During the last week of March, 2013, students and faculty from Western Carolina University visited YOU offices as part of their alternative spring break. This visit not only marked the second year in a row such a visit has taken place, but the continuation of a long relationship between WCU and Jamaica. WCU Professors Victoria Faircloth, Michael McDonald, Pam Vesley, Nancy Gryder, Erin Johnston and Rebecca Lasher and several others accompanied about a dozen students from North Carolina to do service work and meet residents of Jamaica’s inner-city communities. (WCU’s Jamaica program has been around since the 1907s and involves training Jamaican teachers and aiding them in working towards a bachelor’s degree in education).
On our final night with WCU students and faculty, YOU arranged for a casual evening of discussion, traditional Jamaican food and performances. We invited residents from Mountain View and about a dozen youth and several community leaders attended. As Erin Johnston, an assistant professor put it, this trip created “life-changing moments” for students. Johnston remarked on the kindness of Mountain View residents, who offered whatever they could to WCU students when they toured the neighbourhood, especially the ripe mangoes. “In the communities, the women are dedicated to the children and they still have hope to instill in the next generation.”
After enjoying Jamaican beef patties, fried chicken, sandwiches and fruit, everyone sat down for the discussion. In opening remarks, YOU founder Betty Ann Blaine addressed the complexities of Jamaican culture. “Jamaica is somewhat of a paradox. It is known to outsiders as an island of sun, sea and plan trees, but if you were to go deeper and look, you would see a country with tremendous poverty, and right now we are grappling with a very, very serious economic problem,” she said, adding that such events are a chance for different cultures to interact and learn from one another.
YOU Executive Director Mrs. Georgia Scott then took the floor, imploring every individual to value his or herself and to reject negative thinking. “What is your influence in your homeland and what kind of people are you going to be,” she asked students.
The evening then turned to a discussion of citizenship and the attendant rights and responsibilities, whether one is in the United States or Jamaica. WCU students said that their interactions with community members from Kingston’s inner cities showed them that some people live in conditions they had never witnessed. “When we went to the communities, I saw some people living in ways I wasn’t used to. I’m seeing I have some responsibility to tell people and educate others,” said a student named Taylor.
Another student remarked that the experience in the communities had caused her to re-evaluate her interactions with others at home. “Everyone opened their arms to us. I should be more open and kind to others and not take pity on them or assume anything,” said another student. “In the U.S., we take a lot of things for granted. We are very ungrateful and my responsibility is to show others you are fine with what you have,” said another.
Jovan, a Jamaican youth from Mountain View addressed the question of rights and responsibilities of citizenship by stating that Jamaican government has a responsibility to provide him with “opportunities.” For his part, Jovan said his responsibility as a citizen is to “focus on community development and getting less at-risk persons on the street.”
After the discussion, Mrs. Scott performed a beautiful song for the crowd to a standing ovation. Then, the Simply the Best dance crew performed their dancehall piece to rave reviews. Canadian Women’s Club President Dr. Barbara Matalon then gave some closing remarks (the CWC kindly sponsored the cost of the event), discussing her ties with WCU’s special education faculty.
After the formal proceedings of the evening, people took the opportunity to chat with one another and learn a little bit more about how one another lives in different corners of the world. Especially the WCU students, who grilled Mountain View youth on all things reggae and dancehall music. It was a fitting end to a week of inter-cultural learning and life-changing conversation.