Sponsor's update from Stony Hill
25/01/2008
Update from SOS Children's Village Stony Hill, Jamaica
Dear Friends,
We bring you warm greetings from our tropical island, Jamaica. Our island boast sun, sea and beautiful beaches and of course Reggae Music. It is also the home of our famous Bob Marley who was instrumental in bringing Reggae Music and our rich culture to the world. Our people are warm and friendly and always receptive to visitors.
SOS Children’s Village in Stony Hill, Kingston is situated on the top of a hill and has a picturesque view of green mountainside and plains. The atmosphere is very cool with occasional rainfall and at present we have 13 family houses with 116 children in addition to 8 boys and 2 girls at the youth facilities respectively. We also have Kindergarten and Preparatory School that caters to the educational need of our children and those of the community.
Education is an integral part of our children’s development and a local church has partnered with us to sponsor a few teachers from a college to assist us with our homework programme on our Village. We have also added swimming as a part of the extra curricular activities, this the children definitely enjoy.
Easter is a traditional holiday here in Jamaica and is usually very celebrated. The children and Mothers went on a trip to Beach Henderson and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Bun and Cheese sandwich is also eaten around this time and some of our local friends made sure there was enough for each family.
We too believe that children are the future; because it is today that they really need our help so they can be independent adults of tomorrow. With this in mind we celebrated Child’s month in May which started off with a church service, first giving God thanks for our blessing. Then we had a Fun Day hosted by a local charity called Future Foundation (which was founded in 2003 by a group of young and highly motivated individuals who work closely with our Village). The Fun Day took the form of a concert and inter-house competition with the theme ‘My life in SOS’. The houses made their presentations in many artistic forms such as drama, songs, poems and speeches. First place went to House 8, second place went to House 7 and third place to House 9. The mothers and aunts also performed much to the delight of their children and surprised us displaying talents no one knew they had. Future Foundation earlier in the year also had an Art and Essay Competition with themes including 'What do I want to be when I grow up and why', Where do I see myself in 10 years, 'My Favorite Toy', 'Review of my favourite book', and 'A day at the Beach'. The participation of our children was good and most houses gave multiple entries, but it was Rushay who took 1st prize for his Essay 'Where do I see myself in ten years'. Rushay wants to be an Illustrator. Jovanne’s art piece was a wonderful interpretation of ‘Life at the SOS Village’ and this earned him a special prize in this category. We are very of proud our children and we will continue to help them develop their skills and talents.
International Mothers’ Day also came in May and we presented the mothers with little tokens of our appreciation for their commitment to the development of our children. One of our Friends in Stony Hill donated cakes, cupcakes, and ice-cream as a special treat also.
Your generous contributions throughout the years have impacted positively in the lives and development of our many children.
We wish you and your family happiness and success in all your endeavours.
Sincerely,
Donna Palmer, Assistant National Director
Child sponsorship update from Barrett Town
Barrett Town, Village Report, Summer 2007
Aaahhhh, finally its here!!!! That long and exciting period that all our children look forward to with much anticipation and excitement. Summer!!! Summer!!!! That time children yell ‘whop-ti-do’ because there is no more school for two long months. Not just that, but also two long and exciting months of SUMMER ACTIVITIES. It is exhilarating to the soul; it is ‘bashment’ time!!! “Di FUN caan’ dun!!” (The FUN cannot finish!! -English translation)
But wait a minute; we have jumped all the way to the summer months, what about all those exciting activities which took place before now, from as far back as the beginning of the year? Aha! I guess the excitement is in my bones too and I just cannot wait for them to begin.
In our family here at SOS Children's Village in Barrett we currently have in 96 children, 6 girls and 3 boys at our girls and boys facility respectively. The year began on a high for most of our children and mothers and aunts. We all waited patiently to ‘ring in the New Year and bade farewell to the old. Some of us went to a church, but most stayed at home on the Village singing “Happy New Year” to brothers, sisters, mothers, aunts and just about anybody who was around at the time. The Village’s annual trip for 2006 went over into the first week of January. Our children and staff visited one of the beautiful white sand beaches in Negril and had a ‘ball’. Though it rained they were still able to enjoy themselves.
We continue to be blessed with a host of visitors and sponsors during this period. Treats continued into the second week of January, sponsors visited their sponsored children whom they have never met before or some just renewed their acquaintances. The children were overjoyed with these visits.
Another exciting time was when we again toured the Rose Hall Great House. Some of our children were apprehensive at first but all wanted to see the ghost of Annie Palmer (a famous sugar plantation owner in the 1800s). Some even said they did see her when they looked into one of her mirrors in her bedroom. Exciting times!!!!
Many of our children did well academically and continue to be awarded and highlighted for their involvement in schools activities. May, being Child’s month was filled with more excitement. Our children were again the life of the party. We had a religious service on the Village; some of the children from our SOS Jane Veira Nursery School, along with some of our mothers and aunts went on a full day excursion to Accompong Town in St. Elizabeth (an historical town where the Maroons settled after slavery). Other places of attractions that we visited were an Ostrich Farm and the annual Children’s Expo where we were entertained and educated on many children’s issues.
In our own way we awarded our children for outstanding performances for being SOS Ambassadors from each of the family houses. This we will try to keep ongoing and already the children are anticipating next month’s award and many have vowed to be selected as their houses’s Ambassador. We believe that our children should be exposed to as much as possible and recently we started meeting on a Saturday afternoons with the intention of forming a Social Club. By being involved in this Club it is expected that they will continue learning values and attitudes which impact positively on their daily lives. The Community Relations Department of the Barrett Town Police Station has consented to partner with us for this programme.
National Labour Day is a public holiday in Jamaica and is normally geared toward voluntary work. The children, members of staff and volunteers participated in programme for the day and with joint efforts we did a good job clearing sections of the property which had lots of bush.
Our major summer activities will include: annual SOS Open Day, Expo and Fair, Sports Day. Between July and August will be an annual Football Camp hosted by Marc Rollins; JAMM Camp.
We know this may seem quite a mouthful and before we close we must acknowledge you our sponsors, without your love and support, all of this would not have been possible. On behalf of all our children, management and staff of the SOS Children’s Village of Jamaica we extend to you our heartiest thank you!!! And close with warm regards for you and your family. God bless you!
Sincerely,
Floyd V. Hitchman
Village Director
Barrett Town
Relevant Countries: Jamaica.