This is what a colleague asked me yesterday as we returned from a session training new mentors. This session was held at a theological college up in the mountains. As we sat in the classroom, we could hear the sound of ripe mangoes thumping on the ceiling as they fell from the trees and the rustling of palm trees in the breeze. It was work-related activity on a Saturday, but it was a pleasure to hear my boss talk to a group of 12 young aspiring mentors about the responsibility they had to their future mentees and no less than the nation of Jamaica.

One of the planks driving the efforts of Youth Opportunities Unlimited is nation-building. It is a bid to restore the Christian values, traditions and beliefs of Jamaica and to get its people as a whole back on the right track and away from the violence and immoral behaviour plaguing some of its communities. It is inspiring to hear individuals so driven by their beliefs and values call on others to stand up and take a leadership role. As my boss spoke to these young people, she demanded no less of them than to examine their own lives, as becoming a mentor means you can no longer make excuses for your own questionable behaviour. You can no longer dress a certain way because everyone else is or blame the bus for making you late for work. If you are coaching young people, you must have integrity and act as a role model.

But back to my colleague’s question. Instead of sharing with you with the values and beliefs driving my own journey as a volunteer, I thought it apt to focus on the work of some of my fellow Cuso volunteers. When you ask most of us why we are here, we give roughly the same answer, which is usually based on the simple desire to help. We work for several different NGOs, including the Victims Support Unit.

Several weeks ago, we visited this amazing agency. Here’s a bit about what they do: Under a mandate from the Minister of Justice, the VSU “provides therapeutic intervention to victims of crime, in order to assist the Ministry to balance justice for all.” It is the only one of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean. Needless to say, these people do important work with scant resources. Indeed, their office is tiny. It was busy when we were there with people who had been victimized by crime seeking counselling and whatnot. Violence and crime are major problems here. In particular, the nation’s attention has fallen lately on the plague of childhood abuse thanks to a series of newspaper articles. There is a growing awareness of this problem, and as a result, an explosion in children needing advocacy and counselling as they make their way through the system. The VSU provides this service as best they can given the demand. The VSU is also involved in drafting a Victims’ Charter, which will spell out the rights of the victim. There are few things more important, I think, in protecting the rights of people who have been victimized. And in Jamaica, this work is being done by a small group of people doing the work that really needs to be spread out over a much larger group.