Jamaica

Imagine communities in Kingston's inner city, where playgrounds vibrate with the happy laughter of little children, where community murals display the creative talents of area youths and where classrooms have comfortable reading corners, complete with colourful picture books for children to explore. These are just some of the projects Chichibud Ltd., an educational NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) has been working on in the four years since its inception.

Chichibud Ltd. is dedicated to providing Jamaicans of all ages, but particularly primary school aged children, with opportunities to play, read and explore their history and culture.

The name Chichibud is taken from an old folksong and it's logo of a baby bird in mid-flight, hints at the promise of things to come.

To date, Chichibud Ltd. has organized:

• Cultural history projects, in the form of mobile exhibits and teaching kits, in conjunction with the Institute of Jamaica and the MOEYC.
• Inner-city community public art mural projects, through it's "Painting it Right" Project.
• Annual "Soul Power" summer camps and educational field trips for inner-city children.
• A School Supplies Project that provides material on a bi-annual basis to inner-city basic schools.
• A Hospital Activity Cart project that provides yearly donations of toys and books to children's wards.
• A"Read Jamaica" Initiative that has resulted in the creation of reading corners in over 150 inner city basic schools, through grants and book drives. Reading workshops for teachers are currently being planned.
• A partnership with the Friends Of The Jamaica Library Service, Novelty Trading Co. and the JUTC, to send groups of children from children's homes to a monthly library story hour where they receive comic books to take home.
• Bereavement counseling workshops for inner-city guidance counselors and teachers.

Chichibud Ltd.'s Core Principles:

• All children deserve respect.
• Play is a valuable learning tool.
• Learning can occur in different ways.
• Learning can be fun.

For more information on Chichibud Ltd. please contact Rebecca Tortello at rtortello@hotmail.com or visit their website at http://www.chichibud.org