New Year, New Faces

New Year, New Faces

ACE is always changing! That is to be expected when people are involved in the lives of others, and this year will be no different in Jamaica.

Remember our own Anthony, the beekeeper? Well, Anthony is all grown up, out of school for the moment (he graduated), and he lives with his sister in nearby Hampstead. Always ready to learn a new skill, Anthony works with one of our men who repairs our pumps at the farm and makes a nice living. But what about the bees and the honey he left behind?

Introducing Romario, our new beekeeper! Romario was just beginning to start his own beehives in the Bonney Gate community, close to where Pastor Kermit lives. As Anthony was transitioning to a full-time job outside of ACE, he and Romario started working together at the Campus. While Anthony has the long-term training, thanks to local and foreign volunteers, Romario has learned to breed queen bees at lightning speed. We’ve been told by Mr. Haywood the Bee Master that this is quite a skill to do as the production of honey triples.

All we know is more bees means more honey and more honey means more sweetness pouring out of ACE! The business of bees continues for another passionate young man, and we already see him buzzing with success!

Thank you, David and Valerie, for donating the extractor. We have it set up in the Campus living room looking like a new piece of furniture. You get the first bottle we will harvest this spring.

This is what Changing Lives is all about for ACE. We are so proud of these young men growing up and pursuing their passion, learning new skills, and always changing for the better. And thank YOU for supporting our honey business. It’s just sooo sweet!

Click image below to scroll through photo gallery

 

School and AVC Progress Report

School and AVC Progress Report

Are the students attending school in Jamaica? We get this question a lot these days as most of the families in the States are dealing with the same back-and-forth issues. The answer is: it depends.

Each school is making its own decision on whether to be in session, and, in addition, the Board of Education has mandated all students be vaccinated to attend.  In the world of ACE in St. Mary, like in the US, there are those who are unable or unwilling to abide by that rule. Families are trying different options, such as online schooling. Last year, ACE implemented the ACE Virtual Classroom (AVC), where we provided space, devices and help for larger groups of children to connect to their classrooms online. We’ve since reorganized this into smaller tutoring sessions with a better staff-child ratio for more productive learning. The tablets generously donated for AVC are still being put to great use by our students and educators.

(Click image below to scroll though gallery)

All of these learning options – in-person school, online learning, AVC, tutoring – present pros and cons as they (and we) maneuver through this “new normal.” ACE, as the physical arm of our sponsors, is assisting these students in several ways. The most important place to start, as always, is with the health and wellness of these growing students. We’ve mentioned many times on social media and in newsletters how your donations have enabled us to continue to feed and care for our sponsored families, but it doesn’t hurt to remind you – and thank you – again! This past year, ACE was very busy every quarter delivering toiletries and food to the many families that had absolutely nothing. That also included some of our staff who had more mouths than they had funds to feed them.

ACE Jamaica has had numerous conversations with professional teachers and educators from St. Mary as well as other parts of Jamaica to figure out the best way to work through what this past year of school closings, delayed learning and general frustration has done to our students. ACE called on every sponsored family to survey what was their greatest need as schools reopened. Hands down, the feedback was, “Help us with books!” Since many students are still not attending in person, we switched gears from uniforms and shoes (which were still new from last year, should a student need them) to books and supplies. The Ministry of Education was slow in deciding per grade what books each family should purchase, with many changes happening daily, so by the time we knew the curriculum, we were pressed for time. D’Vaun and Althia set out on a mission to locate and purchase hundreds of books before school began.

What a great job they did! Books were coming from everywhere – Kingston, Ocho Rios, private bookshops. In addition, parents expressed a need for workbooks for their children to write in. Hundreds of workbooks, textbooks and reading books filled our boxes and shelves, and our staff worked tirelessly to resource every book possible for the students.

ACE requires each parent to purchase at least one book (and, in some cases, two books) for their child as a buy-in. As challenging as it may be, there has to be that participation (or as we call in the States, “skin in the game”) to show we are all in this together. Playing an active role in their children’s education, these parents feel empowered and the students feel supported.

As the families came for their books, it was almost like a homecoming; everyone was all smiles and excited for a new school year, in whatever form it was! It always feels good to be part of transforming not only our communities, but our families – and especially the children — even in little ways.

ACE Micro-Business: A Vision of Success

ACE Micro-Business: A Vision of Success

How can a not-for-profit invest in for-profit businesses?

This is a question that comes up from time to time when our readers see the impressive businesses popping up through the ACE ministry in St. Mary. ACE calls them micro-businesses as they are small and only have between two and five Jamaicans working together to produce a product that can be turned into income for their families to live. The best way to answer a question like this is to go back to the beginning of ACE three decades ago and understand how we, as a non-profit, started having an impact in Jamaica.

 

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

The ACE focus back then was to meet the needs of the Jamaican Nationals in our area who appeared to be in poor health, mostly uneducated, unemployed, and, for a lack of a better word, lost. In order to treat the whole person, it was important to bring in professionals to assist in wellness treatment and prevention to strengthen the body as well as to provide educational tutoring and literacy training to strengthen the mind. ACE began to seek volunteers – both local and in the U.S. and Canada – to lend their talents and expertise to our community in these areas. This worked out great through the early 90’s and 2000’s.

So many of our families began to thrive from just feeling good, both physically and mentally. Children began attending school with confidence and performing well. ACE started small groups and book clubs for parents. Volunteers hosted Vacation Bible School weeks in the summer for students and our Men and Women Conferences for adults in the winter months to focus on the other building block of health: spiritual health.  Once people’s bodies were stronger and their minds sharper, they began to hear and comprehend that God loves everyone and has a purpose for their lives. They could see the changes being made in their lives, thanks to our staff and volunteers working through Him.

(Click image to scroll through Health & Well-being Gallery)

EMPLOYMENT

As our community began to mature, it became obvious that there was very little employment for a young adult or family provider. Many times, a family member would leave the country for years to work abroad in the States so they could send money home for the rest of the family members unable to work or find jobs. The separation of fathers and mothers from their children was devastating on the family dynamic. In addition, just when many young adults were gaining the confidence from their educational and spiritual growth, they felt discouraged at the dead end of job opportunities, seeing their dreams fading into the sunset.

That’s when ACE realized that part of the success of sustainability had to include a sustained economy. For ACE, this means we began to create and incubate a business from local resources, involving teaching, training, and building a product that would be appealing to customers and lucrative for buyers and sellers in the local market of produce, agriculture, or eco-tourism.

(Click image to scroll through Employment Gallery)

JOB TRAINING

One way we achieved this was through our generous ACE donors giving their time and treasure. We began to build an ACE network of “owners” who work and help create business that depends on other businesses developed within the ACE network locally. It sounds like circle talk but it really is a working economy using all the skills sets of our ACE non-profit and putting them towards profitable companies for families once the businesses can sustain themselves. And, in doing this, we are not laundering funds or side-stepping the rules of a 501(c)3. We are doing what every ministry in the 21st century should be doing: seeking to be a self-sustaining outreach program that can survive any hardship, like this current COVID experience.

(Click image to scroll through Job Training Gallery)

GALINA BREEZE HOTEL

A great example of this strategy is our Galina Breeze Hotel. Prior to 2005, ACE was paying a different hotel to house our volunteers when they came to serve with our ministry. As the story unfolds in our ACE book, The Mango Tree Gospel, God literally “gave” us an old hotel (called Trade Winds, now Galina Breeze) that required lots of work. Speed forward 16 years: the hotel (pre-COVID) employed 33 local Jamaican adults who were trained by ACE in all areas of hospitality and food management. While a non-profit provided the funds to purchase the building, the funds also hired and trained these families that had no work to be sustainable. These employees could now feed their children, afford better housing, attend their church, and eat well all while being a part of building a better community. Had it not been for ACE and our donors, the hotel might have been bought by someone else and not had the success we have enjoyed and continue to share with our volunteers today.

(Click image to scroll through Galine Breeze Gallery)

FARMING AND LIVESTOCK

Another example is our Green Life Llanrumney Farm. The hotel needed to buy food for the volunteers who come to stay. Instead of buying food from the supermarket (which we still do in part), we created smaller businesses for food production to prepare our meals at Galina Breeze. Chickens, pigs, vegetables, and fruits now come from the farm we established! Our community families work hard, learning to grow food they have never tasted before, all because of the many volunteers – the same volunteers who will eat the food at the hotel – coming down over the years to train and educate them on agriculture, farming and livestock care. In the process, relationships were built and small businesses were born. ACE calls this micro-business.

(Click image to scroll through Farming & Livestock Gallery)

We could go on and on, but the bottom line is when a non-profit focuses on the total picture of human need (mental, physical and spiritual), earning a living is part of that picture. And this is how we do it. Once ACE creates and trains, the time comes where the employees are able to sustain themselves and their business…and economy happens naturally.

Most importantly, it’s at this point, after years of personal investment, that we have earned the right to have those eternal discussions (or what ACE would call the God conversations) so everyone knows the why for all that we do. The Kingdom of Heaven is real and not just a story; our goal is to help others get there by providing opportunities to live good, honest lives, use their God-given talents, and become the best version of themselves for His sake. Through our micro-businesses and outreach programs, we feel God’s love reaching down and touching the tiniest souls in our little area of Jamaica.

Thank you for not only investing in our not-for-profit but for the many lives you have personally touched for profit.

(click to scroll through image gallery)

Marla’s Minute: Finally, a Breath of Fresh Air!

Marla’s Minute: Finally, a Breath of Fresh Air!

It’s been a breath of fresh air this summer with so many volunteers! There is just something about seeing people you admire and love buying into the same vision that God has been giving us for 30 plus years.

We love the photos of friends smiling, especially when we are in them! Allen and I personally needed to experience this summer with everyone to confirm we are all still in this wonderful journey of ACE together! It’s been a good month, a good year so far; thank you for believing in ACE all this time.

We are praying those who haven’t come down will visit us soon. After next week, we don’t have anyone scheduled to visit us for a while and we could sure use your help. We miss you! We have lots of needs that keep us from moving forward until have helping hands on the ground. We hope to see you in St Mary soon. Look at your schedule and make time for us between now and December. ACE can’t work alone. It takes teamwork to make the dream work!

(Click image to scroll through photo gallery)

Families & Friends

Families & Friends

July tends to be a very dry and hot month in Jamaica. This year is no different. However, as friends and families begin to come back down to serve with us, we only feel the warmth of returning (and new) friends everywhere!  We – your ACE family on the ground – are so happy to see you all.

A few of our recent volunteers were so kind to tell us some of their favorite parts about their trip, and we hope this will encourage more friends (old and new!) to plan a trip to St. Mary!

Graduation, VBS, and Sponsorship

Graduation, VBS, and Sponsorship

It’s mid-summer, and while that may not seem like Spring to you, we have felt the subtle changes that normally come with the new growth the season of Spring offers.  You’ve heard of Christmas in July? Well, we had Spring in Summer!

Spring is normally the time for graduation. Instead, Covid pushed things a little. This month, ACE was invited to attend one of the primary school’s 6th grade graduations. We had helped provide funds to build a stage inside their general assembly room where graduation was held.

Marla arrived in time to witness the Enfield Primary’s Class of 2020 walking in their caps and gowns into the hall to receive their diplomas. As each student, all 23 of them, walked into the hall, they had a spring in their step that let everyone know this wasn’t the end; it was just the beginning for them, moving into the next season of their education and life.

For the younger kids in our program, ACE held its first VBS since 2019 and a first at our new facility at Green Life Llanrumney Farms. Each sponsored child that attended came alive as our college volunteers reminded them they are loved and highly favored by God. The theme this year was “Destination Dig” and that’s exactly what happened – our students dug into the Bible, their faith and God’s love for them through activities, songs, and stories! The verse of the week was “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

The Big Finish event for VBS was taking our students on a hike to the historic Ruins on our property where they got to see “old digs” and how ACE was revitalizing the old into the new. Students loved it! We even had a farm moment where the children got to love on horses, donkeys and cows, and even a few puppies! Many of them had never seen such large animals before or experienced the signs of life on a farm!

This summer brought us all the renewed faith and hope of spring, having our volunteers back as our sponsored children experienced new adventures, and we look forward to the changes and new growth yet to come.

(Click image to scroll through gallery)