Nine College of Education students and I will be traveling to Jamaica in November to teach in the local schools. This week is part of the Jamaica Education Study Abroad program offered by SPC. We will be volunteering with Great Shape, Inc., an American non-profit organization that supports people in Jamaica in a variety of ways.
Taking your own classroom to Study Abroad Jamaica
The students and I gathered school supplies to support our teaching while we are in Jamaica. The supply list, provided by Great Shape, Inc., is long, but it provides enough supplies for an entire classroom. After we use the supplies, whatever is left will remain there for the students to use. Fortunately, in coordination with the Center for International Programs, we were able to hold a school supply drive during the first week of school to offset the cost of purchasing supplies for the students traveling to Jamaica. If you donated supplies, thank you very much!
Getting the supplies to Jamaica could be a challenge. There are two ways to do that: either carry them in your suitcase or ship them. Carrying them is not really an option because it could be difficult to explain to customs officials why you’re carrying a small suitcase of school supplies into the country. So, shipping them is really the only option. But this is a little more complicated than shipping presents to family via UPS.
The boxes have to be sturdy – they travel in a container on a ship from Miami to Jamaica. The contents have to be inventoried – everything that is in the box, and its value, must be noted on a list which is included in the box. The boxes have to be sealed and labeled clearly to ensure they arrive intact and at the right place. The entire inventory list must be sent to Great Shape, Inc. to clear our supplies through customs in Jamaica.
So we had a Study Abroad Jamaica supply packing party. Everyone brought their supplies, and I added supplies that had been donated from the supply drive. With Jamaican music playing in the background, we sorted crayons, pencils, glue sticks, construction paper, etc. into piles, then we started packing. Two students, Jenn and Nicole, were responsible for typing up the inventory. The rest of the students, Eric, Jennifer, Michelle, Brittany, Viola, Alyssa and Natalie, packed boxes while I taped and labeled. Professor Jennifer Fernandez and Professor Anne Ryan, both excited about the Jamaica Education study abroad trip, helped us pack for a while – thank you both! Two hours later, the inventory was done. We were ready to start loading the supplies into my car for the trip to the shipping company in Miami. Look for more about our trip in November!
“The children’s smiles are beautiful, their hugs are genuine, and their hearts are open. They are ready for you to love them; oh, and to teach them too!” – Melissa C., Jamaica 2015 SPC student (read more here. )
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