Educating and Empowering

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Executive Director's Blog 6 August 2010

Our 2010 Fun Camp volunteers will be heading to Jamaica on Saturday. They will be carrying suitcases and suitcases full of donated school supplies including over 100 backpacks, composition books, pencils, erasers, and black shoes (an expensive part of the school uniform without which a child cannot attend school). Donations have poured in over the last few weeks in generous response to email and Facebook appeals.

Executive Director's Blog 20 July 2010

Sitting on the porch of my host family's home one Sunday afternoon during my recent trip to Hagley Gap, I glanced up from working on my computer. I was distracted from my work (not really hard to do on a peaceful Sunday afternoon) by a group of boys playing with their toy cars. They were in the midst of repairing a car that had lost a wheel and discussing the quality of the repair underway.

Executive Director's Blog 2 June 2010

I just returned from a trip to Boston where I was warmly welcomed by some of our largest and earliest donors: Old South Church of Boston and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley. After giving updates on Blue Mountain Project programs and activities to the outreach committees of these beautiful churches, I was greeted by a barrage of insightful questions, suggestions and offers to help a people whose lives are so different from their own.

Executive Director's Blog 25 May 2010

Blue Mountain Project welcomes Carole and Ron Sand to Hagley Gap. Carole and Ron are Peace Corps Volunteers who will spend the next two years helping the communities in Hagley Gap District. Carole has a MA in Elementary Education. Carole will work in the schools, first with the basic schools (ages 3-6) and then in the middle schools (Minto and Penlyne Primary schools). She will also start an Adult Literacy Program in Hagley Gap.

Executive Director's Blog 6 April 2010

Tomorrow is World Health Day.

I have worked in places where the health clinic considered itself lucky to have a functioning thermometer, where a doctor had not visited in at least ten years, and where the local pharmacy was a mat in the open-air market stocked with drugs of questionable origin and a 16 year old “pharmacist” who could not read the bottle labels. Cholera was a common occurrence at least once a year, and children routinely died of measles and malnutrition.

Executive Director's Blog 10 March 2010

World Water Day is 22 March 2010.

We are spoiled in the US. We turn the spigot and have good, clean drinkable water pouring out.

This is not true for many parts of the world including Hagley Gap and Penlyne Castle. They used to have water coming out of their house spigots but this system was destroyed in a hurricane and never replaced.

Executive Director's Blog 23 Feb. 2010

It is snowing again here in Hammond. Don’t get me wrong I like the snow, its purity, the beauty of a crisp winter day. I chose to live in this area and knew that snow was part of the deal.

Executive Director's Blog 4 Feb. 2010

4 February 2010

I had a great time last week.

I was invited to Ripon College, one of BMP’s long time very energetic partners, to participate in Jamaica Week. Spearheaded by Jake Jochem, students at Ripon wrote letters to Hagley Gap students, started planning their Maymester trip to the Gap, danced to reggae bands - The Roots Rockers and New Found Flavor, sampled Jamaica food, and generally had a great time while raising money for the Blue Mountain Project.

Executive Director's Blog 29 Dec. 2009

I hope that you are all having a good holiday season.

I am sitting in my new home, only a handful of boxes left to be unpacked, looking at a beautiful winter scene – snow on the ground, icicles hanging from the rain gutters, bare trees revealing a clear blue sky, kids bundled up playing in piles of snow, Christmas decorations dotted here and there. Everyone looks warm, content, and happy to be on vacation.

Executive Director's Blog 11 Dec. 2009

11 December 2009

With the help of our staff, the communities of Hagley Gap and Penlyne Castle and the advice of the Community Advisory Board, we have defined the programmatic priorities of the Blue Mountain Project:

1. Provision of potable water
2. Health Care
3. Literacy
4. Economic Development

Over the upcoming months we will turn each priority into long term development programs with goals, projects, funding needs, and personnel needs. These in turn will define service learning program volunteer tasks and Ambassador and L.I.G.H.T. job descriptions.