Sometimes the children in Accompong Town seem more like young adults than children and that is mainly due to a sense of discipline and purpose you don’t find in other areas of Jamaica. A good deal of time in their curriculum is spent on social preparation to be responsible adults as many will not pass the test to go on with advanced education after graduation.
When the doors opened at 5:00pm, an amazing 15 students showed up for the project. Regular school ends at 4:00pm and the children had to go home, eat and change out of school uniforms. We were soon to learn that many students went to school in Maggotty and Elderslie and could not make it to the school until 6:00 or later. One boy had to walk over 6 miles to make the class one day after missing a taxi.
The object of the classes was to teach painting techniques and to inspire creativity but also just to have fun doing it.
Tayshan Wright, a Maroon artisan, directed the classroom and helped keep order and provided assistance when needed.
The older children also assisted the younger students in preparing their drawings to be transferred to the slab of Blue Mahoe after preparing the surface for painting.
The children helped to prepare the surface to be painted by applying a coating of primer.
With all the pieces primed and drying, Tayshan helped the students finish their drawings to be painted on the wood.
Saturday was the final day of classes for the first group of students. Eleven students out of the original 15 students completed the project on that day. The pieces were left out to dry before preparing the reverse side for adding the information about the student who painted the piece and coating the finished product to bring out the grain and color of the wood.
One proud artist displays her creation at the end of the class.
The first of 3 classes was complete. The pieces would now go on display at the school before sending them to the contributors and placing the remained on sale during the Celebration on the 6th of January 2013. All proceeds from that sale will be used to pay for school taxi fares to Maggotty and Elderslie for the remainder of the school year. Any donations will be put to good use.
Peace and Guidance
