My husband and I live in Dallas and have been reading about your area. We decided we would like to come to Treasure Beach in April or May and stay for approximately two months. We would like to volunteer at a school or doing something similar, perhaps even adult education. We are both retired; I have been a nurse practitioner, and he managed a small group of hardware stores. Even though we have not had training as teachers, we have raised four children and have helped with our two grandchildren. We would not expect to be paid for our service, but we also do not have a big budget for accommodations, food, transport, and similar. Also, we would like to perhaps work four days a week and be able to enjoy ourselves the other three, though we are flexible people.

We have read about some volunteer opportunities on this site, but we would like to see if there are any possibilities that are not mentioned. We also would like to get an objective assessment from others who have done volunteer work in Treasure Beach, perhaps even from Peace Corps workers. Though we are not looking for anything luxurious and we are not picky people, we are not clear that accommodations which are mostly appropriate for college students would provide sufficient comfort and privacy for us.

We invite people with suggestions to place comments here. Then we will contact those whose opportunities seem as if they best fit us.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

Hi Paul & Simi:

As a former Peace Corps volunteer in St. Elizabeth (and co-owner of this site), I'll take a few minutes to respond to your questions. This is of course just my opinion and others may well have a completely different view.

First, make sure you know WHY you're going to volunteer. If its to have people say 'thank you' at the end of the day, then you may be disappointed. If its to share your skills/experience with others while learning from them at the same time, you'll probably have a rewarding experience.

Second, while your professional skills may come into play (though there are certainly medical licensing issues to deal with), the more ambiguous ones could be a bigger factor in your success. Showing up on time, caring about what you're doing, providing encouragement, being open to the different culture and environment you're operating in, etc. Heck, just helping a kid (or adult) read a book provides a great service to them and gives a nice warm feeling inside. BUt as grandparents, you know that already, don't you :-)

Next, I'm not sure what you mean by 'accommodations which are mostly appropriate for college students'. If you're talking spring breakers, then I don't think you have anything to worry about. TB has some small guest houses (which are all fine and probably your best bet budget-wise) but offers more villas and so caters to a bit more of an upscale crowd. Jamaica is not as inexpensive as, say, Central America can be. But if you 'go local' it doesn't have to be too expensive either.

As for actual volunteer opportunities, the easiest way (because the path has been cleared by many before you) would be at Sandy Bank Primary school. However, there are a lot of other schools in the area that could use some help as well. Its a matter of finding a reliable contact at them. Click on Community Groups at the top of this page to get an idea f what's in the immediate area.

Lastly, go with the flow. As an example, I'd estimate that at least 50% of Peace Corps volunteers end up doing something different than what their assignment called for. If you think you're going to be teaching math and no one shows up for class, then there's probably some other opportunity you can find.

Hope this helps. I'm curious what others will say.

Respect,
-Eric

I frequently visit Treasure Beach and have encountered Hopewell Primary School which I have been assisting with school supplies. They are located in nearby Watchwell. They are short staffed and inadequately supplied.They surely could use the assistance of volunteers . You may contact the Prinipal, Verona Neil at 876-379-2275 or email her: bernalneil@yahoo.com. This is her husband's email and he can pass on the message to her.
You may want to consider volunteering at a school that doesn't receive a steady flow of assistance such as Sandy Bank, my opinion. There are lots of other nearby schools who rarely, if ever, gets a volunteer and are really in need of assistance.

What abut Breds or Treasure Beach Foundation or Vijon? Can they use volunteers?

VIJON can place volunteers year round in a variety of settings in the community. If you have BASIC computer skills there is an opportunity to assist a present long-term volunteer in teaching computers at Pedro Plains Primary 3 or more days a week.

Many volunteers just do anything needed at another local primary or basic school, especially tutoring and classroom assistance. Many other options can be found at www.ItalJamaica.com/1VIJON.htm



VIJON can assist you with finding appropriate housing- from very basic guesthouses, family run guesthouses where you are like part of a family or even private villas where you have your own pool. There is a wide range for every taste and budget.

If the VIJON experience sounds like something you are interested in we would be glad to provide you with contact information from previous individual volunteers and participating organizations so you can get an objective opinion on the experience.

Treasure Beach Foundation is based in the U.S., not in Treasure Beach. So, while we can use assistance, it is not of the type for which Paul and Simi are searching.

The kind of assistance we are grateful for includes the following:

• Financial contributions for our Scholarship Program.
• Commercial art assistance for flyers and similar.
• Service contributions from local residents to enhance our villa raffle packages. Examples are boat trips, minibus transport, use of bicycles, use of snorkel equipment, and massages.
• Additional amenities to add to our villa raffle packages. These would include restaurant meals and local tours.
• Transport from local drivers (insured vehicles only) for the university students we coordinate volunteering in the local schools each spring.
• We will—in a few months—begin accepting donations of school supplies, computer hardware and software, and the like. (Please do not send anything until we ask for these.)

If you would like to assist with any of the above, please get in touch with me by clicking on my name (to start an e-mail). Thank you very much.

Can anyone tell me what type of computer labs are at both Pedro Plains and Sandy Bank Primary Schools? How often do the students receive computer education? Do any, some, or most students own computers? I would like as much infomation as possible. Thank-you.

Hi. I've bough tickets for the villa raffles twice now. I plan to do so again. Could you tell me what type of schools supplies and computer equipment you'll be collecting. There may be things we could be putting aside even though we cannot send it yet. Would we have to send it to Jamaica or would there be an address in the US?

At Pedro Plains, there are about 10 non-working machines that are fairly old. VIJON has installed a working laptop and a desktop donated by visiters to Treasure Beach. We have in place a volunteer here for the entire school year who works full time 3 days a week teaching students individually in half hour to 45 minute sessions weekly. Presently she is teaching Grade 4 only. Few of the students have computers at home. Present systems are windows 98 and xp OS. We also purchased a ITRONIX Rugged Laptop, whose OS system was knocked out in a power surge. We are hoping to get this fixed here in Jamaica so that we can soon have it in operation at the lab at Pedro Plains.

I have an place you might be intersted to stay well you are in treasure beach email wil911@hotmail.com

Thank-you VIJON.

If I want to send some computers to you for Pedro Plains how would I do it? Where would I send them? Can they be either lap tops or desk tops? These would be used but in good condition.

Thank you for your offer to help!

If you were coming on vacation to Treasure Beach, the easiest way to bring in computers is your luggage (if you are a light packer otherwise).

If shipping via post or air, it is best we coordinate with the Principal, Mr.Smith as he can fill out Ministry of Education paperwork that facilitates customs clearance etc.

Feel free to email sgenus@cwjamaica and we can refer you to the principal to get the process started.

Treasure Beach Foundation will be accepting donations of school supplies and computer software and hardware in the U.S. Anyone who donates items will get a receipt for income tax deductions.

Our biggest hurdle is the shipment of these items to Jamaica. Air Jamaica has kindly allowed us to use their charity rate, but we are looking for something even less expensive than that (such as free). We want to continue to spend the vast majority of what we raise through financial contributions and the villa raffles on the scholarship program.

The IT things we will be collecting will include laptop and desktop computers (used but not abused), computer software, mice, and surge protectors.

In terms of school supplies, essentially anything appropriate for students aged 2-1/2 to 12 years old will be welcome. This will include backpacks, pens and pencils, crayons, workbooks, flash cards, and books (both for reading and reference).

Send them now? To the foundation?