Sponsor's update from Barrett Town, Jamaica

Child sponsorship update from the SOS Children's Village Stony Hill (Kingston), Jamaica from Winter 2008

The long, hot summer is over and thankfully we are receiving the cool wind that signals the beginning of the cool months ahead as we move closer to the holiday season. We can hardly believe it is time for another Christmas report. It seemed like it was just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas and ‘ringing’ in the New Year. It is the most wonderful time of the year and the children will soon be putting up their little stockings and finding it hard to wait to see what Santa will bring them.

Snuggled tightly in the little community of Barrett Town is our SOS Children’s Village and is approximately 1½ miles away from the elegant corridors in Rose Hall or rather tourism country. Being so close to most of the affluent hotels allows us to have many visitors on a regular basis. Our family comprises of 97 children, 9 youngsters and committed and dedicated staff. The atmosphere is filled with the approaching season and the greenness of the trees and grass has reappeared because of the occasional rainfall. We welcomed new children into our family and we were very happy to see the renewed energy in which the children embraced the new school year.

In our last letter to you in the summer we mentioned starting our own vegetable garden. Through the initiative of local sponsors our garden is flourishing and we have already reaped vegetables which the mothers used to cook for their families.

We always try to make the most of our summer days. This year again JAMM camp (Jamaicans and Americans Making Memories) conducted workshops with art and craft and music programmes which tapped into the children’ creative genes. The annual football (soccer) camp was a huge success. The activities also included excursions to the airport, beach and historical sites. In August we watched the celebration of our country’s emancipation and independence events. Some of the children went on church camps while some visited and shared with other children’s home.

Achieving many things

Just at the close of the summer holidays we celebrated with our country’s athletes who were outstanding in the Beijing, China Olympics. These games, especially the track and field events, generated renewed hope within our children as we all watched our brothers and sisters broke and set new world records. We were all ecstatic and proud as we watched as they paraded our country’s flag on the international stage giving rise to the saying ‘wi likle but wi talawah’ (English: We are a small nation but together we can accomplish great things).

From these games, new role models and heroes were created and every boy and girl on the village now wants to be like our athletes. Nevertheless we are blessed with our own stars.

At the beginning of the new school year in September, many children were successfully placed into the high school system. One youngster was admitted to the University of the West Indies in the faculty of Social Sciences pursuing International Law and we are truly proud of her achievement. They are holding leadership positions in school such as form (grade) captains, prefects and club leaders. Their achievements will be officially recognised and celebrated at our Christmas dinner and awards function in December.

Celebration time

The Village continues to share in other activities with the surrounding communities. Between October and December the older boys and others from the Village will form a football team which will represent SOS in the Rose Hall Football Challenge Competition. The children are enthused and really anticipate winning this competition. We won our first match on October 19th.

As a part of our celebrations leading up to Christmas, recognition will also be paid to outstanding Parents at our Jane Vera Nursery school. We will also visit other children’s and senior citizen’s homes and see how we can help to make their holidays more memorable. As a special treat there is an old, blind man in the Barrett Town community that we will visit and treat him as a part of our village outreach programme. The children will also go caroling in the community again this year and will be singing to the guests at the Half Moon hotel in Rose Hall.

As we celebrate this time of the year, we are mindful of the sacrifice many persons are making to ensure that the children are given the opportunities to develop holistically. We want you, our sponsors and friends to know that we are very appreciative of the effort you have put into making us a part of your lives. We further want to assure you that as you share with us, we share in the lives of others who may not be as fortunate as us. "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
-- Calvin Coolidge

Sincerely,

Floyd Hitchman, Village Director & Anita Sharpe, National Director