may be able to  arrange a field trip to one of the schools when the supplies are  distributed.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

--bob&greta

 

February 2011 Soon Come, Mon!!