The group will work in an early childhood center and the squatter community of Ferry.
Six student leaders in Baylor’s Community Service program departed from campus on March 11 for the annual community service trip to Kingston, Jamaica, where they worked in an early childhood center and the squatter community of Ferry.
Anna Stoddard, Avery Glover, Eloise Adams, Mia Perdomo, Olivia Williams, and Yulissa Gerard were selected for this year's Jamaica Servant Leadership Trip, which is funded by the school and led by Community Service Director Takisha Haynie, and Assistant Director Keela Jackson.
Students who are selected for the Jamaica trip stay in the Immaculate Conception Convent, and travel to the community of Ferry to 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 with disabilities.
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. Typically, the duffel bags are filled with more than 100 backpacks containing school supplies for children in Ferry.
Baylor senior Alisha Chandra, who participated in the trip last spring, said building relationships with people in Kingston 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."
Jamaica Trippers load up the orange duffle bags filled with school supplies for children in Ferry.