Great Huts: Day 2

Great Huts is amazing! The scenery is beautiful here, and it feels like we are right in the jungle!

Scenery at Great Huts

     Today, we all woke up and met for breakfast. Some of us got to experience a real Jamaican breakfast that included dumplings, yam and salt fish! The Great Huts team met in the morning and had the opportunity to meet with two staff members to discuss their experiences working at Great Huts. We obtained handfuls of valuable information that we are using to analyze the situation and help improve customer experiences at Great Huts. 

Interviews in the Great Huts lounge

     After we debriefed and discussed the information we had obtained, we decided to hit the pool and the beach! We discovered a crab in the pool and had the opportunity to get pictures with it! 

Crab in the pool

     We got to take a break and go swimming at Boston Beach, which was rich blue and sandy. Lisa and myself took goggles and flippers out into the ocean to answer our question about what lies beneath the bright blue water we see. 

Boston Bay Beach

     Finally, we met with the last member of management to obtain some more information before getting a bite to eat at dinner.  We got some more interesting information from her and we will be examining it tonight to see what our next steps are. Check back tomorrow to find out what we are up to!

A day at the PRM

February 18 2014

Today the Portland Rehabilitation Management (PRM) centre was visited, by the partition of the group focusing on this project, for the first time. The group arrived at the centre and met Tabby, a volunteer of the centre who introduced us to a client that provided a tour. The facility is located in Port Antonio, Jamaica, on the side of a hill and has a phenomenal view of the ocean. The PRM has a male dorm, a community room, a female dorm, and two office spaces. There are painted murals on all of the walls that make the facility very bright and vibrant. Clients maintain a vegetable garden with a variety of delicious, organic, and nutritional foods that the centre uses to make meals with. Additionally, there is a chicken coupe that can house up to 100 birds. The centre sells the eggs that the chicken's lay and will sell the meat at the local market.

Tabby and the client who provided us with the tour were able to answer the majority of the questions we had about the operations and goals of the PRM. We gained a ton of valuable information that will make our recommendations for the centre that much stronger.

Working at the PRM centre with Tabby.

Coincidentally during our visit, representatives from the British High Commissioner, Diaspora Support Network, and Jamaica Diaspora Network were present. They were investigating the opportunity of investing in a bee keeping project at the centre that could be a revenue generator. We were able to talk to all of these individuals and gain additional information that will be very helpful. The centre's website designer also made an appearance, which proved to be very valuable as we are recommending many website and social media alterations.

With the British High Commissioner. Back: Shelby, Alex, BHC, Tabby, Kerry Lynn, Caitlyn, BHC. Front: Corey

Finally, all of the us on the trip brought with us items that the rehabilitation centre could use. Items such as tooth brushes, hair products, and cleaning supplies were delivered to the PRM. The staff were very pleased to see this and thanked us for our generous donations.

Items donated to the PRM from the iLead Jamaica 2014 team.

Today proved to be a very busy and productive time for us all. We are looking forward to completing our work and assisting in implementing many new structures that the PRM can benefit from. The group is very confident we will be able to help in making a tremendous difference in the lives of the clients who use the centre!

More to come!