DeepBlueRipple International Inc.

 

The following is a list of DeepBlueRipple International Service Projects and Community Events in Jamaica, some of which have been active since 2002. CHNY, LLC is a partner organization to ours and promotes awareness and raises support for our projects through concerts, events, and travel experiences.

If you find a project that inspires you, please contact us to find out how you can lend your support.

We greatly appreciate all those who have contributed their time, energy, resources, good spirit, and funding to our ventures.

• Friends of The West End Kids Fair 

The2nd Annual Friends of the West End Kids Fair Sunday January 25th, 2009 was a fantastic success! Over 200 children attended with their parents for an afternoon of hula hooping, soccer, frisbee, painting, music, and fun! Thanks to the generosity of The SeaStar Inn and DJ's Market, we were able to afford snacks and drinks for the kids. The most popular activities this year were the hula hoop maze, the painting, and the music. CHNY musicians allowed children to try their instruments, and many harmonicas were handed out for children to take home. There were fewer organized activities than last year yet more children and community involvement....proving that less often is more! Thank you to: all volunteers, Seastar Inn & DJs Convenience Store, the Divers Village community, Natasha Wallace from Negril Escape Resort & Spa, and musicians from the following bands: Acoustic Syndicate, Snake Oil Medicine Show, Laura Reed & Deep Pocket, Josh Phillips Folk Festival, and The Overtakers. For pictures visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/melmacpink/JamaicaKidsFair#

• West Haven Children's Home for the Disabled

West Haven is located in Copse, in mountainous rural Jamaica about 1 hour from Montego Bay in Hanover Parish.

West Haven is one of the few state designated homes for mentally and physically handicapped children in Jamaica.  Almost all the children living there are wards of the state.

80 residents currently live at West Haven, ranging from ages 4-38.  Most of them spend their entire lives at West Haven once they are brought there at an average age of 3 years old.

West Haven's staff work tirelessly in understaffed conditions. A  lack of funding and resources has lead to a shortage of even basic supplies such as towels, wet wipes, and diapers.   Doctors and Dentists make regular visits but there are very few disability specialists on staff.  Organized activities, ongoing physiotherapy, and educational instruction cannot be provided due to lack of staff.  The children of West Haven desperately need therapeutic-based activities such as physical, educational, emotional, and occupational therapy; and art, music, and recreational activities accommodated to their special needs.  In addition, there is much that can be modified in the cottages and surrounding grounds of West Haven to better accommodate to the children's specialized needs, particularly to stimulate and engage the bedridden children.

On Feb 5th, 2008 a group of 26 musicians arrived in a bus at West Haven to play music and interact with the children and to begin a DeepBlueRipple International project on the healing power of music.  The visit was a tremendous success and the children of West Haven responded incredibly well to music, dance, and play.  The therapeutic value of the project was immediately apparent, as many children came alive and immersed themselves in dancing, playing percussions, singing, and simply listening.  Music was played in a general area for the children who were mobile or able to be wheeled out, and then the musicians moved minstrel-style through each housing facility and performed at the bedside of each child who was bedridden. Here is a YouTube clip of our visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f0TfRnhxSg

DeepBlueRipple International returned to West Haven the week of June 23-27, 2008 with a team of 17 consisting of disability specialists, educators, massage therapists, a chiropractor, an art therapist, musicians, caregivers, a documentary filmmaker and several young adults.  The group built relationships and created laughter through specially tailored art, music, and recreational activities that accommodated to the special needs of the West Haven kids.  The bedridden children participated in bedside art activities, bedside movement and play therapy, bedside games, received massage and chiropractic care; and were read stories and serenaded with live music. Negril Escape sent a truckload of workers from across the island to help improve the grounds.  The men hand cut a defunct sugar cane field and tripled the size of the garden, cleared a play area with a jungle gym and made it wheelchair accessible, and made various needed building repairs.  It was a huge success!  Funds from the DeepBlueRipple Westhaven Benefit went towards the purchase of vegetable seeds and fertilizer for the new garden. There was a cake & ice cream party and live Reggae Mento music by The Overtakers.  The kids of West Haven love to dance and the staff were equally as thrilled and joined in on the dance party!  Thanks to the success of our supporters we were able to leave an enormous supply of therapuetic toys, recreational games, art supplies, musical instruments, educational DVDs, CDs, books, educational materials, garden supplies, and more.  Nicholas Hunter of Hazen Hunter Photography documented the entire week and the photos can be viewed at www.westhaven.hazenhunter.com . DeepBlueRipple International, Inc. Executive Director Elana Himmelfarb took photo portraits of each child and in collaboration with the volunteer group constructed profiles on each  West Haven resident.  The profiles include their name, a portrait photo, and information on their likes & dislikes, specific needs, suggestions on what is soothing, art/music/play preferences and skills, and personality.  Visit www.westhaven.hazenhunter.com to view the portrait project. This compilation of profiles will be sent to West Haven to be available to visitors and volunteers to facilitate and encourage bonding and  relationship building with the children.  Laminated portraits will be hung over each resident's bed so the children can be called by name by visitors.  The children absolutely love photos of themselves and will be thrilled to have their personal space marked by their very own photo! The wealth of information, depth of experience, and body of work that has emerged from this service project will not only help us understand the specific needs of each individual child but will also prove instrumental in designing future projects at West Haven.  Most importantly this week forged and solidified bonds that will last a lifetime. art & music therapy, and learning to perform a more intensive needs assessment on how art, music and recreation can be used to improve the quality of the children's lives.  DeepBlueRipple International will then design art, music and play projects based on the results of this assessment.

November 3, 2008 We returned to West Haven Nov 3rd to continue working on our portrait project. All portraits have been taken and we went through them to get all the names correct before it is compiled in a book. This book will be available in the main office so that when visitors or interested parties who are considering donating come, there is a easy way for them to see all 80 children and begin to get to know the residents. We will also be hanging a portrait above each child's bed that will include a personalized profile of their likes, dislikes, personality and tips for how to connect to the child. This will make it easier when groups arrive to visit to be able to call the children by name and provide them with ways to connect to each child and form lasting relationships. While there we saw that the vegetable garden that the children subsist on was defunct. One gardener had passed away and the other gardener had broke his arm. On Nov 6th, 2008 we returned with the grounds crew from Negril Escape Resort & Spa. The men cleared the garden and readied it for planting! West Haven has a new teacher now and we met with her to get a list of needed educational materials. We also laid the ground work for our next concert and visit to West Haven during The Ripple Effect CHNY2k9 in January 2009!

CHNY2k9 Musicians Concert Thursday January 29th, 2009 Once again we returned to West Haven for music & play during Chinese New year. We had more than double the participation, with over 60 people joining us! We loaded up 2 buses to maximum capacity and more with musicians, volunteers, Jamaicans, hula hoops & musical instruments galore  for another interactive musical event at West Haven. This time both the staff and the residents knew what to expect and those who were mobile ran & rolled their way to the pavilion for a group jam. Children who wanted to join in were rolled out by volunteers & staff. Everyone once again jammed out together under the Jamaican sun. Then, the music was taken on the road and we played on the porches of each of the 5 housing units. The children who could danced along, and the bedridden children could enjoy the music from their beds as they got tlc and hugs from volunteers. Afterwards, the musicians broke into smaller groups and wandered the grounds while the kids blew bubbles, played with hula hoops, and socialized with the visitors. Among the group of locals who joined us were a handful of teenagers, which was a special treat for the teenagers at West Haven, who rarely get to meet kids their own age from the outside world. The group was having such fun we stayed and extra hour - the musicians just couldn't stop playing and nobody was going to stop them! Thanks to all volunteers, the West Haven staff, the children of West Haven, Chinese New Year volunteers, our Jamaican friends who accompanied us, and members of the following bands: Little Feat (Fred Tackett) Acoustic Syndicate, Laura Reed & Deep Pocket, Josh Phillips Folk Festival, Snake Oil Medicine Show, and The Overtakers. For pictures visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/melmacpink/JamaicaWestHavenOrphanage# For YouTube clips visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL3-m5NF9lU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfj9I4-6iXU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sMwql9DSD4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gln7rB6M3g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqqSIeghVGc

May 2009: DeepBlueRipple collaborated with Negril Escape Resort and Spa and the Roth-Stephens Wedding to create a special service project for West Haven. Candace Roth and Mel Stephens got married in Negril in May and wanted to celebrate their union by giving back to the community that hosted them. DeepBlueRipple provided a list of items needed by West Haven and Candace and Mel asked their wedding guests to bring donations. It was a huge success and a sizeable quantity of personal care items, art supplies, and play equipment were donated! Candace and Mel also donated the gas money to transport the items to West Haven and Negril Escape Resort and Spa donated the use of their Jungle Bus, which the kids love to see come driving through the gate!  In addition to donating the time and vehicle to transport the donated items, Negril Escape also donated their grounds crew for the day. Thanks to the guys' hard work the garden was once again cut back and the playground area was cut as well for better wheelchair access. DeepBlueRipple sends a big thanks to Candace Roth, Mel Stephens, their wedding guests, Donald & Carey Wallace, Mr. Allen and the groundsmen of Negril Escape.

Please contact us if you are interested in providing funding, resources, or time to this very worthy cause.

• Rusea's High School Orchestra Instrument Drive

  Principal Thompson, Mr. Lloyd Johnson, JP of Hanover Parish and DeepBlueRipple International have teamed up to help Rusea's High School attain their first student orchestra.

The drive started with a bang, with both CHNY and Feat Fan Excursion attendees donating a generous supply of quality band instruments.  On February 12, 2008 DeepBlueRipple International delivered the first installment of donated instruments: 2 flutes, 3 clarinets, 1 tenor saxophone, 1 trombone, 2 acoustic guitars, 28 recorders with instruction book, 2 trumpets, and 1 drum.  The instruments will be used for student instruction and well maintained by the Music Department at Rusea's High School.  The students were so excited to see the first wave of instruments arrive, that they spontaneously broke into a group sing-a-long of Bob Marley's One Love!

February 2009 we were able to deliver a new slew of instruments to Rusea's, thanks to our triple donation drive with CHNY, Little Feat & RatDog.  The music teacher received from us the following: 2 new acoustic guitars, a new trumpet, a new trombone, a new clarinet, a reed cleaning kit, a brass cleaning kit, and guitar instructional material. A big thanks to Music Matters and Zach Whiteis for his generous instrument donations.

DeepBlueRipple International looks forward to a continuing collaboration with The Feat Fan Excursion to complete this inspiring project.  Thank you to everyone who generously contributed!

Cultural Preservation & Pride Assembly with Ras Alan Jan 2006:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=z-cyCGl1R5I

 Devotional and School Song before assembly Jan 2006:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=eakiPOIq6cE

For a list of needed instruments, please contact us.

•  Diver's Village Girls Club

This program was developed by West End Negril resident Laura Dewar to help support, empower and inspire teenage girls in the impoverished West End Negril neighborhood informally called Divers Village.  The DVGC girls range from age 12-16 and there are approximately 30 members.  Membership is free.  Goals of the DVGC are to help young women develop self-respect, self-esteem, and empowerment through exposure to homework support, small enterprise activities, service projects, support group meetings, health information and mentorship.  The overall goal of DVGC is also to steer young women towards making positive life goals and wise life choices.

To support the Divers Village Girls Club and teach them an example of projects that can raise funds for their group, DeepBlueRipple International coordinated a pizza sale and the girls baked and delivered them to guests at Negril Escape during the week of CHNY2K8.

On February 14, 2008 DeepBlueRipple International proudly donated an enormous quantity of art and educational activities, art supplies, coloring books, recreational equipment and more to the DVGC so that they have ample resources to plan their weekly activities for the upcoming year.

On February 5th, 2009 we were once again able to donate a year's supply of arts & crafts materials for the girls for projects, activities, and fund raising crafts fairs. The club is now approximately 40 members strong!!!

The Divers Village Girls Club welcomes ongoing donations of time, resources, and funding so please contact us if you are interested.

• Tia Mandolin Project COMPLETED February 2008

Tia, 15, is a fantastically talented singer and musician whom the CHNY Gecko Family met when she was just 8.  Tia sings like a powerhouse and performs with her family's band, The Overtakers. 

At CHNY2k7 musician Mark Schimick of Larry Keel and Natural Bridge handed Tia his mandolin and without ever having played one before, she made it sing!  This generous musician collaborated with DeepBlueRipple International to raise the funds to surprise Tia with her very own mandolin on stage during a Feat Fan event at The Grand Lido on February 4, 2008 during CHNY2k8.  On March 3, 2008 DeepBlueRipple International received the final donation needed to cover the costs of Tia's mandolin.  Thanks to all the generous folks who helped make this project a success and make Tia's dream come true!

• School & Art Supplies, Books, and Backpacks

For the last six years CHNY participants have brought a child's packpack full of school supplies, art supplies, and 2 of their favorite children's books.  Thanks to the generosity of all those who stuffed their suitcases, our efforts reached hundreds of children who received much needed tools to learn and explore life.

This year the donation drop off center was located at Negril Escape Resort & Spa. To thank the staff for hosting CHNY2k8 Gecko Family Package guests, each employee received a backpack filled with books and school & art supplies for their children. A year's supply of school materials, educational materials, books, and art supplies were donated to Green Island High School and Middle School, Negril All-Ages School, and individual children who are homeschooled or in need of supplies and backpacks.

For CHNY2k9 we returned to Negril Escape Resort & Spa, who once again generously offered us storage space for donation drop off, counting, and sorting. This year the band RatDog joined our donation family. Once again each employee of Negril Escape was given a backpack filled with school supplies in thanks for their hard work and help. Donations this year included: a years supply of school & art supplies for Mt Airy All Ages School and Green Island High School, teaching materials for Mt Airy All Ages, Green Island HS and West Haven, recreational equipment (soccer balls, hula hoops, sidewalk chalk, frisbees, etc.) to Mt. Airy All Ages, musical instruments to Rusea's High School and Mt. Airy All Ages, arts & craft supplies to The Divers Village Girls Club, miscellaneous supplies (toiletries, clothing, incidentals) were disbursed throughout the Divers Village community, 25 African Cabbage Patch Dolls were handed out to neighborhood children, and over 1,000 books were handed out to children and adults in the West End of Negril.

For detailed information on the phenomenal success of the CHNY, Feat Fan, and RatDog donation drives, please contact DeepBlueRipple.

• Sustainable Community Tourism

CHNY and DeepBlueRipple International practice and support responsible and sustainable tourism.

Sustainable Tourism aims to preserve, strengthen, and promote tourism-based business practices that support the host country's economic, cultural and environmental needs.

Over the last 6 years we have forged strong ties with the community tourism based businesses in and around the West End of Negril.  We actively support, market, and guide our participants to use those local businesses that use sustainable tourism practices.

There have been several individually and group driven projects over the last six years that have supported local West End Jamaican cottage business through donations of funds & resources.

All CHNY participants received an informational packet before their trip which included extensive information on sustainable tourism and offered guidelines for responsible tourism practices

Past and present collaborations with local businesses include: Elvis and Laura's Positive Vibrations, Ras Rody's Ital Catering and Soup Stand, Felix's Serious Chicken Restaurant, Brother Boy & Gracie's cakes and hot peppers, Quinn's wicker and vegan food stand, Linden & Carline's Rough House restaurant and products, Ali's fruit stand and patties, Dimitri Rose's fire performances, Richard's paintings, Knacka's CDs, The Legendary Overtakers' music, Ann's lodging, Josephine's lodging, Alice's Restaurant, Juliet's Sharks Restuarant, Floyd's music and ground support, and many more.

• Projects in Development

Principal Thompson of Rusea's High School has requested our help in the building of a recreation center for its high school students.

  If you are interested in helping, please contact us.

• Past projects and events (2002-present)

Research study at Rusea's High School to assess High School age awareness, understanding, and perspectives of the tourism industry and tourists. 2006

Rusea's High School Assembly on Cultural Preservation and Sustainable Tourism by Libre Brousseau, with performance by musical guest Ras Alan. 2006

Backpacks, school supplies and books to Rusea's  High School, St. Paul's Middle School, and Negril All-Ages School. 2002-2007

Magnifying eyeglass drive for the elderly. 2003-present

Visited students at Rusea's Middle &  High School campuses to tour librairies & classrooms and spoke with teachers; visited student based Cultural Preservation Center; met with school administration at Rusea's to discuss resource needs and Jamaican educational issues and concerns. 2006

Children's School Shoe Drive. 2002-present

Women's Toiletries Drive. 2007-present