I returned to Jamaica again this March. I stayed for a week long trip and visited all 12 of our Angels of Hope sponsored homes and also three children's homes that we are going to be entering into the program this year. These visits took me all over this beautiful island country, from the parishes of St. Andrew and St. Catherine through Clarendon and Manchester all the way up Trelawny and St. Ann. It was my first time passing through Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.My work at the homes consisted of visiting each home and checking to see that they have been receiving food items as well as additional clothing, cleaning products, hygiene products, etc. Each home sets an appointment once a month with FFP and the Angels of Hope coordinator pre-arranges all of their goods. This allows for the homes to easily collect all the items and have a brief meeting with the AOH coordinator to ensure that all is well at the home.
We also saw the finished results of a number of projects that were completed in the children's homes. They included roof replacements after Hurricane Dean, water pumps, cisterns, Agricultural assistance (tools and seeds), and construction. Each home administrator is encouraged to submit a "wish list" of needs each year. This helps us to search out needed items in the warehouse or look into the possibility of aquiring the items through a donation or discounted price.
We also saw the finished results of a number of projects that were completed in the children's homes. They included roof replacements after Hurricane Dean, water pumps, cisterns, Agricultural assistance (tools and seeds), and construction. Each home administrator is encouraged to submit a "wish list" of needs each year. This helps us to search out needed items in the warehouse or look into the possibility of aquiring the items through a donation or discounted price.
On our second day driving through the country it took us four hours to arrive at our destination. The "highway" was incredible. Imagine a primary roadway. Your mental picture probably has at least two lanes in each direction, probably a median in the middle and nice marked exits for the passing cities and highways. This crazy road that we were on was a narrow two-way cutting and bending around the rugged, lush mountains of Jamaica's countryside. The cars were frantically speeding along this winding, slender road with a jutting cliff falling down the mountain to one side and a tall, rough, rock wall covered with flowers and vines on the other. To top off my giddy excitement over this crazy car ride, in Jamaica the steering wheel is on the right and we were driving on the left side of the road.
My co-worker, the AOH coordinator for Jamaica, could not understand my awe about this experience. I kept pointing out the tiny humble shacks that had been built teetering on the peak of a jutting rock formation. The colors of the homes and flowers were vibrant and alive. It was such a contradiction to see such beauty and suffering in the same moment. Its incredible that so much poverty and desperation exists on such a beautiful island, but it could easily be seen along side the road as we passed through.
After the home visit we took the highway out to the coast. This highway looked more like the highways of our imaginations, except it follows the beautiful resort coastline of northern Jamaica. I got to spend about 7 minutes in Montego Bay as we crusied through town. I could see the touristy strip and all the amazing resorts and hotels along the beach. The water is a surreal blue-green and the beaches are perfectly framed on one side with royal palms. I can definitely understand why this area is so popular for cruises and travelers.
We continued on our way and had a similar experience in Ocho Rios. This time we actually stopped at a local jerk shop for some jerk pork and peas and rice. 
As if the road trip wasnt already amazing enough, we came back on a highway that wound through an area called Fern Gully. It was exactly that. The road was cut deep into a humid, eerily cool section of mountain. The road was barely open to sky because of the steep cuts of dripping rock on either side. Ivy and vines hung down from the canopy of treetops to dangle over the road. Here and there along the Fern Gully were small areas large enough for craft and food vendors to set up small shacks.
