Division 24:

Members from the Kiwanis Club of Brown's Town, St. Ann greeted Governor Gary and Julia with a Canadian flag and a welcoming roadside display.

Xaymaca North-East, Jamaica

With our successful midwinter meetings behind us we were driven from Montego Bay (Division 25) west to meet Lieutenant Governor Tracy de Montagnac and her leadership team in Division 24. This largely rural division is home to the birth place of reggae superstar Bob Marley and eight active Kiwanis clubs. The clubs pride themselves on service projects that range from road-side beautification and much-needed bus shelters to actively supporting Basic Schools (i.e., community run Nursery Schools) SLP and the Mustard Seed Community.

We began with a visit to the Kiwanis Club of Brown's Town, St. Ann. President Jacqueline Shirley and members of her club greeted us by their "highway beautification project".

The Kiwanis Club of Brown's Town believes in Marketing All they Do. Here, President Jacqueline demonstrates that she is MAD by showing off the Town's entry sign.

The club plants flowers and paints decorative rocks to help welcome visitors. A little way down the road they erected a permanent welcome sign that promotes Kiwanis every bit as much as promoting Brown's Town. This is a club that believes in Marketing All that they Do.

Jamaica is a country without the social infrastructure that we, in Canada, take for granted. Our communities have reasonably well-financed schools, day-care and nursery schools. In Jamaica, they do not. Churches and service clubs, such as Kiwanis, have come to the rescue by providing community centres, senior homes and basic schools. Without the work of Kiwanis (and like organizations) these facilities would simply cease to exist.

A number of Jamaican Kiwanis clubs fund raise for, and actively support basic schools. These are community run, one-room schools that often house between 40 and 50 youngsters before they are old enough to enter the public system. The Kiwanis clubs of Division 24 are no exception.

The Liberty Valley Basic School.	Lieutenant Governor Tracy and Governor Gary with the students of the Liberty Valley Basic School. We visited the Liberty Valley Basic School. Julia's ease with the students and teaching ability was quickly put to the test. She first read a short story to them in the Kiwanis "reading room", and then taught them several songs.
The kids enjoyed it and the teachers got a well-deserved break. The youngsters repaid her efforts by creating a Kiwanis "Thank you Sign" which they proudly displayed in the school yard.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Discovery Bay show Governor Gary the park-like setting that they helped create.

The Kiwanis Club of Discovery Bay, along with President Julia Edwards chose to show us their beautification project. In addition to purchasing the plants and decorative rocks, members take care of the garden welcoming students to the Brown's Town Technical Training College.

The following day we visited the Kiwanians of St. Georges - Buff Bay. Here, President George Williams and members of his club greeted us warmly as we entered their community. We visited a basic school that the club had recently added a much needed kitchen to. Colourfully painted in Kiwanis colours, it was already being well-used. The club was located high in the mountainous hills that once were home to the Jamaican Maroons.

Lieutenant Governor Tracy, Governor Gary and Julia are warmly greeted by President George and members of the Kiwanis Club of St. Georges-Buff Bay.

The Maroons were runaway slaves who fought the British during the 18th century. During the long years of slavery the Maroons built free communities in these interior mountains, thus maintaining their freedom and their independence.

The British were unable to defeat these Jamaican freedom fighters and in 1740, after the first Maroon war, signed a treaty that promised they could maintain their way of life. Unfortunately, fifty-five years later a second war broke out. This one, now fought with 100 Cuban dogs and 5,000 British troops destroyed most of the Maroon settlements. A second treaty was signed promising that they could maintain their homes. Dispute this, just one year later many were deported first to Canada and then to Sierra Leone.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of St. Mary erected a bus shelter and painted it in true Kiwanis colours.

We visited the Kiwanis club or St. Mary who chose a busy corner near their hospital to erect and paint a bus shelter. The shelter provides cooling shade on a hot day, dry comfort on a raining day and great Kiwanis promotion every day!

In Ocho Rios, we visited the Key Club of the Ocho Rios Primary School. School Principal, and Kiwanis Past President Herman Grant led the school in a leadership ceremony.

Lieutenant Governor Tracy and Past President Herman Grant exchange mementoes at the Ocho Rios Primary School.

We visit the Mansfield Heights Basic School and then journeyed to the nearby Mustard Seed Community. Here, clubs in both Division 24 and Division 23 West work hard to help the young people in this Catholic Church run facility. Kiwanians paint buildings and help feed and cloth the young.

The day that we visited marked the unveiling of the new Kiwanis water tank. A huge blue tank stores and collects much needed water that will be used for cooking, washing and irrigation.

Our Kiwanis K proudly marks the tank as another great achievement of the men and women who volunteer their time to help make a better world, one child and one community at a time.

Governor Gary Levine and Kiwanians from Division 24 finish applying our Kiwanis logo to the new water tank at the Mustard Seed Community.

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