Mission of Mercy, 2006 Hanover College President's Report
Posted with premission from Hanover College

A goup of 20 Hanover students and 10 professionals went for the school's fifth trip to Jamaica in Spring of 2006

On Sunday, they attended a local catholic mass and then toured a clinic in Bull Savannah and met with patients. During the week half of the group worked at a main clinic with Dr. Carol and the other half taught first aid at a teacher's college (they prepared lessons before theyu went on the trip).   Wednesday they  traveled to a Children's Home and took the children to a beach for the day.  Thursday and Friday they  travelled to another clinic located in Maggoty. 

While at the clinics they had various jobs.  Some were able to shadow physicians or dentist while other people took vital signs of patients, ran patients to different areas of the clinic, played with children, and worked in the pharmacy.   

Jamaica

Picture courtesy of CIA World Factbook

Background:  Jamaica is located in the Caribbean, the capital is Kingston and English is spoken throughout.  Before the island was taken over by Spain it was inhabited by native Taino Indians, which were eventually replaced by African slaves.  In1655, England gained control of Jamaica.  After briefly being part of the Federation of the West Indies in1958, the island gained full independence in 1962.

Since the 70s, Jamaica has experienced violence from drug trade and money laundering and is now has the third highest murder rate in the world.  Unemployment continues to be a problem and AIDS infection rate is increasing.  The main exports from Jamaica are aluminum, rum, bananas, sugar and garments.  The currency is the Jamaican dollar. 

Socio-economic Statistics (USA comparison in parenthesis):
Population:  2,758,124 (USA 298,444,215)
GDP per capita (Intl $, 2004):  4,330 (USA 39,901)
Unemployment rate:  11.5% (USA 5.1%)
Population below poverty line:  19.1% (USA 12%)
Average economic aid per year (recipient):  18.5 million received (USA 6.9 billion donated worldwide)
  
Health Statistics:
Infant mortality rate:  15.98 deaths/1,000 live births (USA 6.43/1,000)
Life expectancy at birth (m/f):  72/75 years (USA 75/80)
Total fertility rate:  2.41 children born/woman (USA 2.09/woman)
HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate:  1.2% (USA 0.6%)
HIV/AIDS – people living with:  22,000 (USA 950,000)
Total health expenditure per capita (Intl $, 2003):  216 (USA 5,711)
Physicians:  1 physician/1,225 people (USA 1/380)

Government:
Type:  Constitutional parliamentary democracy
Chief of State:  Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Kenneth O. Hall (since 15 February 2006)
Head of Government:  Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller (since 30 March 2006)
Elections:  No elections for executive branch; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister. The governor general appoints either the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives as prime minister.
Military:  Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing

Climate:  The Jamaican climate is tropical with the average temperature in winter being 77 degrees F and summer being 82 degrees F.  The rainy seasons are May and also August through October.

Recommended Vaccinations:
Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Malaria, Rabies, Typhoid, and Yellow Fever. 
For more information regarding travel to Jamaica visit the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website.

Recommended Reading: 
Book of Jamaica, by Russell Banks.

Walk Good: Travels to Negril, Jamaica, by Roland Reimer.

The Rough Guide to Jamaica 3, by Rough Guides.

Lonely Planet Jamaica, by Michael Read.

References and Links to More Information on Jamaica:
USAID Website
CIA World Factbook
World Health Organization
US Embassy in Jamaica

Jamaican News:
Jamaica Gleaner
Jamaica Observer
Topix
Jamaica Sunrise

Background and History of Jamaica:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Jamaicans.com
The World Bank
The British Broadcasting Corporation