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Dear Friends and Family,

You remember how I told you about the Old Harbour Bay Gully Clean-Up Project that was attempted for September 20th, and how it was such a disappointment from what I had hoped? Well I have news for you!!

The Blackwood Gardens Citizen’s Association has taken initiative and a pro-active stance on the projects to be done. Now, in Old Harbour Bay (a small town on the south side of the Island, in the center, west of Kingston) we have quite a few problems with flooding and drains. Running through Old Harbour Bay, we have two natural gullies and then we have some cemented drains, ranging from 2 to 6 feet deep. In the “housing scheme” where I live-Blackwood Gardens-we have some of these cemented drains. The problem, however, has been that these drains were FILLED with “standing water,” which of course can breed mosquitos.

Sometimes it seems like the process takes forever, and then sometimes, things can happen very quickly. Maybe I should say, every so often I get surprised.

In the Blackwood Gardens Citizen’s Association meetings, it was said that the drains need to be cleaned. It may seem normal to those of you in America, but it was quite a surprise to me to stumble upon some men one day actually working on and clearing the main drains in the scheme.

I later heard that the Association was planning a work day for the upcoming Jamaican holiday called Hero’s Day, October 20th (this past Monday). When it came to decide what time we would start work, the people actually had said… 5:00 AM! I couldn’t believe it! Others said, “As soon as the light comes, I will be there” basically so the work could start before the sun gets hot. (For a people that are routinely about an hour late, this was a thrill–for the mere fact that it showed great commitment.)

Let me tell you that the entire day was a hit. Workers came, food was served, and progress was made. I was on the road walking towards the site before six, but was the first and only person out. Shortly, I was joined by a few others, and work began shortly after that.

Do you remember about how I had applied to a company and they donated several boxes of boots and bags, and how we bought gloves for the Sept 20 gully clean up? I had total about 30 pairs of boots and 30 pairs of PVC gloves. For Sept 20th, we used about 8 pairs of gloves, no boots. On October 20th, we used about 25 pairs of gloves and boots. I was thrilled. Today, Thursday, October 23, the last pair of boots that was used on that day and long (to the elbow) PVC gloves were returned. We still have one pair of short (just past the wrist) PVC gloves that must be returned. The day was a success and work was cut short by the rain, which meant that I had time to sort out the boots and gloves while others helped and or watched.

Rain, here in Jamaica, stops, or tries to stop work and activity. It doesn’t stop me, because I love the rain, but Jamaicans have a thing about keeping as clean as possible, so often they won’t go out in the rain. Sadly though, walking in the rain without an umbrella is considered unprofessional. I think it is too bad, because as I said, I love the rain.

As I am writing this, I am trying to think of when I will be able to go back to the person’s house where the boots and gloves are being stored so that I can help air them out and finish cleaning them up. hmmmm….

anyway, I ended up working for about 12 hours that day, from 6 am to 6, including going out to collect stray pairs of boots and gloves.

Different topic: With the Old Harbour Development Committee, I have been working intensely last week and this week on trying to collect the agreement forms for advertisements for the magasine OHDAC is publishing, the $ for the ads, and sometimes even still distributing the letters and agreement forms and then also collecting them. I am also charged with sensitizing the citizens about the Community Expo that will be happening IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! For something that would normally take a year in the States to plan, we are trying for 3 MONTHS! anyway, so far we have 27 confirmed ads, soon to be about 30, maybe even 35, and about 25 confirmed booths, maybe soon to be about 30. Our booths range from government agencies to bussiness and private sector, to CBOs, NGOs, food court, and who knows what else. these are busy times I tell you, busy times.

With that, I must go. I love you all, have a blessed day, and “tek care”!! :-)))

With much love, Rachel

Dear blessed Friends and Family,

I promised you some time ago that I would send my one month report for September so here it is.

Much Love,
Rachel McVey

ps–please, please inform me if you would rather not be on this mailing list. just email me at rachelannamcvey@hotmail.com. I know it isn’t fun to get mail that you don’t read…I hold no grudges.

For all those are enjoying hearing about what I am doing, and those that write me back, I love hearing from you and how you are doing.

So, on with the report!

In the month of September, I

Attended and contributed to the Community Development Committee (CDC) meetings in each of the six communities that I work with in the Old Harbour DA (Old Harbour, Old Harbour Bay, Bartons, Brown

Dear All,

Last week Monday (Sept. 15), I heard that Saturday coming would be International (Coastal) Clean-Up Day, and so I got it into my head that this was a good excuse to start the cleaning up the gully in Old Harbour Bay–or rather to get the community to help me do so.

In that week, I wrote letters to certain companies for funding, boots, gloves, bags, and the pick up of the trash at the end, emailed or faxed the letters out, went to Kingston for 24 hours (to go to church and to a ladies function at the Ambassador’s house), the Peace Corps office, copied off 250 flyers total, delivered those flyers and talked to community members for about six hours on both Thursday and Friday evenings. On Thursday while in Kingston, I learned that the boots, gloves, and funding had come through and all the companies I wrote to were going to help with the project.

My days started around 6:00 a.m. and I finally came in for dinner at 10:30/11:00 especially on Thursday and Friday! I had talked to SO MANY people that I really thought that we would have a good number coming to the event.

Well the day came, but no one really showed up. We (eight of us including staff and children) relocated (ironically) to the fishing beach. A few community members joined the effort and by the end, 10 heavy bags were sitting on the beach waiting for later pickup. We would have filled more, but many of the bags had to be double or triple bagged that they wouldn’t fall apart later on. After we did what we could do at the fishing beach, and because all of us were thoroughly hungry, we transported ourselves, back to the school where lunch for 50 was being prepared.

As our group, now about 20 waited patiently, we were entertained by Karen Whittle, school teacher and graduate from UWI in social work, also my housemate and best friend here. Karen demonstrated her leadership skills and love of children while giving a spur-of-the-moment vocabulary lesson for children and adults alike.

Lunch came, we ate, gathered up our things and went home to rest.

Some of the lessons that I learned from this experience were:

• Should have involved community members more in the planning. In fact, the entire project should have been initiated and spearheaded by a Citizen’s Association, youth club, the CDA, or some other CBO.
• Can’t rush a change of thought, actions, growth, or lifestyle changes.
• Should have had National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) come and investigate the gullies: the people may have not come out because they were afraid of the possible alligators or crocodiles in the gullies.
• Should have worked with the Parish Council to have the needed heavy machinery to also work on the gully
• Contact Gene (my APCD from PC) much sooner!!
• and to be aware of food amounts–sometimes it seems you can never have enough food, but in this case, we had planned for too much.

As you can see, I learned a great deal about my community and hopefully the next gully clean-up will be better attended and initiated and organized more by community members.

As you can see, I have been very busy, and maybe this was a lesson designed by a higher power as the DAC (the organization that I work for) prepares for the upcoming Expo on November 5th. 🙂 All is well :-).

I hope that all is going well with all of you, and that each of you is remembering that you are God’s child–whole, complete, satisfied, and that He supplies you with infinite wisdom, joy, and energy.

Much love to you all,
Rachel

Dear All,

Really quick, get a pen because here is my NEW mailing address for LETTERS ONLY:

Rachel McVey
Lot 57 Blackwood Gardens
Old Harbour Bay, St. Catherine
Jamaica, West Indies

Packages have to still go to the 8 Worthington Ave address via good ol’ US post.

My cell number, if anyone is interested in calling me, is 876-889-2937. I strongly suggest buying a phone card, because it is much, much cheaper than any other way to call.

I love you all!!!
rachel 🙂

Dear Friends and Family,

I have had several requests to hear what books I am reading, and about what my free time looks like, etc.

Books: I am currently reading a little pamphlet (50 pages) that the SDC (Social Development Committee) put out called Planning Community Projects. It is part of a series of seven. The booklet is very useful and helpful in understanding what the process is and how to engage with the community when embarking on a project. I have renewed my effort to read Science and Health on a regular basis.

Finally, when packages from home arrive, included are the famed Harry Potter books that I have not read yet. One idea is that maybe I’ll set up a reading club where we read the books outloud. this would be quite challenging though, because many Jamaican children–even though they love school–don’t read very much (it seems). This might be all the more reason for the club, but I am saying that their attention span is very short, so I would need to find some students that are very special.

Restaurants: Most restaurants in the immediate community where I live are kind of “country style” and pretty much serve all the same thing. Of course there is variance, but ususal dishes are fried chicken, BBQ Chicken, Jerk Chicken, chicken foot soup, and oxtail (meat from the cow tail). Of course, white rice cooked with red beans and coconut milk is a staple with almost every meal. Jamaican salad is very similar to cole slaw (carrots and cabbage) except for less mayonayse. I eat at restaurants sometimes, but I admit that other times, I’ll go for just having a “spice bun” or a raison bread bun or maybe a cheese bun–bread with chedder cheese in the middle–kind of like jelly donuts.

The other thing that I didn’t mention was that Jamaicans love dumplings: flour and water kneaded into flattened balls about 2 inches in diameter and 1/2 an inch thick. These are then fried or boiled and are believed to give you “strong back”. They are very dense to say the least! In addition to rice and dumplings, ground provisions such as potatoes and yams, and fried green bananas give lots more starch options. The local fish fare is, well,… let me just say that I don’t like so much the way that Jamaicans cook fish. They overdo the cooking and the fish is very, very dried out when it reaches your plate. Also, Jamaicans don’t debone the fish that they cook, so when you are eating it, you have a lot of bones to pick out and sift through. The same is true for the soup mentioned earlier, chicken foot soup–a whole lot of small bones and joint parts are left on the plate when you are done :).

The restaurants around here are often the style that you pay at the counter and then pick up your food when it is ready and then sit and eat. I think that you only get to have waiters and waitresses as you get closer to Kingston, such as in Spanish Town (maybe).

Free time: When I am not in the office or at community meetings, I might be here in the lab, but ususally you will find me at home, cooking (or watching and helping others cook), eating, dishes, laundry, talking with Karen, writing in my journal, or sleeping :). Usually the sleeping part doesn’t start until sometimes as late as 12 or 1, which is not so good, but hopefully as my service progresses, I will be better at claiming more time for myself for earlier bedtimes. I might as well keep dreaming though, because I don’t think it will relax that much.

A Jamaican’s perception of my work: Well, I haven’t asked anybody really how they feel about social development, but there are those that work along side me in various fields, and then there are those who ask what I do and I tell them and they say “Oh, okay.” My schpeel continues and I tell them why I need their help and participation in this work of community development.

Last night I went to two community meetings–one with 8 people from a rural community pretty far up north (Ginger Ridge), and the other in Spring Village (not so rural) with 48 attendees. The very act of showing up at these meetings shows that they care about the work that the SDC/DAC is doing.

I work with a team that is very smart, proactive, and upbeat. Everytime I go to these meetings, I watch in awe at their ability to field questions and facilitate the development of the community. I am really glad that I don’t have to build this structure, but that it is already in place and all we need now is community participation and involvement.

I have to go for now, but I will keep you updated and I thank all of you that keep me updated with what you are up to as well 🙂

Much, much love,
Rachel :)!

Hello dear friends and family,

Well, here it is Monday afternoon :). I had wanted to write you more last week but always the lab was down and I was busy anyway…The graduation ceremony was very nice. I am hoping that at some point some of the people here with digital cameras will have some of their pictures posted and then I might be able to share them with you and everyone else :).

After the ceremony, I got home to O.H.B. at about midnight (of course having been driven home by friends). On Saturday, Karen (my the lady I am living with) and I spent all day from about 8 or 9 am until 11 or 12 midnight working, moving furniture around and moving me in. I didn’t think that she would go for it, but she didn’t mind at all–she said that every once in a while she gets the urge and has to or wants to move furniture around. It was a lot of fun and I love my room. The rest of the house still needs a whole lot of work to clean up and put things away.

Today, I went to both offices of the agencies that I am working for. The first half of the day went very slowly with a very boring meeting at the Ministry of Health (from 10:00-1:00). When I looked at my watch, I couldn’t believe that it was that late! Anyway, I finally made my way out of that office and onto the SDC/DAC office. SDC is Social development Commission, and the DAC is Development Area Committee. I feel like I would like the Ministry of Health’s support and backup, but it is hard for me to know how I fit in with what they need/what I should be doing for them. However, I do see me fitting in very well with the SDC and DAC, and all the other development committees and CBOs (Community Based Organizations).

Well, I have been here a long time and it is time for me to go home now. Much, much love to all of you, and I hope that you are (all) doing well :)!

to all the Principia staff–my best wishes as the new school year starts.

the weather here–the rainy season has started, albeit, slowly, with rain every few days. At this moment, since it rained today, the breeze is slightly cool, but not enough to want longsleeves.Yesturday was hot, humid, and sticky. (but hot was maybe in high 80’s) I don’t think that it ever gets to a hundred here, but it can be very hot in the mornings–this morning included.

much love,Rachel

Just some more notes:

A friend asked me will I be able to travel around the island some or will I be so busy that I am stuck and I am not sure. Yes, volunteers do travel around the island from time to time and especially to visit other PCV’s sites, but I am not sure if I will. we are only allowed a certain amount of time for vacation and by the time that I (hopefully) go home for association and other family business, and come back and ….I don’t know, maybe if my family comes to visit me, then we’ll travel together and see the sites. ? 🙂 ?Who knows?

Another question was if in my work if I would be in an office or out in the field with people and the answer is probably a little of the first and a whole lot of the second.

The third question was about language, and the language that is spoken here is Patios (pronounced Pat-wa–Jamaicans even spell the word different because it is pronounced differently than the French.)so one common phrase in Patios is “Mi soon come,” meaning, I’ll be back soon.

Jamaicans often drop the letter “S” before words and the h from the “th” sound. I have probably said this before, but one of my favorite phrases is “Everyting kris!” it means that you couldn’t be happier, and that you are completely satisfied, everything is perfect. the “kris” comes from crisp, clean.

love you all, see ya!

Dear All,

You’ll have to excuse my absence for the past two weeks–as it is the end of
training, I have been short in the monetary department and haven’t been able
to afford the taxi into town and then the charge of actually using the
computers once I got there.

I am in the last week of my training and come Friday night (Aug 22), I will
go back to Old Harbour Bay which will be my new home for the next two years.
On Friday, we have what is called a “Swearing-in ceremony” which is
supposed to be very nice and elegant. It is our graduation ceremony from
the training program that we are in now.

UNTIL Friday, I have my own single (all of us do) in the newest and nicest
housing complex on the Univ. of the West Indies campus. They are really
treating us well–today we left OHB in a “limousine” type tour bus where I
think anyone that wanted one could have their own row! that is a big thing
when we have been used to cramming in or what is called “queezing up”–short
for squeeze up.

I have two options for where I can and or will (possibly more that I haven’t
seen yet) stay, but I know that wherever I live I will be taken care of.
come friday night, I will go home to a lady named Karen and her house. she
is a recent grad from Univ. of the West Indies in Sociology. she is very
nice and very smart and we get along very well. we laugh and smile a lot
together. the best part is that she doesn’t watch (apparently) a whole lot
of TV, and I am grateful for that.

the other option is a beautiful house, and if I do end up there, it will be
a show of God’s divine guidance as to where the furniture (and household
items) will come from, as I am sure that the moving-in allowance is very
small.

anyway, I love you all very much and remember that each of you are loved,
loving, and lovable!
have a blessed day 🙂

love,
rachel

Hello family and friends,

Here are some questions I received and I have tried to answer them.

>>How small is “small” fishing village? it is about 7 or 8,000 people, but
>>the town has about three main north-south “arteries” and a few going
>>east-west. it is segmented in a few different communities: the housing
>>scheme is about 20 years old and has a few hundred lots. Another area of
>>town is called the Sekklement, meaning settlement. I should, but I don’t
>>know exactly the history of the town. What kind of fish? This is pretty
>>crazy, but I don’t exactly know all the different kinds. it is a fishing
>>village, but I think many people that live in the housing scheme (which is
>>where I am) maybe don’t fish.

>>Can you receive snail mail? yes, and my address is

Rachel McVey
c/o Suchet Loois
United States Peace Corps
8 Worthington Ave
Kingston 5, Jamaica
West Indies

>>Are you doing any reading? sometimes… I am reading S&H, and other CS
>>material because church for me is pretty rare right now. Recently, I just
>>finished a kids book that was around my house. I am wanting to buy Harry
>>potter and read it to my host family, but I don’t know if that will
>>work–their attention spans are very short :(, but maybe something will
>>work out.

Are you walking a lot? yes, but there is also a transportation system that
is affordable and works very well. it is called the taxi system, and it is
easy for me to understand but might be hard for me to explain, but I will
try.

there is a thing called a “route taxi” and it is ususally a man with a small
white car that in the States would seat 5 people. When I want to go home
after emailing, I will go to the area of taxis that are leaving for Old
Harbor Bay and look for a “red plate” taxi, because those are the registered
and legal ones (and insured). he will try and fill his taxi with as many
people (that are also going in the same direction) as he can. On certain
routes (like from Old Harbour Bay to Old Harbour and back) the car is not
usually that full, but on saturdays, when I have gone to market with my host
family mother, we have been squeezed up like sardines. the seatbelt laws,
as far as I can figure, only go as far as the driver and front passenger.
Last Sunday, my family and I went to a Jamaican-style carnival called
Denbeigh, and we squeezed 9! people into the car–5 adult sized people and
four kids, including my 12 yr-old host sister. THe same thing happens on
the bus–sometimes we have to fit five to a row when there are only four
seats, which makes for a shoulder-to shoulder and hip to hip ride, and
remember to hold your bag very close. So far, the one time that I had to do
that–riding on a public bus from downtown Kingston to Old Harbour, I sat
next to the head of the Police Youth Club for a city (May Pen) in the parish
(Clarendon) next to me. So that was a very good experience and a good
connection to make.

Is radio or TV available? yes, very much so. at 7:00 am everymorning, my
host family blares the news, and the TV is on for the family most of the
time. the most popular channel is the disney channel (my host sister loves
several shows…)

this past week, we took a field trip to Montego Bay (aka Mo bay) and had
some work and fun planned.
on Tuesday, we split into two groups and I had the fine priviledge of
working in both groups. In the morning, I worked with my group and we
covered a “soak-away pit” that is kind of like an underground septic tank.
so that was fun and intstructive and the family should be able to use it for
several years into the future. I learned the process of how to make a whole
lot of cement in one area and bucket by bucket we carried the cement to the
setup we had that we were covering. by setup, I mean, we had bamboo laid
down, and ontop of that, cement bags, and then the rebar grid we made. I
was part of the water crew and the cement bucket line–very important
positions.

We finished our project at about one o’clock, and went to see how the other
group was doing. We got there when they were just beginning to make lunch
so I decided to make myself useful and see what I could do for the other
project (cleaning and preping a catchement tank for it to be the next big
project for the PCV in the area. So, I got there, to the catchement area,
and the work at hand was cleaning up sweapt piles of loose dirt, weeds that
had grown in the cracks, and broken cement chuncks. it was humbling work,
but fullfilling at the same time. The person that I worked with was named
Antony, and he was a humble old quiet rasta man. we didn’t exchange very
many words, but we didn’t need to because we both had the same work
ethic–it is hot, and this might seem like small work, but it needs to get
done and we are working for a good purpose–the betterment of the community,
the community’s water, and ourselves.

anyway, I have been here for quite some time and I need to move on. I love
you all, and all prayers are welcome.
peace!
love,
Rachel

Dear sweet Friends and Family,

I have been somewhat silent for sometime now because I have been very busy
and the library where I use the internet to write you is not in the town
that I live in.

For two weeks now (and beginning on the third), I have been living with a
family in Old Harbour Bay, a small fishing village on the south coast. “My”
home is about fifteen minutes walk to our training hub site, the Old Harbour
Bay Baptist Church. Yesturday, all of the CEHVs (24 Community Environmental
Health Volunteers) went into Kingston to meet the heads of the agencies with
whom we will be working. As it turns out, I will stay in the Old
Harbour/Old Harbour Bay area for the next two years. Two agencies have
requested to have a PCV, and so I will be sharing my time between the St.
Catherine Health Department, Old Harbour, and the Old Harbor Development
Area Sectariat/Committee. I will also be working closely with SDC (Social
Development Commission) and KODAK, an organization based in Old Harbour Bay.

The agency was supposed to be responsible for housing the PCVs for the four
days called COW (Community Orientation Week) where we will learn where we
will be living and what we will be doing for the next two years. Since I am
staying in Old Harbor Bay area, my boss said, so I thought that you could
just stay where you have been, is that okay? I said, “Yes, that is fine.”
Later, I learned that my boss actually called my home and asked my
(Jamaican) mom if that was okay, but not to tell me. They wanted me to have
the fun of dragging my suitcase around! anyway, it is all good 🙂

The librarian has just told me that the library is closing in 5 minutes (6
pm), and so I have to sign off, but I hope to write more often, especially
since I will be coming into Old Harbour (the town where the library is) for
work …

I love you all, and have enjoyed all of the letters that all have sent. I
always welcome more… :)!
LOve,
Rachel