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Swinging is an Attitude, Not Just an Activity! Candle Members Care Candlelight Associates has always been involved in charitable events. From Toys for Tots collections at our holiday parties, to our Nawlins Street Musicians Relief Fund to our Adopted School in Boughton Hill Jamaica, we are good citizens! Bob & I want to thank everyone who helped us by donating school supplies for
the Boughton Hill Primary School in Jamaica. We had over 30 book bags packed
with paper, pens, paint, calculators, books and love. Book bags are treasured
there. Those who have a book bag never let them leave their site. They wear them
all day. My husband and I have been traveling to the beautiful country of Jamaica for 8 years. Counting our last trip this past July, we have been there a total of 16 times. We keep coming back because we love the country and its people.
We have adopted a school outside of Negril and have become friends with Miss Ruby who is the principal of Boughton Hill Primary School as well as a local minister. We often take so very much for granted here in the states. Primary grades in Jamaica go until the 6th grade. After the 6th grade, a student can pass a test and move on to higher education or try to find a job (a very hard task in a country whose unemployment rate is 60%) Many of the students we met when last visited the school were studying to
pass their final 6th grade exams. However even though most were going to pass
only one or two were going to be able to go to 7th grade. After 6th grade there
is a high cost per student to move on. This is such a luxury in a country where
the average wage is far below our own poverty standard. The school is very sparse. The kids are so well behaved. Their school projects were very similar to reports we've all done here. But of course, they are sharing books, pencils, even desks. Often 3 students to a crude wooden desk. Being an IT person, their computer lab moved me to tears. They have a nice
area for computers and even have three 2 (Update: During the summer of 2005, we revisited the school and they now have 4 working computers. We even taught a group of 5th grade boys to play pac man!) The school raises a goat and grows a garden each year. They use this food to provide lunches for the students. However when the food runs out, attendance drops because students have limited resources to bring a lunch with them. All too often when asked, the children do not remember when their last full meal was. Candlelight has established a fund to provide a free lunch program to those who cannot afford it. Monies raised at Entice's Slave Auction, Porn for a Purpose and many of our 50/50's go to this cause. Repairs to the school are the responsibility of the government. The roof leaks in the computer area and they have been on a waiting list for 8 months to get it fixed. The plastic and plaster is a temporary stop gap. (Update: The roof was fixed during our 2005 trip and we also repaired their gutter system to assist in collecting rain water) The kids love music. There is no music program. One of the teacher could teach them to play the recorder, but there is only one recorder. When my son was in sixth grade, everyone had a recorder and I'm sure that these are stashed under the bed or in the closet of so many American kids today. Cricket is very popular in this country and at this school. In speaking
with one of the father's who asks as their coach, this school has a fantastic
team and could go on to even a National level. However less than a handful
of the kids have runners (sneakers) One of our ongoing projects will be to
collect runners for the kids But there is so much pride in these people. The teachers prepared a beautiful
lunch for us while we were there. Although it was a simple meal of local fish,
they were proud to be able to offer this to us. It was one of the best meals
that we've ever had because of the love that was poured into it.
If you are interested in helping the Boughton Hill School, we would love to talk with you further. Come out to our events and partake in the variety of fund raisers - Porn for a Purpose, Slave Auction, 50/50 or simply help us collect kids sneakers! We can make a difference - actually we have and will continue to! If you are
moved to help us, please email us at
info@candleassociates.com .
Bob & Angie
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Send mail to
angie@candleassociates.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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For
the past several trips, we made an effort to bring school supplies with us.
We've become friends with many of the locals who work at the resort we attend.
During conversations with these friends, we found that there is a great need for
basic items that we often take for granted.
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type machines set up. Although not one machine works! The students learn to type
on donated keyboards, but never see their results since it is not connected to a
monitor. There is one working computer in this school of 350 that is in Ruby's
office. But there is not one printer in the entire school. There is no telephone
service and no internet access. I've made it my own personal mission to fix
this.
