Courts For Kids Blog: Jamaica
07/10/19 | O Heroes
UO student-athletes recount their trip in June to build a sports court for a small community in rural Jamaica.
Keira McCarrell of the Oregon track and field program and men's golfer Kevin Geniza recount their experience on the athletic department's annual Courts for Kids trip, to Jamaica in late June.
Kevin: Everyone who went on this trip can agree: We signed up to build a court to impact and transform the people, the kids, and a community. But we definitely experienced the flip side of that, because we were transformed by the bonds we created among the Jamaicans.
Day 1 (June 14-15): Overnight travel from Eugene to Montego Bay
Keira: We landed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in the early morning. Groggy and starving we were greeted by our Courts for Kids leader and a Peace Corps representative with our first Jamaican treat: patties! A delicious flaky, handheld pie filled with spicy beef to get us going for a four-hour bus ride.
Kevin: The bus ride up was crazy. The road did not have a dividing line, and was almost as narrow as the width of our bus – but there was traffic the other direction, too! The bus driver expertly maneuvered though the slim passages, scratch-free, all the while generously using the horn, which was straight out of the Roadrunner cartoon: "Meep meep!" After a couple hours of adrenaline-packed driving, we finally made it to Ritchies Primary School, the site of the soon-to-be constructed multi-purpose court. The men and women unloaded and settled into our separate living quarters for the week. We reconvened outside the primary school, where we met Mr. Chanteloo, who was playing music on loud speakers. We had a fun little dance party with some local kids to break the ice. After a long travel day, we tried our best to settle in and get some rest.
Keira: Exhausted and tired, we went to sleep with mosquito nets above us, impatiently waiting for our first day.
24 Ducks took an unforgettable trip to Jamaica. Check out the video and article below! #ducksdogood #morethananathlete #GoDucks https://t.co/Gz7aMWbTNq pic.twitter.com/uRikbo3nW5
— O Heroes (@oheroes) July 10, 2019
Day 2: Getting to know the locals, and getting to work
Kevin: We attended a service at Ritchies Moravian Church, where we were welcomed warmly.
Keira: We were greeted with smiles and warm hugs, and we were encouraged to greet one another after the singing part of the worship. There are no instruments involved in the worship part of the service, just a tambourine and a wide variety of voices. My cheeks hurt from smiling because of all of the hugs and greetings from the locals.
Then we began our first shift laying the concrete sports court.
Kevin: The morning session consisted of us continuing to level the court by digging out larger rocks and filling in holes where we needed to. We took a break to enjoy a home cooked Jamaican meal. The rest of the day was spent laying cement forms.
Keira: All of the locals showed up in their normal clothes to get dirty with us. Pouring concrete seemed like something that was casual for them. I was so surprised with how well our group worked together and we all pulled our weight and kept things moving.
After work, we came up for our first big dinner: curry chicken, rice and cucumbers. We also had a coconut tart and sugar cane. I met so many new people and saw many girls from the church service in their beautiful church outfits. The revelation from our first full day that resonated with me was: "Jamaicans treat time as something that happens, whereas we treat time that is something that is ours."
Kevin: That night we gathered together to sing in the classroom under the lead of Julia (Eshet) while she sang and played guitar. The vibes are already unbelievable, and tonight showed how music is a bridge between cultures, and a universal language.
Day 3: The spirit of local kids uplifts weary Ducks
Kevin: This was a tougher day as we started filling in the cement sections left in between the cement forms laid down the day before. This required more teamwork, and more hands on deck. We were blessed to have such an uplifting community alongside us. Many locals with ages ranging from 12 to 60-plus years old volunteered to the cause.
Keira: We stopped at midday for a lunch of chicken and rice, which was watched by kids looking on from their classroom windows. When I went to talk to a few and asked them their names, before I knew it there were 30 or more kids all around me, telling me what they wanted to be when they grew up – doctors, pediatricians, policeman, fire-fighters to name a few. So many wanted to be teachers so they could provide a good education. Then we played outside for a long time, and I raced a bunch of kids; that seemed to help when we went back to the court after lunchtime, keeping the same energy to get more of the court done.
Kevin: Needless to say, we were all getting our good night's sleep that night! By the end of the day, we had only three cement rows left to fill. Afterwards, our shower water was not working at the school, so the locals brought us down to this swimming spot, which they called a river. It was more like a small pond, but it was really refreshing and much needed to clean ourselves off.
Day 4: Finishing the foundation
Keira: In the morning, we had fried fish cakes and bread fruit. I was more sore than ever, and when we went to work it was super hard, but we pounded out the court to finish up the base layer before lunch. We had "bola and cheese" for a snack that day, which was canned cheese and a gingerbread cookie smashed together – which may not sound very appetizing, but it was actually really good. We went back to work after lunch but ran out of gravel, and we had to wait to see if we could finish the court.
Kevin: We knew we were nearing the finish line of the most physical labor on the trip. Thinking about the kids getting to play on the finished court is what got all of us through! An extra order of gravel arrived in the early evening, and we were able to get the last needed load of cement in the rows.
Keira: We barely pulled it off before it became dark! It was phenomenal to see everyone work so fast to fix things after we were behind schedule. At the end of the day we had a "tour of Jamaica," where they showed us artifacts from their history and community, and then we had our own private concert from the locals. They performed with drums and guitars and singing, and invited us to sing and dance as well. This brought out a side of people in our group that I have never seen, and it felt so refreshing to be around people who want to be here and want to get to know you. This trip has made me feel like I can make new friends anywhere, and meet new people. If you're around people who want to get to know you, then it makes your time better.
Day 5: The court is completed
Kevin: We put up the welded soccer goals/basketball hoops, which took FOREVER, as did the smoothing of the last layer of cement over the court to proof the cement. These jobs were specialized so not everyone was able to help with the finishing touches, as too much traffic on the court led to backtracks.
Keira: This is probably the day that seemed to take the most coordinating, as it was harder to make sure things were done correctly. We always are careful to never offend those we are here to work with and help, and so it took some delicate maneuvering today to make sure things were done the right way, and without offending anyone. Once we were able to figure the communication piece out, we got in a groove, and the tasks flew by.
I ended up being sick on this day, and although it took a lot out of me, I felt a huge sense of team accomplishment when it was done.
Kevin: After the work, we had another home-cooked meal and joined another dance party with the locals. Dance is another form of universal language, and it definitely bonded us with the Ritchies community.
Day 6: Fast work results in a free day
Keira: Today I woke up feeling a lot better. For breakfast we had salt fish and plantains, and bananas with fruit. Then right after breakfast Mrs. Potts invited me into the kitchen to help cook lunch for the school kids. I helped her make lunch for us as well as the school kids. The chefs were so friendly, and were overall very surprised with my kitchen skills, and could tell that I cooked frequently at home. I made sure to use their surprise to sweet talk a few recipes out of them, including one for fried plantains.
One small detail from today that I thought was really important was, when I was in the kitchen and the head chef was preparing lunch for us, he cut up a tomato to look like a flower. We never got to see the tomato; it wasn't placed on our plate, it went immediately into the pot for cooking. But people here care so much about us that they even added a small unnoticeable detail in the preparation. I want to take that kind of idea home with me.
Kevin: We took a hike to visit the host family of our Peace Corps volunteer, Hannah. Mr. G and Mrs. G showed us so much love and welcomed us with open arms to rest and hang out at their place for a couple hours. We then hiked down to a small convenience store and got some goodies, including some sugar cane ice cream: YUM. Then we got back and practiced for our talent show. Shout out to the FrontStreet Boys for killing "I Want It That Way." There is so much love and respect here. Everywhere you go, you wave and say hi, and it is the same way right back at you.
Day 7: The fruits of their labor
Kevin: Today was to be opening ceremonies of the court! We began the day teaching PE classes and reading to the kids. All of which were exhausting but so rewarding! Their smiles were IT.
Keira: Then later that day, we had Opening Ceremonies, where the community, as well as their family members, all lined up to talk to us. I found out that Omar McLeod, the star hurdler, had gone to Ritchies primary school, and I met his mother. The track world is so small!
Kevin: In the afternoon, we officially handed over the court to the kids and the Ritchies community, and played many games on it. Later that night, another dance party late into the evening.
Keira: This was the last day that we saw many of the kids, as they said goodbye and ran around playing with all the basketballs. We wrapped up our day with one last meeting at Ritchies primary school.
Day 8: Work done, it's time to play
Kevin: We said our good-byes in the morning to our friends in Ritchies and made our way down the mountain.
Keira: We began our bus ride to the airport, but first headed a different direction so we could go to YS falls. YS Falls are these massive waterfalls that we hiked up into, a very touristy area. They had a rope swing that almost all of us jumped off of. After we hiked up into the falls, we went to the pools that were located below them.
Kevin: We then drove to Hotel Gloria in Montego Bay for the night, since we were flying out the next day. Many of us ate cheeseburgers for dinner, while a few went the exotic route.
Keira: Once we got to our hotel, we were all very excited to have dinner at Usain Bolt's restaurant. I had the jerk chicken platter, which was delicious. Then after that we had our longest reflection yet where we expressed why we thought we were meant to be on this trip and then gave shout outs to other members of the group. It was amazing to hear what people had to say about the trip, and each other.
Kevin: That night we bonded over our stories and our experience there and truly can say they we are super tight!
Day 9: Time to go home, but first …
Keira: We spent the day at the beach snorkeling and playing on blow up trampolines in the ocean. Lastly, we visited local shops and headed to the airport and said goodbye to the beautiful island of Jamaica. We got to the airport and some of us got our phones back. It was amazing to finally tell my family all the amazing stories.
Kevin: Thank you U of O and Courts for Kids and all of the Jamaicans that made us feel welcome. They showed us how to love strangers unconditionally and to live more with less. To keep it simple and cherish the relationships with humans around us. Happiness comes from within, and being as disconnected from the distraction of technology as the locals, and having faith that everything will work out in the end, confirmed that. We are forever grateful for this!
