Have books, will travel to... Jamaica

Travel to your favorite vacation destination with books for a children's library and create memories that you will never forget...

I have been traveling to Jamaica since 1996. After each visit, feeling as though I should be doing more than just taking a few pairs of shoes, clothing & toys for my Jamaican friends. I prayed to God about doing more for the children of Jamaica.
One day I was reading my favorite Jamaica website, Negril.com, and came across a post stating donations of books was needed for a library project for a church in Alma, JA.
Thank you Jesus! This project was an answer from God because at the time, I was an after-school reading & math program director. And I had access to free children's books from a local book warehouse.
After an email to the post writer and a few phone calls to Pastor I. Gordon of the Wesleyan Church, my daughter, Briana, and I were booked on a flight to JA to meet with the Pastor. The pastor informed me of her vision of remodeling an extra room in the church into a reading center. Her vision began when 2 twelve year old boys came to her for help. They dropped out of school because they couldn't read well enough to pass the high school entrance exam. The Pastor called the Jamaica Board of Education, she didn't get into the details of the conversation but, I get that she was asked to solicit help from people to start a 'reading' center for the children in the community. Also, the Pastor informed me of other issues that plagued the community besides illiteracy - poverty, teenage pregnancy and incest.
The extra room in the church is approximately 8x10 with one window; it needed a door, light/ceiling fan, flooring, painting, shelving, a computer, desk and books.
Pastor Gordon didn't know the cost to complete the library but I estimated about $800-$1000US.
The Pastor's future plans are to add a 2nd story to the church to use as the sanctuary & use the 1st floor as the reading center. She has one teacher & others to assist her with teaching the children/youth. During my visit, I noticed 3 other rooms located behind the sanctuary: an office, a kitchen (not completed) & a restroom (not completed). So, with that in mind, I went on a mission to raise money to complete the library and possibly the other rooms of the church.
I returned to Jamaica a few months later with a teacher friend of mine,
Yolanda Williams, 100 pounds of books and a few hundred dollars to complete the reading center/library. At the DFW Airport, Yolanda & I loaded the suitcases filled books onto the airline terminal scales and one of the suitcases weighed 25 lbs and the other 85 lbs. I just knew that we would be charged the 'excess luggage' fee but the ticket agent only asked what was in the suitcase because it "weighs a ton", she stated. We said 'just books' and left it at that. We arrived at the Sangster Intl. Airport in Montego Bay late in the evening, shift change for the customs dept. The customs agent didn't inspect the suitcases, she just asked where we were staying in Negril (Travellers Beach Resort) and what was in the suitcases. Again, our response was 'just books'. We considered getting through the two airports without having to pay any fees a blessing & conformation from God of His approval of this project.
With the assistance of our taxi driver, Joseph Powell, we delivered the children's books and Bibles to the Church. We measured the room for the bookshelves, decided on the room layout & drove to the hardware store for the materials. The church and community workers began immediately on painting the walls & constructing the shelving for the Library.
Upon our departure, the workers were completing the book shelves, painting the room, laying the ceramic floor tile and making plans to install the ceiling fan. I called the Pastor back a few weeks after my departure and was informed that the library was completed, shelved with books and being enjoyed by the community.
As a result, this project has inspired me to create M.E.R.C.Y. Projects, Inc.
"Making Excellent Readers of Children & Youth". A non-profit organization
whose goal is to promote a lifelong habit of learning and a love of reading to achieve excellence in children and youth.