Mark Saturday, March 15, 2014 in your calenders: it could be the beginning of a new political party in Jamaica. That may be an overstatement, but it would not be exaggerating to say that a group of young women were inspired to discuss the importance of the media and voting and the power of their voice that day.

This past Saturday, a fellow Cuso volunteer and I were engaged in training and informing a group of women between the ages of 15 and 20 about these topics for Women’s Media Watch. Entitled, PowerHouse, the session focused on encouraging girls to understand and claim the power of their voice in public spaces such as the media.

During the training session, we brought up the importance of the media as a tool for a healthy democratic society. This lead to a discussion of how crucial it is to exercise one’s right to vote, which of course lead us to talk about the lack of choice and general incompetence of and mistrust in politicians. Some of the girls in the group are not old enough to vote and the others had yet to do so.

As a passionate advocate of voting, I encouraged the girls to vote in the next election (while trying to remain sensitive to the difference in our political realities) and offered the option of spoiling their ballot. This seems to me a viable option in any election in that a citizen exercises their most fundamental of rights while indicating a lack of preference for a candidate. If enough people did this, it might send a message to politicians. My fear is that the alternative, people simply stop showing up at the polls, as is the global trend, could be interpreted by those in power as an indication of several things: that people do not value their right to vote, that those in power will not be held accountable, and as license to act with impunity while benefiting themselves and not their constituents.

But back to the training. The girls, who came from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, picked up on the option of spoiling one’s ballot. In Jamaica, this can be done by failing to select a candidate at all or marking numerous options. (Section 31 in the Representation of the People Act). They seemed to like this option a lot, after having declared loudly and extensively that they do not trust politicians and that both main parties are corrupt. Before we knew it, the girls were exchanging phone numbers and email addresses and planned to meet to discuss this topic further. It was inspiring.

In addition to discussing voting, we spoke to the girls about the fundamentals of journalism within the framework of gender and claiming one’s space and exercising one’s voice. I was taken back to my J-school days of learning about the inverted pyramid (how you tell a news story) the five Ws (who, what, when, where, why and how), how to conduct interviews, how to try to be objective and how to write well.

The common consensus was that Jamaican media is sorely lacking in terms of objectivity and quality. Hopefully we inspired some of the girls to pursue a career in journalism, or at least to exercise their voice with authority and conviction.

Here’s a bit more information about Women’s Media Watch: their mandate is to reduce gender-based violence through the promotion of gender equity and gender-aware media and communications. From their web site:

WMW Mission Statement

To reduce gender-based violence in the media and in society in order to achieve balanced gender relations and gender equality.
To be a dynamic organization committed to reducing gender-based violence and promoting gender equity.
To promote a gendered analysis of the media in order to increase awareness of the influence of the media in our lives.

WMW Achievements

WMW collaborates with local and international agencies such as CIDA, CUSO, MATCH, UNIFEM, UNESCO, World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), and the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communications (CARIMAC)

WMW’s achievements have included:

Conducting over 1,500 training and professional development events locally, regionally and internationally.
Pioneering a programme of gender training for male leaders.
Producing training resources and a manual on gender-aware analysis of the media.
Creating and teaching a university course entitled “Gender, Media and Development”.
Coordinating a national inter-agency campaign addressing violence against women and girls.
Presenting at international symposia including the NGO Forum, 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing.
Consulting with the Jamaica Broadcasting Commission to develop gender-aware policy guidelines.
Hosting Regional Symposia and Conferences on Gender and Communications Policy.
Coordinating national research and surveys on portrayal of violence in the media.

Whatever the outcome of Saturday, if one judges by the passion, intelligence and creativity evident among these girls, Jamaica is in good hands.

Last evening, at the residence of the Canadian High Commission, we hosted a fundraiser for Youth Opportunities Unlimited. The movie “Songs of Redemption” was screened, with the filmmaker Nando Garcia Guereta in attendance. It is the story of the Kingston penitentiary system and how music is used as a tool to help the inmates achieve rehabilitation.

It is, as you would imagine, a powerful yet also both depressing and uplifting film. We had a wonderful turnout, with the Minister of Justice Mark Golding and Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, as well as numerous other dignitaries in attendance. The Canadian High Commissioner Robert Ready and his wife Joanne Ready were instrumental in organizing and hosting the event.

We also watched a performance from Irie Souljah, a reggae artist from Spain. It was another wonderful evening under the moon and stars.

Yesterday we welcomed students and faculty from Western Carolina University in North Carolina to the offices of Youth Opportunities Unlimited. After a presentation about what YOU does, we headed down to Jacques Road in Mountain View to meet with Ann-Marie Lynch and Francena Pryce of the Jacques Road Parenting Association. They kindly took us on a tour of the small community, including the Learning Centre, which we helped to refurbish last year with the help of the Canadian Navy. We then visited with several women in their homes and chatted with people on the street.

Some of WCU’s nursing students came equipped with their cuffs to measure blood pressure so they tested some residents, and only one individual had high blood pressure. Everyone else was healthy, including a smiling elderly woman named Miss Mary. Our tour included a game of dominoes and then a quick stop at the beautifully restored Internet Cafe and the presentation of a Certificate of Appreciation for the students and faculty in honour of their visit to the community.

These students and faculty visit Jamaica every year and for the past few years, YOU has taken them around the communities we work in. It is always a lovely day and provides an opportunity for people from very different cultures who would otherwise never encounter one another to meet and talk about their lives and experiences.

It is getting lighter earlier now. I know this intimately because I get up most days just after four am to run with different groups. To get up that early, some weeks it is a grind, other weeks a delight. But after a workout? That is a different story. All these years of running, 16 years in total, I still get that rush of endorphins after a good run. And I continue to learn about myself as I face new challenges.

This morning, I ran with a group called the Jam Dammers, which is the oldest running group in Kingston. They called themselves this because they originally started running at the Mona Reservoir, which is a 2.6 kilometre loop around a reservoir in a valley in the neighbourhood near the university.

Today, we ran up a one-mile hill called Russell Heights. This was the second time I did it. The first time, I felt intimidated, so much so that I was certain I could not accompany the rest of the group the three times they regularly run up this stretch of road. But I did it. Step by step, I made it up three times.

And that changed my perspective fundamentally about myself and my limitations. I was convinced this challenge was beyond my abilities and was envisioning telling the group to go on. But whenever I feel this way, this is a cue for me to try anyway, to prove myself wrong. And I did.

I found myself under the sky that was lightening from black to royal blue, under the stars and the crescent moon, completing the third run up this mile-long, steep hill. I found myself cresting the top of the hill, breathing in the unbelievably sweet air, perfumed by the flowers planted by the wealthy residents of this neighbourhood called Cherry Gardens. It seems even the pitbulls and German Shephards pacing behind the iron-gated homes were cheering me on with their vicious snarls and barks.

And this seemingly innocuous workout has shifted my perspective about myself. I told myself I had a certain limitation, that I could not accomplish something I wanted to. And I changed the reality I had expected. There is nothing like this feeling, coupled with those powerful chemicals that swirl around after a challenging workout, to shift one’s perspective. To make one believe that more is possible than you can perceive. I am grateful today.

This is brave. In a country in which the majority of people identify as Christian or another God-fearing religion, this columnist is today telling people that the Bible isn’t a divine text.

It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction this draws. Keep in mind that this is a new columnist trying to make a name for himself.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: President Barack Obama

This is hilarious (check the link above), as in, I laughed out loud numerous times. This is a brilliant strategic move to sell the new health care initiative to the young people they are having difficulty reaching. It is not even disguised otherwise. Sort of a weird hybrid of infomercial, government press release and youtube comedy clip. Can you picture any other world leaders doing this? Enjoy!

Another adventure getting around Kingston. This morning I was finishing up a run on the University of West Indies campus. As I’ve discussed before, stray dogs are all over the city and it is quite distressing if you are a dog lover. But you must also be wary of them as they are wild and unpredictable. So I was running on the campus and all of a sudden, a sleek, rather healthy looking black and white mutt started trotting along beside me.

I was afraid it was going to nip at my heels or sink its teeth into my ankle, as has happened before, but neither occurred. Instead, it merrily ran beside me, right at my heels, for about 25 minutes. Once I got over being nervous about what it was going to do, I enjoyed the company. From time to time, it would stop to sniff something, and I thought it would lose interest, but it remained by my side. I got some strange looks from people walking on the campus, though.

In any case, I arrived at the taxi stand to get a ride back down to my apartment, the dog still by my side. I got in a taxi and it stayed right outside the door, staring at me. Literally, locking its brown eyes with mine for seconds at a time. At this point, I was devastated and about to ask the taxi driver if he would mind having a dog in his car (highly unlikely). But we started to pull away and the dog followed for a short while until we sped up. Suffice it to say, it was a heart-wrenching situation and I am tempted to go back up and find my new friend.

Our taxi, which was not yet full, then stopped at another loading area. There was already one person in the back, which can accommodate three people. All of a sudden, however, there were four quite large people trying to squeeze into the back seat. I’m not sure why this happened, as other taxis with free seats were right there. In any case, nobody seemed to mind even though they were literally squished up against one another and we were way beyond capacity.

I was impressed: a Monday morning, early, squished against complete strangers when it was completely unnecessary, and everyone was in a good mood. In fact, people started conversing about how terrible the Malaysian airlines crash was, then laughing about a dancehall artist’s plight with some immigration issues.

I then finally reached the corner near my home and exited the taxi, a path that takes me past several young men who wipe windscreens and sell fruit and newspapers. Because I run past them almost every morning, we now greet each other and I often buy fruit there. They are cordial and polite with me, but this morning, there was apparently an issue with the police. One of the young men was cussing the police. I asked him what happened and he said, “Nothing, it’s all good my friend,” and patted me on the shoulder.

Never a dull moment getting around Kingston.

Today I participated in the Kingston City Run for the second time. Last year, I ran the half-marathon but today opted for the 5k. This run is held in benefit of Kingston’s homeless population.

It was a good race, and even though it was not as big as many other races, it was still difficult to get a quick start as I manoeuvered past people at the beginning of the race. According to online race results, there were 1194 participants. I finished with a respectable time for 5.6 kilometres, which took us through King’s House (the Governor General’s residence) and through the corporate area.

At the end of the race, we gathered for some photo ops, including one with Minister of Tourism Dameon Crawford, who was a race ambassador. Another great day in Kingston!

Last night and today. Girls’ night in with snacks and drinks. And on the beach at Fort Clarence, a soccer game can and does break out anywhere and anytime in Jamaica.