AdvertisementA Quiet Victory
By Chloe · Junior Correspondent · · 7 min read
Arriving in Jamaica, the three of us quickly found our favourite spot: Lethe. Stepping foot in the village, the power of the community could be felt immediately. Everybody knew each other, people casually hung out on the bumpy roads, and we felt welcomed. We made our way to the bamboo rafts, where Chris, a local who would soon become a close friend, was waiting to show us around the river. The water and trees were beautiful. Past the rafts, three local boys were already swimming down the current before climbing up to a rope swing and launching back into the water. Slightly scared, we swam over to them, and they taught us how to swing.
My friends and I travelled to Jamaica not only to experience the culture, but to understand what the island was still recovering from. Hurricane Melissa had left many families without the materials and resources they needed, and rebuilding was not simple or cheap. Once we saw the true scale of it, we partnered with LegendStar Foundation to bring donations and a little joy to the children of Lethe.
Chris was the one who brought us to Lethe Primary and Infant School. We brought footballs, training bibs, pumps, goals and basketball hoops. We greeted the principal, Mrs Allison McGhie, who was very grateful, and she explained how excited the children would be to have more to play with. We were told that children often come to the school even though they are on summer break, but I did not believe it. I was wrong. After some time, I decided to pump one of the footballs to test it out. Chris and I passed it back and forth for a few minutes when two boys with their own ball came to join us. Within minutes, there were around eight boys playing football with us. I soon realised the same boys from the river were there as well. It felt like we became a part of the flow of Lethe without it ever feeling forced.
Leaving Lethe, what stayed with me was not the beauty of the river or the excitement of the game, but how little it took to be welcomed into both. Without knowing where we were from or how long we would be there, they made room for us anyway. In a place still recovering from so much loss, that kind of unity was its own quiet victory. Now the three of us leave the country with matching hand made bracelets of black, green, yellow and red.
