It was a packed day. We completed another day of in-country training with a tour of two non-governmental organizations, Jamaicans for Justice and Victims Support Unit, where our Cuso colleagues also volunteer. (More on those in a later post- they are doing amazing work with meager resources). We had a delicious lunch at a jerk restaurant called Scotchie’s with our Cuso staff guide Shawn. He is in his third year at University of West Indies, where he is taking a business management program and has already determined his career plans- he is planning an online business. Shawn and Mr. Mason then took us to Trench Town, where Bob Marley grew up. The atmosphere in this part of the Kingston area is so different from everywhere else. It is open and lively, and there is a sense of pride and community I’ve yet to feel in other areas. Kids run around together, braid one another’s hair and play. They can go to a reading centre and play soccer at Boys’ Town, a community centre funded in part by the Canadian International Development Agency. It was founded in 1940 by two Reverends and modeled after a boys club portrayed in a Bing Crosby and Mickey Rooney movie. In essence, it aims to provide a family “away from” home. It now provides mentoring for boys aged 15-18. Today, it was vibrant with boys playing soccer and the community enjoying music and a barbeque. We were shown drawings by youth by the staff at Boys’ Town, their pride evident.

 During this Trench Town tour, we had a gracious guide named Cess, who seemed to know everyone. We also visited the Cultural Yard, which is based in the home Bob Marley grew up in. The homes were built by the British government for soldiers and the rooms are about five by five feet, a space meant to hold an entire family. The yard showcases Bob Marley’s first van and a burgeoning marijuana plant, which a Rasta was watering when we were there. The same Rasta also heard me asking about the plentiful mangos hanging on the tree, then walked over and handed me a beautifully ripe one. The Cultural Yard is obviously well-cared for, but its resources are limited and some original artwork of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh are crumbling and fading on the back wall. So while Trench Town seems to have a wonderful spirit within its walls, these walls and houses are not in good shape. There are rusting corrugated tin walls, crumbling concrete and trash everywhere. It was an emotional day- we were told repeatedly that volunteers are needed badly here and it is clear there is a lot of work to do. But there is a beautiful chaos as well as endless amount of contradictions in this place that I’m sure I’ll be trying to figure out in perpetuity.