Jamaica plays host to Midd social activists MALT sparks social dialogue

Author: Aifuw Ehigiator

MALT Jamaica did not start when we landed on Jamaican soil. Ever since we were chosen we recognized that we had a mission. We had much training and fundraised to a point of aggravation. We ended up in Jamaica and civic dialogue was at the core of our actions. Our leaders Angelica Towne and Lemar Clarke created four hypothetical approaches to solving Jamaica's problems, which we learned were crime, corruption, lack of unity and a negative mindset, to engage in a dialogue essentially to promote Jamaicans becoming active citizens in their communities. In conjunction with the United Nations Development Program's Civic dialogue Project, we spoke to people in economic situations, rich and poor or uptown and downtown, as Jamaicans would say. The common ground that the Jamaicans came to was that through whatever means, they hoped for a safe and prosperous Jamaica. We spoke to hundreds of high school students and in addition to the civic dialogue we took the students through a short tutorial oN how to get into college in the United States; we called it success in higher education. I learned, I felt fulfilled and I enjoyed myself. Through all of the work that we did to get there, I think I speak on behalf of everyone in MALT Jamaica when I say that it was worth it.