There are not many activities just for high school students here. There are certainly enough street dances and street parties, but not many just for the kids. So the Digicel Showdown is a great event for Kingston’s high school students. Founded by Digicel Rising Stars producer Sanjay, the competition takes place every Friday afternoon and involves a competition between disc-jockeys from different high schools. Yesterday, Kingston High emerged as the winner over Wolmer’s Boys. From the web site:

SHOWDOWN is a disc jockey competition between 16 of Jamaica’s high schools. Each school will be represented by a 2 person team and will compete against other schools for a grand prize.

SHOWDOWN Is a way to foster comraderie between schools through a friendly competition among peers. It also serves as an outlet for the youthful creativity and helps promotes and develop an art-from very integral to Jamaican culture.

16 schools total will participate. 2 schools will compete each week for a 15 week tournament.

Each week there will be 2 resident judges and one guest judge, who will also be featured as the guest disc jock of the night.

The High Schools will be competing for the grand prize of a computer lab, comprising of 15 DELL COMPUTERS for their school and $100,000JA for themselves. The Runner up will received 5 DELL COMPUTERS for their school and $50,000JA for themselves.

Basically the competition means that these brave kids get up in front of a massive crowd of their peers and freestyle, whether it is with music or DJing (as singing is called here). The crowd’s reaction is instantaneous and merciless: either the gun salute (bap, bap, bap!) or unmistakable booing. As someone who could barely function socially in high school, I admire the courage. I also admire the innovation and style these youth are able to inject into their school uniforms.

Today is International Day of the Girl, as declared by the United Nations. From the UN web site:

On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. For its second observance, this year’s Day will focus on “Innovating for Girls’ Education”.

The fulfilment of girls’ right to education is first and foremost an obligation and moral imperative. There is also overwhelming evidence that girls’ education, especially at the secondary level, is a powerful transformative force for societies and girls themselves: it is the one consistent positive determinant of practically every desired development outcome, from reductions in mortality and fertility, to poverty reduction and equitable growth, to social norm change and democratization.

On this International Day of the Girl, I urge you to watch this video of Malala Yousafzai being interviewed by Jon Stewart. She is the Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban while she attempted to go to school. Interestingly, a backlash has already started against Yousafzai, maybe because she has scored a $3 million book deal? Maybe because she defies expectations? Maybe because she is “so articulate”? In any case, she possesses an excess of courage and poise and wisdom.

Here she is talking about her desire to be a politician:

I will be a politician in my future. I want to change the future of my country and I want to make education compulsory. I hope that a day will come [when] the people of Pakistan will be free, they will have their rights, there will be peace and every girl and every boy will be going to school.

Whatever your take on Malala, there is no doubt that she can serve as a role model.

Just days after helping Jacques Road residents repair and refurbish their homework and computer centres, HMCS Preserver crew aided in an international drug bust. This news story by highly respected reporter David Pugliese ran on an Ottawa Citizen defence blog yesterday. Read it here.

According to the story, on Oct. 2, the crew assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in seizing 432 kilograms of cocaine after bags were thrown into the water by occupants of an unidentified ship. Here’s an excerpt from the story:

“I am very proud of what we accomplished,” Commander Greg Adamthwaite, Commanding Officer of HMCS Preserver, said in a statement. “It demonstrates the close relationship the sailors and air crew of the Preserver have developed with our embarked U.S. Coast Guard counterparts and the strong partnership we have with our international allies on Operation Caribbe. Our combined skills and professionalism are second to none.”

Earlier the Preserver crew was volunteering in Jamaica, as reported by the The Gleaner, a Jamaican newspaper. They were helping at the Jacques Road homework and computer centres in Mountain View, St. Andrew. Forty sailors took part in that work. The team was also supported by 19 volunteers from the international development organization, CUSO International, and the Jamaica Defence Force, the Gleaner reported.

Pictured on the right is Commander Adamthwaite, who visited Jacques Road while we worked, and the Canadian High Commissioner Robert Ready.

Yesterday at Youth Opportunities Unlimited’s office, 25 young people gathered to discuss employment. To be specific, they discussed a dire lack of employment opportunities in Jamaica. The unemployment rate for young people in Jamaica is horrific: 40 per cent, according to the latest figures, so consultations with youth are a valuable tool in uncovering the reason for such high levels.

The consultation occurred in partnership with YOU partner Cuso International, which has worked with this NGO for over a decade. (Cuso International matches YOU with professionals from Canada who possess the skills and abilities that can aid YOU in capacity building and achieving sustainability. I am currently placed there as a Communications Advisor.)

Cuso International is currently launching its new strategy, an important component of it being the inclusion of youth voices, says Country Representative Tarik Perkins. As a result, Cuso is conducting baseline surveys of inner city youth who are beneficiaries of its partnerships.

“We are trying to get a qualitative sense of what the issues are,” says Cuso advisor and Guyana native Lloyda Nicholas. Cuso’s current strategy, and the one going forward, includes three thematic areas: access to justice; participation and voice and employability and entrepreneurship.

Yesterday’s consultation drew youth from all over Kingston’s inner-city communities, including Allman Town, Arnett Gardens and Mountain View. By all accounts, the discussion was a success and provided much to be studied in terms of reasons for unemployment and lack of access to opportunities. The youth engaged in a lively discussion and talked about issues such as lack of training and financing for education.

“We are always happy to provide Cuso with voices and opinions from our young people as they try to make inroads in seeking employment,” says YOU’s Deputy Executive Director Cush Lewis.

I took this picture the other day, when we were working in Mountain View on Jacques Road. While we were supposed to keep the site “sterile,” ie not let too many people from the community onto it for security reasons, a group of children were allowed to join us. (The presence of the Canadian High Commissioner necessitated a certain amount of unavoidable security protocol.)

They eagerly took up the paintbrushes and stuck with the task for a a good while, despite the hot sun. They worked alongside the Navy personnel, who really seemed to enjoy this company. As usual, I could not stop taking pictures the entire day, especially the children with paintbrushes and dove-grey paint on their faces. Some of the parents got a little antsy about the paint and we had to get some kerosene or turpentine (not sure which one) and wipe it off of them. One of the little boys also got a huge swipe of paint on my knee and he insisted on finding a rag and wiping it off.

Just a little snapshot of an amazing day for you. This particular picture has stuck with me because of the sweet affection between these boys. Enjoy your day.

Transit officials are today cracking down on “party buses,” otherwise known as coasters, or officially, as public passenger vehicles. It is about time, as there are way too many accidents and fatalities. These buses are generally packed beyond capacity and the drivers careen about with impunity. They are fast and cheap, however, thus the appeal.

Until recently, I was unaware of the phenomenon of “party buses,” which apparently drive around with high school students. These students are shielded by tinted windows and enjoy loud music and whatever activities they want to partake in that would not receive approval from guardians or parents. From today’s article:

“Yes, this is true. We have been getting the reports that these rogue operators are using their vehicles to keep these wild parties and targeting vulnerable students to engage in a number of illegal activities,” Lewis had told the Observer.

He said the seizure of a “party” bus drove home the point that the crackdown on tinted buses is justified.

“The clampdown on buses with tints and sound systems is important, if we are to maintain law and order in the transportation sector,” said Lewis.

So it is indeed about time that authorities bring down the law on these PPVs. I do hope, however, that they don’t take away the loud music. I have grown partial to it, as well as the experience in general. Yes, sometimes it can be extremely trying on the senses when you are packed in, sweating, afraid to look out the window as you barrel down a highly congested street. But overall, I do love the coasters for their efficiency, price and the sensory overload, at least most days. (If you are so inclined, you can read all about my coaster experiences here.)

We visited Jaques Road today to see the finished project. New windows, doors, paint, shelves, the garden is now ready, and the container is now wired for 20 computers. Everything looks beautiful, like a new building. There are a few tasks to finish up, which will happen tomorrow, Jovan of the Youth Club informs me. We are working on a formal thank you to the Royal Canadian Navy and the High Commissioner, stay tuned!