In the News: Community Relations in Jamaica

U.S., Jamaica Forces Rehabilitate School
Story Number: NNS090417-06
Release Date: 4/17/2009 4:54:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Ball, Southern Partnership Station Public Affairs

DRAPERS, JAMAICA (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines from Southern Partnership Station (SPS), along with Jamaica Defense Force servicemembers and Soldiers and Marines from Beyond the Horizon 2009, spent April 17 scraping and painting a school building to prepare it for classes resuming next week.

Twenty Sailors and Marines from the SPS team departed high speed vessel Swift (HSV 2) early in the morning with brushes, water bottles and work clothes. After a short drive, they arrived at the school where they met with the other workers. Eight Soldiers and Marines from Beyond the Horizon 2009 drove from Kingston to participate. The paint was already on site so the teams cleared the building of desks and other furniture and prepared to paint.

Paint was mixed and walls were taped and soon the walls of the building were looking like new.

"During the ship's first visit here people came out and visited to see what could be done," said school principal Sandra Becca. "This building was constructed in 1951. The painters are providing a much needed face-lift."

The Drapers All Ages School teaches 196 students in grades 1-9.

Lunch was provided to the workers by school staff and was complemented by fresh mangos from a tree on the school grounds. Work was completed around four in the afternoon.

"It's always good to help people, especially young people," said Sublieutenant Anneka Thompson, a Jamaica Defense Force Coast Guard officer who has been stationed aboard Swift since the first SPS port visit to Jamaica in January. "It's important to give back and create a safe and positive environment for learning."

The school rehabilitation is the final community relation project for SPS 2008-2009. During the course of the mission SPS has completed nine projects in five countries, involving over 140 volunteers. Projects included orphanage and hospital visits, painting schools, hosting a Sea Cadet day, and refurbishing a nursing home and community basketball court. Along with community relations events, SPS delivered 27,262 pounds of Project Handclasp donations valued at over $300,000. Project Handclasp is a Navy program that uses cargo space on Navy vessels to transport donated humanitarian goods to foreign ports.

Jamaica is the 12th and final port visit for SPS 2008-2009. Other countries visited were: El Salvador, Panama, Barbados, Colombia, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of focus in the Caribbean and South America. The mission goal is primarily information sharing with navies, coast guards, and civilian services throughout the region.

The mission is coordinated through U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet (NAVSO/ 4th Fleet) with partner nations to meet their specific training requests. As the naval component command of SOUTHCOM, NAVSO's mission is to direct U.S. Naval Forces operating in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies within the maritime environment. Various operations include counter-illicit trafficking, theater security cooperation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, military-to-military interaction and bilateral and multinational training.

Fourth Fleet is the numbered fleet assigned to NAVSO, exercising operational control of assigned forces in the SOUTHCOM area of focus.

Beyond the Horizon 2009 is a humanitarian and civic assistance mission hosted by SOUTHCOM.