Fusion Caribbean Update June 2007
Many of you may have been wondering what has been happening with Fusion in Jamaica over the last few months, because none of the usual newsletters have been sent out so far this year.
Well, as you will learn from this short update; that is not because there hasn’t been anything happening, it has more been a case of very few free moments to write a newsletter. So this is the first of our new (shorter) monthly updates to try and keep you more regularly up to date with our news.
We hope you enjoy.
The year so far
 The year began with a visit from Mal Garvin (Fusion’s Founder/President) who was in Jamaica both to meet his newest granddaughter; Zoë, and also for a well-earned break. During his time here however, he did fit in a breakfast with church leaders to make people aware of the Cricket World Cup outreach that Fusion would be involved in and a training day for people wanting to learn new ways to make a positive impact on their local communities.
Shortly after Mal left, Ashley Hansen arrived from Canada, to work with the local team for the following 18 months, especially being there to fill the gap as David, Liz and Zoë Campbell prepared to leave Jamaica to do training in Australia for nine months from May 2007 to January 2008.
When Ashley arrived her first job was to help prepare for the “Journey to Freedom” Pilgrimage. Volunteers would soon come from other areas of Jamaica, as well as Canada and Australia, to use the Cricket World Cup as an opportunity for sharing Fusion’s models of community work with new communities, and strengthening the existing work. Well I am not sure how we did it with such a small local team, but throughout the World Cup we worked in five communities across Jamaica to put on 20 community festivals, with over 9,000 people attending. There are many stories that could be told from this time, but this newsletter will report more on more recent work. If you have not heard any news from the Pilgrimage and would like to then please contact us.
Growth in Trench Town
 Following the Festivals in Trench Town during the World Cup and then Easter, our volunteer team grew and some of those people have now become very involved with the work. We began training volunteers for a Kids
Club so that we could be making weekly contact with the children from the festivals. This is a report from Ashley after the first “Thursdays at 3” which took place on May 31st:
"Kids Club went great! Yay! Most of us got there around 2 and started setting up...eventually the whole team was there setting up and then we briefed. At first there were only 4 kids, but after a little while and a couple of us going out and chatting with kids we ended up with about 25 I think...plus the team. So it was a really good start. I MC'ed and Kenny did music, Kevon did the wide games outside and then I did the theme presentation which they enjoyed - well done Liz! Then they spent some time in small groups which they said went well. The kids responded to the questions and then they all got into the craft. They almost didn't seem like the same kids we see at the festivals... :) So we told them they could invite a friend and to take a permission form home to get their parents to sign and come back next week. When it was over they just sat there - weren't in a rush to leave which was nice. I think the team is looking forward to next week!"
 As well as this the basketball clubs in Majesty Gardens and Trench Town are still going. We have new coaches in Trench Town, and they have work to do because there was a match on May 19th and the Trench Town team came 2nd … (Yes – they lost). However, in spite of this it was a great day and when we held the discussion time to talk about values for both basketball and life there was a lively discussion and some great response from the young guys.
 This links in with our day trips, where we make further contact with the young people from the Festivals and Basketball club. The last day trip was in April, with the usual games and team challenges. When we showed the slide show at the end of the day all the young people wanted to see it again, following which we asked them how the day was and it was the most enthusiastic and positive response we have seen from them yet! Four young people made decisions for Christ, and Day Trips are now scheduled for every month as of June.
See more pictures online.
New communities
  Also since the Cricket World Cup we have been following up the work started in Central Village (Spanish Town) and John’s Hall (Montego Bay). Both of these communities held Easter Festivals and are planning towards a Festival at Emancipation Day (August 1st). In Central Village we had a “Friends of Fusion” evening to outline some of the other programmes we would like to support them in offering the community, and as a result young people from Central Village will be coming on the next day trip, and volunteers will be coming to observe the kids club in Trench Town, in order to start one in Central Village in the coming months. Another community we had never planned to start working in is Marverley. People from a church there came on the Pilgrimage, and just wanted to see the same work in their own community, so we worked with them to put on a three-day festival at the end of April which grew each day and really helped the community come together in a refreshing way. The local volunteers are already working in the schools, and we are working out other programmes that we can work with them to offer. Once again, young people from this community will be coming on the next day trip.
Conclusion
 The day that David and Liz left Jamaica we held a team retreat, before the whole team going to the airport with them to see them off. As people were reflecting on the contribution that Fusion had made one young guy said:
“We always used to sit in church praying for the community to change, but I used to think that it was just a prayer that sounded good. Nobody seemed to be trying to make a difference, and I never though there would really be any change. Now it is like we know how we can make a difference and the community is responding more than I ever thought it would. With Fusion we are really changing the community!”
Please pray for
- The kids’ club as it gets established
- Funding for the day trip on June 30th
- The violence that still affects all the young people in the communities we are working in
- The volunteers in Central Village, Marverley and John’s Hall as we seek to support emerging work in those areas
See more pictures online.
Information and support
If you would like to receive information about how you can support the work of Fusion Caribbean either in prayer, by lending a hand, by telling others about us or financially then please contact us.
Tel: + 876 967 4738
ashley.hansen@fusion.org.au 7 Swallowfield Close, Kingston 5, Jamaica, West Indies. |
