I am writing this reflection with many mixed emotions; very happy to have positively impacted the Newtown Community, yet extremely sad that this particularly great learning experience has come to an end. Through every journey we take, we make mistakes, and I have definitely learnt a lot from the mistakes made on this Dominica trip, and, without doubt, I'll try to correct the mistakes I've made throughout the course of this project for the projects to come.
CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) is a core element of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and every student is required to complete it in order to be eligible for the IB Diploma. Throughout this CAS journey which will span 18 months, there are several learning outcomes to be met which include: developing new skills, engaging in issues of global importance, identify one's strengths and weaknesses, as well as working collaboratively with others. During this Dominica Project, we worked towards meeting those CAS learning outcomes.
The Dominica project was initially conceived by St. Dominic High School CAS coordinator Mrs. Saakshi Daryani, and later on the organization and planning was taken on by the SDHS IB Class of 2017. The idea of this came about after Dominica was struck by Tropical Storm Erika on 27 August, 2015. Having collectively identified the strengths and weaknesses of our classmates, we were able to delegate tasks accordingly to plan a trip to Dominica for October 2015.
At this point, I felt I could offer my skill as a communicator and reach out to a service club in Dominica to assist us in finding an area which required our assistance. I contacted The International Wanderer to no avail. Everyone’s hopes were high, thinking that we'd travel in October. As time progressed, around late September, we realized, as a team of 17 students, that the funds weren't being raised as rapidly as we hoped. We were not going to reach our goal by October.
After realizing it wasn't possible anymore, many individuals started to believe our project was superficial and unachievable. In turn we got a lot of criticism and many individuals on the team were unmotivated, refused to continue working towards 'making it happen'. From this experience, I learned the importance of being realistic at the start of a project.
The few students who still believed, ensured that this was still a team project. I learned that, as a team, regardless of how well the tasks are delegated, we must be able to adjust and do things we aren't necessarily instructed to do in order to grow. Perseverance is very important in these situations. It is important to never let anything hold you back, and I always heard persons say this, but it was one of the first times I've experienced it firsthand. Like in the case of the well known football team Real Madrid, there are moments when their star striker, Cristiano Ronaldo, is unable to convert for the team, but the other players take on his role to make sure that the end goal of the team is achieved – winning the game. For example, I observed a severe decline in the sales of the Straight Outta St. Maarten tee shirts, and took it upon myself to market the tee shirts on Facebook although I was never part of the Marketing committee. I saw that understanding, cooperation, adaptation, and selflessness are key elements which can be incorporated in collaborative projects. Without considering the 4 elements mentioned, our team wouldn't have been able to make this trip a reality.
This ten month journey was not a smooth one. Time after time we received criticism and what was most important is that we used the criticism to overcome the bottlenecks in this project. We persevered and were able to motivate others to do the same. That was an important lesson learned.
As we came to finalizing the project, we were in constant communication with the Rotary Club of Dominica. Once again, we encountered a communication mishap – the Rotarians identified us as Interactors (youth forum of Rotary) instead of IB Diploma Programme students from St. Dominic High School. This however didn't prevent us from achieving our objective – offering our service to the community of Dominica.
The intended duration for the trip in Dominica was 7 nights and 8 days; however, we examined the ethical implications of this and minimized the number of days to 5 nights and six days. How could our fundraising efforts best serve and meet the needs of the community in Dominica? It would have been selfish of us to spend a further $600 per day on food and accommodations rather than spending it for the purpose of the trip. By shortening the trip, we saved $1200 which enabled us to purchase school supplies for the Charlotte Nursery School. The IB Learner profile trait ‘caring’ states that an IB learner strives to “have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.”
Upon arrival in Dominica, we were cordially greeted by board members of the Rotary Club of Dominica; Rotarians Mr. Frampton, Mr. Wyke, and Mr. Haynes. The warm welcome to Dominica was just the beginning of greater feelings to come. Throughout our visit in Dominica, the Rotarians were our family. Every journey and every new experience we embarked upon on while we were in Dominica was well taken care of by the Rotarians. That gave us a significant feeling of relief considering we were unfamiliar with Dominica.
The refurbishment of the Charlotte Nursery School was initially expected to last three full days; however, through the synergy and collaborative work of both teams, the sanding and varnishing of benches, scraping and painting of the interior walls, washing and cleaning of the outside walls, replacing the flooring, painting of chalk boards was completed in less than two days. While the amount of work completed by the team was immense, I learned at least one important skill, i.e., oil paint does not come off your hands with water! I was able to develop new skills through this project and am grateful to have taken part in such a once in a lifetime experience.
Thinking back on the first day, after only completing four hours of work at Charlotte Nursery School, I was drained; my arms were aching; I was exhausted. The rest of the team wanted to fall asleep, but keeping in mind that we had a goal to accomplish, we set it all aside, finished our lunch break and forged through. We thought of our fellow classmates and teachers who were back in St. Maarten, and the children of the nursery school who were long awaiting the completion of this project. The smiles on the children's face when they entered their new classroom, let us know that our perseverance is an important quality. We took pictures throughout the project so those who helped us get to Dominica could experience the joy and satisfaction as well.
The school principal, Mrs. Bertrand, said Christmas had come in June. While the rounds of applause filled the classroom upon presentation of the school supplies, the smiles of the little children, filled our hearts with joy. The feeling was very rewarding. Knowing that we undertook a new challenge to make a signature project successful was something that taught me to keep my head held high, and face every new project with confidence.
The appreciation which we were shown for our efforts shall be etched in our minds for a lifetime. I believe that what we have done is so little, yet in turn we received so much from them - the appreciation, the love, the generosity, the hospitality, and above all, the memories. The trip has definitely taught me to be very grateful for all that I have. Maybe in the past I wasn't grateful because I didn't know the value of what I possessed.
During the trip we did a lot more as well in terms of new experiences such as visit Morne Bruce, bathe in hot springs and mud baths at Ti Kwen Cho, go whale watching, tour the botanical garden, visit the St. Martin Secondary School; however, the work we did at the nursery school was the most notable. I also acquired a significant amount of knowledge about Dominica through interactions with residents, Rotarians, and everyone who came along our way. I'm thankful for being part of the IB Diploma Programme for giving me this opportunity - the opportunity to learn what it takes to be well rounded.
During our trip back to St. Maarten, we made many new friends along the way. My “Dominican” accent had Diane from London engrossed in everything I said. We met her at Canefield Airport, and by the time she departed the plane in Antigua, we knew each other better than I know some of my neighbor's. I also befriended Narry from Winair- Dominica. I had asked him to contact ATC in Antigua to see if they could bring sandwiches on board for passengers to compensate for Winair leaving 90 minutes past its scheduled departure time from Canefield. Carlito from Brazil was another friend made on the way from Antigua to St. Kitts. He was a sales representative for a tile company. He represents his company all around the Caribbean and is looking forward to visiting me in St. Maarten some day. Meeting new people and befriending them so simply was all a part of the journey. Being open minded and willing to communicate is key in one’s journey to becoming a global citizen.
This of course does not end here. I look forward to building a long term relationship with service clubs around St. Maarten and Dominica. There is more we can do. The entire project from the start to finish was an unforgettable experience etched in the minds and hearts of many.
Thank you St Dominic High. Thank you IB. Thank you CAS. Thank you to everyone who made this experience possible. I have traveled a lot further than Dominica.
- Siddharth Jethwani
Edited by: M. Richardson
St Dominic High School
LB Scott Road # 209
Reward, St. Maarten
1 721 548 4277
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