The After School Club

Nakine holding up his composition after the writing session.



As one of the Grow Well initiatives, Grow Well wanted to provide more activities geared towards youth in the community of Gros Islet.  Extra curricular activities help to give these youth something to do other than just to roam the streets.  The less time that the kids hand out on the streets, the more time they can possibly spend developing into their full potential.  

Game day at ASC....

My work here includes, but is not limited to, helping my community counterparts in Gros Islet to fulfill the initiatives brought forth.  Because of this initiative, I started organizing what is now known as the Grow Well After School Club, or the ASC for GI.  This program is at the base level currently, of course, but I see it taking form as the weeks go on.  

When I would hang out a little bit longer after co-teaching at the CARE school during the day, I noticed that there were kids that would gravitate towards the centre.  This was a great thing.  However, they needed a little bit of focus and discipline in order to make it a positive thing.  Thus, the ASC!!  

Some of the girls during Game Day Session.

The first two Wednesdays was merely getting the kids to come in, take a consent and information form, and learn how to sign in.  The kids were a little resistant to signing in and out at first, but now most of them ask for the sign in book.  Progress is slow, but certain.  After the first two sessions, we moved into working on creative art projects.  Luckily, I was given some very quality stencils from Judy Joyce, a volunteer in Dominica.  We used the stencils to draw and color.  The youth seemed very keen on being into the arts.  The only thing with the arts sessions is that they can be a little messy!  

After spending a few weeks completing the arts sessions, we moved on to creating "makeshift" drums.  During my months here, I have been collecting various materials that can be used in arts and crafts.  We took plastic and metal jars, bottles, and cylinders to create drums.  First, they were assigned the task of decorating the drum bases.  This took the entirety of one session.  The second session was devoted to designing the top of their drums, and the third to playing their creations.  

Though not all of them were able to make it to the session in which we played the drums, the kids that were able to make it learned a little bit about sound and design.  They got to not only test out the drums that we all made, but they also got to hear the difference in sound.  They realized that the size and material of the drum does make a difference in the pitch and tone of the sound that is produced.  This is very basic knowledge for music, but it can make all the difference in exposure.  Sometimes, the exposure of just getting the opportunity to have fun with music can encourage a youth to get involved in the music world.  Hopefully, these kids will have the curiousity to get involved in music later on in their lives.  

The session after the drums was a "game day".  We spent most of the time playing board games in small groups to emphasize teamwork and patience.  My mother always played board games with me when I was a child, and for this I am grateful.  It really taught me how to work together with other people and be patient for my turn.  Though it does not seem like much to teach kids how to play board games, it really can instill good virtues in them sometimes.  

      Composition Day 2 at the ASC.

The past two sessions have been writing a composition.  I am corresponding with an after school centre now in California, Irvine.  I thought that it would be good for the kids to write a letter to the centre telling them a little bit about themselves and describing St. Lucia.  In order to encourage them to do a little more work after spending the whole day at school, I baked some "snacky cakes".  Whoever worked hard and really put some effort into their composition earned a snacky cake.  

The second session was devoted to finishing the compositions and taking individual pictures to send with the letters.  I am going to put the pictures together in a collage of sorts before I send them with the letters.  

So far, I have really only planned two weeks ahead of the actual sessions.  Right now we are testing out what works and what doesn't with the kids so that when we put together a comprehensive program for the ministry to look at we will have a basis of interest for the community.  I have been lucky in trying to find volunteers for the club as well.  Though, I am still working hard on finding local parents, teachers and community members to take the place of the "6 monthers".  It is incredibly difficult to get parents to help out in their spare time here.  Finding local community members to be the ones running the club is going to be very difficult, but I am going to work on finding these people throughout the two years!  It is a good resource for the kids, and it really gets them to spend some quality time being creative and to start thinking outside of the box.  

A visit is like a "now and later"

If I had unlimited funding, I just may import you all.....

The longer that I stay here, the harder I find it to blog about my experiences.  Things are becoming less new to me, so I do not feel the need to write about them.  Also, I am getting settled into the life here.  I am becoming busy, busy, busy!  When I am not busy, the last thing that I really want to do is to sit down at a computer for a couple of hours to find something to write about.  

Recently, I was lucky enough to have a visitor from the States.  Brian was the last person that I thought would visit me first.  That sentence sounds a little confusing, eh?  However, although I had imagined that he would come to visit me, I never believed that he would be the first person to come.  I am so lucky!  

We had a good time when he was here.  I don't feel like I got to show him all that I wanted to show to him though!  I was tired a lot of the time.  Luckily I didn't have to work as much as I thought I was going to have to, but I was exhausted from the week prior.  

I got to pick him up from the airport in Vieux Fort.  I have never been on a shorter bus ride my entire time in St. Lucia!!!!  It felt like a matter of minutes coming back from the airport because we had so much to talk about.  

The first full day that Brian was here, I took him to Gros Islet.  I had to work for part of the day, so I had him help me out with the After School Club.  The After School Club is offered to 27 registered kids ranging from 5-18 years of age.  I will discuss more about it in the next couple of posts.  Anyhow, I had Brian help out with "drum day".  We made drums from makeshift materials.  Unfortunately, there was a funeral outside the day that we were supposed to play them, so we had to wait until the following week to play them.  

Brian playing the drums during the ASC with Tariq.

So instead, we played games and the girls all braided Brian's hair!  It was quite the riot.  The kids LOVED him...they were jumping on him nonstop and would not let him go!

This is a pic of Brian with some of the kids from 

the "ASC"  After School Club in Gros Islet.  

This is me and Brian on the third attempt up 

to Pigeon Point.  Yes, it was successful, but 

very windy!

We got to go to Pigeon Point three times.  No, it was not because he liked it so much the first time!  It was because it had rained the first two times that we got up there.  Literally, it had been sunny and clear and the minute we stepped inside of the park, it started pouring down rain!  We waited for it to clear up those two times, but alas, it did not.  So what did we do but shelter in the local pub!  It is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in St. Lucia.  This bar is so quaint and perfect.  The walls are stone and it feels like you are in a little cave.  They allow cats to roam around freely and even to sit atop the bar.  That's my kind of place!  

This picture Brian took without me knowing there 

was a "toilets" sign above my head outside of the 

Pub.  He is funny, isn't he???

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of his visit was the Peace Corps Work Day in Laborie.  We worked with some of the other Peace Corps Volunteers to help turn soil, build a dam, and a few other things.  It was a great experience for myself and Brian.  That was certainly the first time that I have ever built a dam, let alone turned soil!  When I imagined myself coming to the Peace Corps, I definitely had more of this type of work in mind.  I love to keep myself busy doing laborous outdoor work like this.  It can be much more satisfying than the "desk work" that I sometimes have to do.  

Me and Jeff beginning the dam.  There was nothing 

there but water and rocks!

Turning the soil and weeding during the PC 

work day.  Hot sun and hard work.

Building the dam.  It took form after a little

hard work!

Anyhow, I helped to build a dam; Brian helped to weed and turn soil.  Luckily, his hair helped to shade his head from the sun.  He would have been burnt to a toast!  We had a great lunch of coconut "secret ingredient" rice after the work.  The ingredient turned out to be basil.  YUMMMY.  That was some of the best coconut water I have had since being in St. Lucia as well.  

After the work day, we went to Klu's to get chicken and bakes.  My, oh, my, was that satisfying as well.  A few beers and a few good chicken n' bakes....well worth the work!

I asked Jeff to invite us all again for another work day like that.  I would get "down and dirty" anytime!  

Did I mention I had to wash my tennis shoes three times to get the smell from the creek water out of my shoes????  Again, well worth it.  We also tried to make our way up Gros Piton.  However, we did not make it there until about 2:30 (to the trail head), so we only got to hike half way up due to potential darkness.  

Brian and I half way up Gros Islet.  His hair is 

covering up the gorgeous view of Petit Piton.

Aside from the work day and Gros Piton, I spent a little bit of time introducing Brian to Gros Islet, my work community.  On Friday night we got the chance to go to the "Jump Up".  The jump up is a street party out in the middle of the road that goes from about 7 to 3 am.  It is always a ton of fun!  It is even better when you know more people from the community.  For me, the longer I am here, the better it gets because I get to know a few new people every Friday.  This is a great way for me to meet people in my own community.  People tend to be a little more relaxed on Fridays, and then when I see them during the week in the community they are thrilled!  

We also went to the Castries market to do a little shopping for Brian's friends and family.  That was the first time that I spent a little bit of time in the market.  It is interesting to see how people react to two white people walking about in the market.  

During the week, if I am in Castries, most people will recognize me and at least not ask me if I want a tour of the island anymore.  However, when you are with a new white friend, well, that's all fair game to ask.  Sometimes I find myself playing along with them...."Oh, yes, I do need a tour....How much?  Oh, I got a better price from that guy.....oh, you are going to lower it?.....Hmmm....well, I want to go, but I don't have any money right now......oh, you'll accompany me to the bank while I get money?......Okay, well I have some other errands to do....wait here and I will come back and get you....."  Ha.  Well, sometimes it is more exhausting to say, "I'm not a tourist, I live here" and to explain what I am doing here and for how long I have lived here.  

Overall, it was really nice to have a best friend in town for a little while.  It was a different feeling; combining my old life with my new life.  Sometimes I would get a little confused...but generally, I loved it.  It felt good at times to remember things from Seattle, but at the same time, it also made me miss Seattle a little bit.  However, by having him in town, I automatically realized it was not Seattle that I was missing so much as the few people in my life that I just don't want to live without.  As nice as Seattle is, I can live in another place and be completely happy.  In fact, I just might do that after I get done here.  

The Purpose Prize

I often look through the newspaper or online for inspiration in service work.  Though I am not burnt out quite yet doing volunteer work sometimes I just need a little extra spark of motivation to get the feet going.  Recently, I looked on the internet to find what's called "The Purpose Prize".  I was pleasantly surprised to see my next source of inspiration staring at me directly in the face.  The men and women highlighted are individuals who are avid humanitarians, just like me.  They aim to help in small ways, but end up affecting the world in much larger ways than they anticipated.  I can only hope that each of us PCV's can step into the same light.   Here is the link of Mr. Lardner, from Seattle, WA, my birth town.  Please check out some of the work that the people listed have done for us.

http://www.purposeprize.org/finalists/candidatepage.cfm?candidateid=3408

Empowerment through Arts and Sports

My work, thus far, in St. Lucia has focused around 3 things.  

1)  I have been working with a girl's empowerment group called "Girl's Circle" that has been beneficial not only to the girls, but to myself as well. 

2)  Strengthening and supporting the CARE school programs at Grow Well in the area of IT/Literacy, Arts and Crafts, "maths", and sports.

3)   Developing a plan and materializing it to create after school opportunities for the youth of Gros Islet in the area of arts, sports, and life skills.  

The volunteering work that I have done with CARE has been the most interesting, of yet.  The trainees there (that is what we call the students because it is more of a training program than a school), are bright and unique individuals.  Last Friday we had a sports meet for Track and Field.  We only had enough time to train for a couple of weeks prior to the event due to other constraints, but we managed to still take part in the event.  Unfortunately, only three of the trainees could participate that day.   I have a feeling that a few of the others were nervous or whatnot.  Anyhow, the three that did participate did well, and I am proud of them.  

Ed running in the 200 m.
Dwayne making good headway in front of the Odsan athlete on the 200m.
Cheerleaders excited for the races!
The whole group of athletes at the parade before.

My favorite little cheerleader!  She was rooting for us all!

A few weeks prior to the sports meet, we also took part in an annual spelling bee.  We took fourth place, but the trainees that participated did very well.  There were multiple rounds and most of the words were spelled accurately.  

Stephanie thinking about a word really hard.

The annual spelling bee contestants.  

Girl's Circle has been a good time as well.  The girls are working on becoming more responsible, more well-rounded, and more self-confident.  In the last session, we focused on creativity in life to express yourself.  We used play-dough that I made from scratch, painted and created collages from brought materials.  The girls all had a great time, and they really made things that were nice to look at.  

Pictures that were painted by the girls.

Romana painting a pretty little picture.

Katie and Enah working with play dough to create a butterfly through team work skills.

Empowering youth through the avenue of sports and arts may not be as straight forward as say a self-confidence seminar, however, arts and sports can help the individual express themselves in ways that words sometimes cannot.  Youth can learn that they are unique, that they have talent and skills, that they too can create something that is all their own.  Involvement in arts and sports can lead to improvement in education and self-esteem levels.  Youth can find themselves proud of what they create or how they perform, and this can also improve their overall vision of themselves.  

Small sustainability

Why do you put up with that?


I recently had a conversation with another PCV that asked, "why do you put up with that?" in reference to an individual that has not exactly been treating me with a ton of respect. My answer, "Because I believe in people". There was no hesitation in my voice, no second thought, no awkward pause of unknowing; just an immediate answer that I believe sums up my faith in humanity.


A fair number of people in my own life have given me the same respect when I did not deserve it. There have been times where I was the one giving less than appropriate respect to another person and for some strange reason this person continued to give me their love and respect in return. Recently, a student and I were discussing respect. He was mentioning that there was another boy his age that continued to disrespect him. He said with certainty, "If he does not respect me, then why should I respect him, Miss?" At first, I was surprised at how repulsed I was at this question. However, after thinking about it for a couple of minutes I realized how important this is to understanding other cultures in terms of understanding respect between persons. Maybe not only in understanding cultures but also in understanding individuals.



I used myself as an example to answer this student's question. I responded to him, "Well, take this class for instance. The students come into this class, you along with the rest of them, to learn. At times, a few of you will be disruptive in class and not complete their work. This is being disrespectful to both myself and the rest of the students who are working. Does that mean that because you were being disrespectful to us, that we should not respect you in return?" What do you think his answer was? "Hmmm...no, I suppose not. I want you to respect me. And I do respect you, sometimes, I just have trouble concentrating." I smiled when he said this because he understood what I was trying to get at. Two things struck me out of this conversation:

1. Just because it appears someone does not respect you, does not mean that it is actually true. Sometimes the individuals have their own personal issues that are causing them to be selfish in their own actions and thus, they are "blindfolded" from others at times.

2. Just because someone else does not immediately give you their respect does not mean that they do not deserve it in return. Depending on your level of faith, God's will is for us to love unconditionally. I do not usually write in terms of what religion implies on us, but for this sake, I am a strong believer. If you give another person love and respect, in spite of them deserving it, they may just turn around and give another person that same love and respect that you gave to them. It's extremely hard sometimes, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing more essential to human development work than to having faith in other people unconditionally.


I have been pleasantly surprised to see the attitude of this particular student change overtime. Despite his spontaneous and short spurts of ADD, generally, he is a great kid and an intelligent student when he puts his mind to it. Not to mention a worthy athlete and artist. Now, all that is needed is his own recognition of his abilities and then I have managed to affect one person in my work; as small as it is. Small sustainability is perhaps the most important.

"Cook-up" Night with Girl's Circle

Chicken Curry and the Circle!

On Friday night we held the first ever "Cook-up" night for Girl's Circle.  Girl's Circle is a group that works on empowering young females to be responsible, make good decisions, and respect others.  Growing up as a young woman in a community that emphasizes males as the power holders is not an easy experience.  Girl's Circle offers girls ranging from 8 years to 18 years old a place to go to discuss issues that arise from being a young female.  This particular project packet we talk about different things every week that address what it is like to be a girl.  It is intended to be an eight-week "course", but it ends up being more around 16 because of the St. Lucian style of life.  The girls are all unique and energetic, but still are in need of some direction in life.  They are young and just need a few more female role models to guide them in the right direction.  There are around 11 girls in the group so far, but only 8 of them made it to the cook-up night.

A "cook-up" is a time when people get together and cook things up.  Hmmmm, go figure!  Rosemary, one of the Girl's Circle facilitators in addition to myself, makes amazing

 Chicken Curry.  I had expressed desire to learn how to cook a delicious chicken curry a couple of weeks beforehand, and thus, a cook-up resulted.  We cooked chicken curry, plantains, and chocolate cake.  We also made golden apple juice.  The golden apples came

 straight from my backyard, and the juice was absolutely delicious!!!  Every girl was given a task to complete in the cooking process.  Many of the girls were in charge of peeling and cutting the golden apples for preparation stages of making the juice.  Other girls were in charge of cutting onions, blending the juice, helping Rosemary with the chicken, and washing the dishes.  

While the food was busy cooking, a few of the girls went to play monopoly and dance around.  The others stayed up stairs and learned how to cook plantains, watched Camp Rock, and talked with the "adults".  Not much chaos ensued until after dinner and before desert.  It does, however, take a little while to cook food with 8 teen girls at your house!  It took us a total of 4 and a half hours to cook and eat!  

The girls are all amazing girls that I know have so much potential to turn into fine women.  I very much enjoy being around the girls and I am glad that I got to be a part of the group!  I look forward to having them over the next two years.  It is extremely important to empower girls in this age range.  It can make all of the difference in their lives.  If a girl can mold herself into a motivated and strong individual, the world can certainly be changed.  A powerful woman, especially in a community like this one, can do a lot for the community.  She has the potential to have a good job and support her family, be inspiration for

 other young women, and help to mold other girls' lives along the way.  

Christmas in the Caribbean Part 3/3

CLIMBING   ST. LUCIA'S TALLEST MOUNTAIN

Over the Christmas "break" a group of us went up to climb Mt. Gimie. Mt. Gimie is the tallest mountain on St. Lucia at 3,117 ft from the base to the top. We hiked from the beginning of the trailhead in Soufriere. It took us two hours to get from the trailhead to the base near the river and another two hours to get from the base to the top. This is no walk in the park type of trail once you reach the base, however. Mt. Gimie is steep. You are climbing up the mountain for the entirety of the last two hours. So when someone asked me what I did for the weekend, I said with pride, "I climbed another mountain!". Figuratively and physically!  

The hike to the base was fairly easy and had nice scenery.  A few of us got lost along the way for about 15 minutes.  The three guys in front of me decided to sprint up the mountain trail so we accidently missed the subtle pathway and headed towards another direction.  Oops.   We eventually found our way back to the trail and moved along the way.  On the way up, after we passed the base at the river, we saw numerous openings of an amazing view.  It is much darker in the rainforest trails, so when you reach an opening it feels like you are looking out at heaven.  I could hear "ahhhhhhhhhh" everytime we reached one!  Though, I think one of the times was one of my hiking pals singing it outloud.  

Along the way a couple of us saw a few local birds and a tarantula.  I still think that the tarantula was trying to climb the mountain because the poor little bugger was almost to the top!  Benton, a hiking buddy who lives in Trinidad right now, almost stepped on it!   Once we reached the top, most of us had barely missed the view.  It was cloudy that day so we did not get to see much; but it was still worth it.  Just as the third group of us were getting to the top of the mountain, we were all starting to head down again.  It gets dark in the rainforest early in the day, so we had to make good timing!

The way down felt like it took forever.  It had started raining the minute that we had started down the mountain, so we were in for a challenge.  We ended up splitting up into three groups as we were going down.  The first two groups made it back down to the base and back to the trail head by around 8 pm.  It took us about 4 and a half hours to climb down.  The third group, however, took 8 and a half hours to get down!!!!!  We were waiting for them to come back for 4 hours in the van!!!  We actually debated sending in a search party for them.  

During the course of "the wait" we had people talking in their sleep, shared stories of past Mt. Gimie "hikers", learned a few things about each other, and listened to Wayne's collection of 80's music.  We reached back home around 3:00 am in the morning after what had almost been a 24 hour day!