Jamaican ambassador to the United States (US) Anthony Johnson, speaking to guests at his residence recently, outlined the economic problems faced by small Caribbean states and suggested that closer collaboration in the business area was one of the major solutions.

The occasion was a lively reception to celebrate American-sponsored community development projects in Bluefields. The English-Speaking Union of Washington, using monies from the Gunst Foundation, funds a free hot lunch programme for Bluefields Basic School. Additionally, Bluefields Bay Villas (Westmoreland), a small luxury resort, takes money from each guest's fees for other good works in the area.

show of appreciation

Ambassador Johnson told his 100 guests, mostly English-Speaking Union members or tourists who had stayed at Bluefields Bay Villas, how much Jamaica appreciated their generosity and how important their contribution was to the betterment of the country. Guests imbibed Jamaican rum punch, served as tropical frozen drinks, and enjoyed Jamaican smoked marlin, ackee and salt fish, callaloo and salt fish, jerked chicken wings and more.

The event was funded by sponsors Deborah and Braxton Moncure, owners of Bluefields Bay Villas and long-time supporters of Jamaican tourism. The ambassador thanked the Moncure family for its investment in Bluefields and for its charitable contributions. He noted that three hurricanes in the last five years as well as the current recession had caused major financial problems in Jamaica, but assured his listeners that the Government had programmes that could solve them.

Guests also viewed photographs and heard the recent achievements of the Bluefields Bay Villas community fund. This fund covers shortfalls in teacher salaries and other needs of Bluefields Basic School, pays for an anti-litter campaign to keep Bluefields Bay beautiful, recently completed an architect-designed community skip to finally provide Belmont residents with a place to dispose of their trash, and is now building modern bathrooms for the Mearnsville All-Age School. The school has had only pit latrines with no sinks for its more than 200 students. Expertise in building a proper septic pit and tiled drain field for this project came from Peace Corps volunteers Scott and Carrie Eklund, both trained engineers.

heart-warming

Deborah Moncure, an architect as well as a hotelier, designed these community projects on a pro bono basis. "I really look forward," she said, "to the completion and opening of these modern school bathrooms in a few more months. And I find it heart-warming to learn that a government official is considering using my community skip design as a prototype in other areas." The younger generation of Moncures, Houston and Rachel, were born in Jamaica, have held Jamaican passports since birth, and are involved in Bluefields Bay Villas and its local good works too.