Jamaican Youth Reach Out to Hurricane Victims

The foundation has long provided job training, tutoring, schooling and recreational activities to youths who too often turn to crime. But one program that combines education and entertainment stands out.

A member of a Jamaican youth marching band helps unload relief goods. Photo by CRS staff

The marching band was founded in 1992 and has 45 members, young men and women ranging in age from 13 to 37. Band members learn to play their instruments and perform uplifting music for the elderly and shut-ins at Christmas and Easter. The band also organizes peace marches in communities that struggle with gang wars. Through their music, the band works to bring people together.

"We try to lead by example," says Kenroy Brackeridge, 24, one of the band's founding members. Kenroy explains that in communities divided by gangs, the band seeks to encourage membership from all areas of the community. "All members have to understand that the band is neutral and will go to all sides" of the community, he says.

Nowhere was the band's commitment to the community more visible than in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean.

Compassion for Others

As the powerful Category 4 storm blew over the island, ripping off roofs and washing away roads, band members braved the wind and rain to help residents. Together, they secured metal roofing sheets with rocks and cinder blocks to try to prevent roofs from being ripped off by the winds.

Since the hurricane, Kenroy and Dwayne Swaby, 17, have continued to volunteer their time to support relief efforts. They began by helping to identify the most vulnerable families in their community and distributing plastic sheeting to those that experienced damage to their homes. Beyond their own community, Kenroy and Dwayne have continued to provide support, volunteering their time to count, load, unload and distribute CRS emergency relief items around the parishes of St Andrew's and St Catherine's.

Their hurricane relief efforts took Kenroy and Dwayne to the community of Old Harbor Bay in St. Catherine's, where they encountered homes severely damaged or completely destroyed, significantly worse than any damage they had seen in their own community. Moved by this experience, they are now planning to organize a band concert in Old Harbor Bay. They also plan to bring school supplies for the children that have lost everything to the hurricane.

Holly Inurreta is CRS' regional technical advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean. She is based in Ecuador.