photo by Baylor School
Six student leaders in Baylor’s Community Service program were selected to travel to Kingston, Jamaica over spring break where they worked in an early childhood center and the squatter community of Ferry.
An important component of the Jamaica Trip are the large duffel bags, which are loaded with school supplies and transported to Kingston for children who live in Ferry. "This year we brought 100 backpacks full of school supplies so the children in Ferry are well prepared for school," said junior Meghan Royal.
Each year, students stay in the Immaculate Conception Convent, and travel to the community of Ferry and visit children and staff at the Ferry Basic School. Other stops included a visit to an art studio and the Home for the Aged in Trenchtown and Bethany Village, a community that provides care and housing for people who have disabilities.
Baylor junior Alisha Chandra said building relationships with people even in a short amount of time was an impactful experience. "I think how easy it is to make a true human connection if you just take the time to really get to know someone. For me, I think I was able to establish so many genuine relationships with people in such a short time, even on the last day, just because I took maybe five minutes to get to know them, actually interact with them, learn about them, and write my phone number on a piece of paper for them."
"Part of Baylor's mission statement is to make a positive difference in the world ...and that is reflected in our trip because our whole aspect going over there was a servant leadership trip," added Meghan. "We're not just going over to Jamaica to have fun. We're there to help serve the people of Jamaica and help make them happy by going to school, giving them the tool of education and making that difference."
This year's Jamaica Trippers were (front row, from left) juniors Isabelle Cox, Tova Ajayi, Alisha Chandra, Oona Cruikshank, and chaperone Donna Marie Siegel ’14; (middle row, from left) chaperone Keelah Jackson, and juniors Meghan Royal and Grace Simmons; (back row, from left) chaperones Sergeant Wise ’14, Joli Anderson, and Takisha Haynie.
photo by Baylor School