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Sponsorship in Jamaica

CFCA has served in Jamaica since 1994, and works with children and aging persons through two projects.

The Mandeville project focuses on nutrition and education for children, including preschoolers, and nutrition and medicines for the elderly. Since malnutrition is widespread, roughly 40 percent of CFCA assistance is devoted to nutrition.

The project works with several orphanages. One in particular is St. John Bosco Boys Home, operated by the Sisters of Mercy. It serves around 160 boys between the ages of 6 and 18. The boys have been orphaned or abandoned, or have been placed there by the courts. Most do not have any education when they arrive.

When the children reach their late teens, they have a choice of trades to learn such as catering, farming, woodworking, band/music, tailoring, bookbinding and printing. The home also has a farm where they care for livestock and produce their own vegetables, eggs and meat. There is also a processing center that provides meat to area grocery stores.

The Kingston project works with the St. Patrick’s Foundation to provide educational assistance to area schoolchildren and children attending a day-care center for working mothers. It also provides computer training courses for young adults. The project works with several homes for the elderly, such as St. Monica’s Home, where sponsorship provides a sense of dignity and support with benefits such as regular doctor’s visits and nutrition, including three meals a day.

Sponsor a child in Jamaica

About Jamaica

Jamaica, a mountainous island almost 500 miles south of Florida, is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea. Each year, 850,000 tourists visit its beautiful beaches and enjoy its tropical climate. However, just beyond the resort hotels and beaches lies a country of great poverty.

The terrain of Jamaica is made up of rugged mountains with many narrow ravines and sharp ridges, and swift-flowing streams and waterfalls. Limestone plateaus cover more than three-quarters of the island. In the uninhabited northwest region of the country, sinkholes, underground caverns and streams dominate the landscape. Deep depressions known as cockpits can be found throughout this region.

The people

As a British colony for more than 300 years, Jamaica developed a modern culture that is very similar to British culture. African influences are also very strong and can be seen in Jamaican music (Reggae) and dance.

In February of 1962 Jamaica gained its independence from Britain, gaining the freedom to elect a prime minister, set up a constitution, organize an army and create its own currency, passports, symbols and emblems.

Before slavery was abolished in Jamaica in 1838, the island served as the chief slave market of America. Descendants of these slaves make up most of the population along with people of European or Afro-European descent. Jamaica’s national motto is “Out of many, one people,” which reflects a diverse heritage.

Sugar, tourism and bauxite (ore from which aluminum is made) industries employ the majority of the population. One quarter of the people are engaged in agriculture. Some tend their small farms, while others work on sugar cane, banana or coffee plantations. A major source of income in recent years consists of money sent home from more than two million Jamaicans living overseas.

More than half of all Jamaicans live in urban centers with high unemployment rates and poor living conditions.

Education

Funding is the main problem in Jamaican schools, as government spending for education has steadily fallen during the past few decades. Low salaries fail to attract quality teachers, and in many schools, the student-teacher ratio is very high. At times, there is only one teacher for all grades.

School inadequacies are more significant in rural areas, where many schools lack even basic sanitation. Some children in rural areas must travel many miles to school; it is common to see children walking to school barefoot. Although school is mandatory for ages 6 to 15, about 60 percent of students, mostly in rural areas, drop out early. Of those who stay in school, it is estimated that half are functionally illiterate. There is also a shortage of secondary schools.

CFCA projects in Jamaica are working to improve the quality of education so that children may one day work their way out of poverty. Children in the Mandeville and Kingston projects are in school from September to either June or July.

Sponsor a child in Jamaica

Sources:

World Factbook

MSN Encarta Encyclopedia