Community Service Reflection Number 3
Community Service Reflection Number 3
Community Service Reflection Number 3
As I have considered this institution to render my service there are certain expectations that have
crossed my mind seen that I have to assist girls between the ages of 18 - 30 who basically failed
high school due to different reasons , however being at this institution for two months and a few
days there are some issues that I have witnessed during my placement and I will now guide you
throughout my essay as to some of these issues that I have come across, also being primary
witnessed to these issues I have quickly recognized that to some extent it would reflect problems
that are prevalent in the wider Jamaican society today. I will also enlightened you as to what
impact I think these problems will have on our ability as Jamaicans to achieve the goals laid out
in vision 2030. However seen that the issues were something that I have witnessed I will
therefore outlined the possible solutions that could be used to iron out these problems.
When I just started volunteering at this institution I was basically assigned to everyone seeing
that seeing that the batch of students aren’t a lot. However being at this institution assisting these
girls in becoming prominent woman of society there are some problems that I have witnessed
with this set of students, the problems that have jumped out to me are as follows, the dialect
spoken by the students is strictly basilect, ‘straight Jamaican patois’, this has resulted in poor
writing skills when the girls are given writing tasks such as letters to do. Additionally their
insolence is something quite unappealing; the way they address their teachers with little or no
respect , causes me to sometimes wonder why did I choose this institution to offer my service,
but in the end everything happens for a reason. Despite being rude majority of the times, the
potential that these girls possess is quite evident, but is somehow locked away under all of their
ill-mannered ways. This somewhat impenetrable husk of bad attitude makes the job of getting
information across to them a whole lot harder. Correspmdingly paired with their insolence is
their ignorance of basic concepts of the English language and Mathematics. The level Maths and
English being taught to them is of the grade 7 level but yet still the capacity to grasp these
concepts is still lacking by some of the girls in the class. Because of this one topic has to be
repeated consecutively before they fully grasp a understanding of the concept. Hence the growth
that was predicted to be reached at this point in the academic year hasn’t being met.
To what extent did these problems that I have witnessed in my placement reflect
problems prevalent in the wider Jamaican society? Well Volunteerism at the Good Hope Partners
opened my eyes to a new phenomenon in the education system where student’s bad attitudes
form a learning blockage preventing them from learning what they need to. This was evident in
this set of students at the Good Hope Partners institution. Their approach to education are
contrary with that of the wider Jamaican students were more focus towards their school work are
evident in their exam results. A situation of this nature mirrors the wider society of Jamaica
where a set of girls tend to detour from the route of education and indulge in wrong doings while
on the other hand some are furthering their education to empower themselves. As a result a
barrier is created towards achieving the Vision 2030 goal of empowerment. Education is a form
of empowerment and clearly some girls of the society are oblivious. The goal of empowerment is
a contributing factor to Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.
This desired status will forever be out of our reach due to the fact that majority of young females
The thought came to me that I had to make a change as this was the main reason for
carrying out the act volunteerism so I decided to have a conversation with the class. As we spoke
it was revealed to me that these girls had dreams and aspiration of becoming competent citizens
of Jamaica but their self-confidence is lacking hence they manifest their thoughts through
insolence. Without a doubt these girls have the potential to excel, but first thinking positively and
seeing their paths to success are quite mandatory in changing their current status. Therefore
words of encouragement was given. At the same time positives of education were revealed in
order to indicate that education is useful in making their dreams a reality. After the conversation
their attitudes change for the best although there are still challenges in their level of
Sometimes volunteerism will not always be smooth sailing and it is up to the volunteers
to not throw in the towel. If it is a case where people are the beneficiaries of the service
especially those from volatile communities the situation will be challenging. Therefore
volunteers should always remember their purpose and with faith and dedication the outcome
shall be positive and the Vision 2030 plan without a doubt will be a reality.
REFLECTION #3
ID#: 1402673
SEMESTER: 1