Head First
Just outside of Ocho Rios is a popular day-trip spot called Cool Blue Hole; a short hike with a guide leads you to picturesque blue pools and waterfalls on the White River. Julianne and I took a trip on Sunday to check out Blue Hole, take a short hike, and dive in the pools. After our hike back to the car we had half an hour to kill before we drove back to Kingston, so we decided to hit up the public beach to relax.
The work week was spent working on a questionnaire for collecting baseline data from the agencies with which we work. There aren’t many good estimates on the number of trafficking victims in Jamaica, and the process for providing services is pretty ad hoc. Part of Winrock’s work is to make sure that when a victim of child labor or trafficking is identified, the agency knows the best practices for handling the case.
A bit of background. Winrock is one of many organizations working to enact the Child Protection Compact, an agreement between the Jamaican government and the U.S. State Department intended to address child labor and trafficking in Jamaica. One of the ways we are addressing the issue is through trainings for police officers, government workers, and community leaders.
If a victim survivor is identified by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency how do the police get involved? If a survivor goes to the police, how do we make sure that they are getting protection in a shelter and receiving services like counseling? Ensuring that every stakeholder understands their role in the process is an important first step in implementing the Child Protection Compact.
On Thursday, my coworkers and I took a trip to the northeastern side of the island, Port Antonio, to check out another school’s Anti-TIP Club. Port Antonio High School was the first school to have a club of this kind, so DSP Berry came to present certificates to the students and faculty involved with the club. After the ceremony, we had a brief Q&A session with the students before heading back to Kingston. On the way home, we stopped for lunch at a lovely little seaside restaurant for lunch.
Friday Night, I’d promised Cheryl’s grandchildren that we could have a campfire, make s’mores, and camp in the back yard. I spent a good part of Friday afternoon searching all of the local grocery stores for graham crackers. Then I spent a good while googling “smore graham cracker substitutes” and settling for digestive biscuits instead.
We whittled down some sticks for s’mores and got the fire started before it got too dark. Once our “campsite” was set up, we had a quick water balloon fight before starting in on our marshmallows and popcorn.
When the fire died down a bit and we were getting ready to climb into our hammocks, the kids decided that they a bit afraid and weren’t about that camping-right-next-to-rats life, so I let them camp in the guest house and I stayed in the hammock.
Our fiscal quarter is ending soon, so the next two weeks are going to be a mad dash to finish up our Q3 tasks. Next week I’ll be making sure that our assessment tool for shelter spaces is comprehensive enough, setting up a few last-minute meetings, and wrapping up writing a few questionnaires for collecting baseline data for the Project.
Next weekend I will be hiking to the peak of Blue Mountain, the point in Jamaica with the highest elevation. Stay tuned!