March 3, 2024 - Week 6
This week began with the local government election day (Feb 26), where streets and telegraph poles were decorated with green or orange and the odd yellow. As volunteers (to remain neutral) we were told not to wear these two colors, not that I had any orange or green clothes...unless you count the Green Dot (IYKYK).
These two colors divided the nation, per news reporters, most Jamaicans voted based on colours rather than the policy or who the candidates were. Case in point, the PM Andrew Holness was asked to change out of his JLP-branded green shirt as he advanced to vote.
These colors were Orange (representing PNP - founded by Norman Manley, after whom the airport is named) and Green (representing JLP - incumbent Federal Government Party and founded by Alexander Bustamante who interestingly appears on the JMD 1,000 bill together with Norman Manley). All employees are entitled to three hours during work hours to go and vote (interestingly, the regulation is absent as to whether an employee is entitled to the three hours even if they end up choosing not to vote); after voting, Jamaicans had their fingers stamped in ink to prevent them from voting again.
In case you were interested, at the time of writing, they still have not finished finalizing the votes...Carribean time indeed.
Following Election Day was a closing ceremony for Abilities Foundation's group of ladies graduating from the "Strategic Engagement of Rural Women with Disabilities Project" funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. All hands were on deck to prepare for this ceremony where the High Commissioner of Canada in Jamaica Emina Tudakovic and the Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr would be present.
I was dressed in my best formal clothes and of course, my first task was to help stake a peg into the ground with a hammer to hang the giant Global Affair Canada flag, then my skills were tested as I helped to wrap vegetable baskets (where the vegetables were grown by the school). We managed to finish wrapping the baskets a few minutes before they had to be presented to the HC and Minster - phew... hopefully they did not realize how jaggedly cut the wrapping paper was or how we didn't cut enough wrapping paper to cover one of the baskets!
To finish off the school week, I had my inaugural piano lesson with the students. Again I thought I had my lesson covered on the diversity side, but forgot that one of the students had a visual impairment and had to learn by touch and not sight e.g. how to find Middle C and how wide the keys were to facilitate her playing.
PS - I was also recruited to be a client for the Beauty Class and had my nails painted by a student. And as one teacher commented, my nails looked nicer from afar than up close - I guess that student has some work to catch up on!
