The 2012 trip price is $1,450 per team member.
Deadlines:
$100 per team member deposit due immediately
$700 per team member due 90 days before the trip departure
$650 per team member due 10 days before the trip departure
Airfare
Ground Transportation in Jamaica
Food
Lodging
Construction supplies
Wages paid to Jamaican workers
Hotel stay in Ocho Rios
Price excludes: Entrance to Dunn's River Falls, meals during travel days, and short-term mission insurance.
U.S. citizens need only a valid U.S. Passport. Non-U.S. citizens need a valid Passport from your country of birth and Jamaican Visa (if necessary from your country of birth). For more information about U.S. passports, you can go to the U.S. State Department website.
Won By One To Jamaica also requires that each team members completes and notarizes a Participation Form which is distributed through the group leader.
Each participant must have a short-term mission insurance policy. The proof of that policy needs to be attached to the above-mentioned Participation Form. We recommend using www.missionaryhealth.net/wonbyonetojamaica to purchase a low-cost, comprehensive policy.
Won By One To Jamaica requires that team members have up-to-date Tetanus.
Hepatitis "A" vaccination is recommended.
Harmons is a remote mountain village of 3,000 people in south central Jamaica. It is a three hour drive from Montego Bay and 45 minutes from Mandeville. At the end of the week, the team spends one night in the popular north coast resort city of Ocho Rios.
Harmons is an impoverished community with around 75% unemployment. Because of expense and its remote location, education past the 8th grade is very difficult. Quality medical treatment is rare and money for basic needs (clothes, shoes, toiletries and home improvements) other than food is limited. One aim of Won By To Jamaica is to help alleviate some of the physical hardships the citizens of Harmons experience every day.
When in Harmons the team stays in a Great House constructed in 2001 called the Harmony House. The Harmony House has a large thatch-covered meeting room, kitchen, two team dorm rooms, staff rooms, covered courtyard, deck, running water, toilets, showers, filtered water, and electricity.
When the team travels to Ocho Rios they stay at Rooms On The Beach, which is situated directly on the Caribbean Sea. The hotel has a pool and a beach.
Won By One To Jamaica owns and operates two 28-passenger coaster buses which serves to transport team members around the island. A dump truck and pick-up truck with trailer are also used to help move building materials and luggage.
Safety is of the utmost importance to Won By One To Jamaica. Team members will always work and travel in groups. Rules of appropriate behavior are communicated to both Americans and Jamaicans. The Harmony House is a secure facility. Rooms on the Beach in Ocho Rios was chosen for their round-the-clock security.
Each day the team will split into work groups ranging from four to twenty people. Some of the projects you will work on are:
Construct houses
During the week one or two 12' by 15' houses will be constructed. Jobs include carrying marl, framing the foundation, mixing and pouring concrete, assembling the wall panels, applying concrete to the walls, installing windows and doors, attaching the metal roof, painting inside and out, and dedicating it to the new family.
Carry marl
Marl, or crushed limestone rock, is the basic ingredient for making concrete and needs to be carried in bags to future home work sites - usually uphill.
Sort and deliver supplies
The hundreds of pounds of clothes, medicine, school supplies and toiletries that each team brings need to be sorted and then placed in a store in the Harmony House, "Blessings In Store" where local families can shop for basic needs at very reasonable prices.
Repair homes
Most houses are in desperate need of repair. Walls need reinforcement; rusted zinc roof panels need replacement.
Assist school teachers
Two primary schools (1st - 8th grades) and two basic schools (3 - 5 years old) are within close proximity to the Harmony House. When school is in session, a couple of team members will have the opportunity to help the understaffed teachers with their classes or deliver school supplies.
The infirmary is where many elderly, physically challenged, and/or mentally challenged people who have no one to care for them live. It is known to local people as "The Poor House." Each week, teams visit the infirmary to shine some love and light to the people there. Simply by spending time with the residents, team members enrich the lives of these people God dearly loves. Team members use this time to love on these people by playing dominoes with them, rubbing their backs, painting fingernails, reading Scripture to them, and singing songs with them. Many people say it is the most challenging but yet most rewarding time of the week.
This trip will require a great deal more walking and lifting than most Americans are normally used to and will be very physically exhausting. We encourage team members to do whatever they can to get in good cardiovascular condition (walking, running, etc.) before the trip.
Jamaica has a strong religious history, boasting more churches per population than most other countries in the world as well as being home to hundreds of different denominations. Religious classes are even mandatory in all public schools from elementary to college. However, many Jamaican churches tend to be legalistic. One typically is not welcomed within the Church body without first 'cleaning up' their life. Salvation can often be seen as conditional and is connected to whether one is successful in sin management.
With the spiritual atmosphere mentioned above in mind, our ministry strives to build relationships with the people in the Harmons Valley. Through discussions on work sites to time in the courtyard, we spend time getting to know Jamaicans and then using those relationships to share the free gift of Christ's salvation with them. Because of our long-term commitment to the Harmons area, this style of evangelism is possible.
On Saturday, the team will leave the Harmony House and drive to Ocho Rios on the northern coast of Jamaica. The team will check-in at Rooms On The Beach, a hotel situated directly on the Caribbean Sea. After some basic orientation, individuals will have the opportunity to go to Dunn's River Falls and climb the mile-long, fresh-water waterfall that is a popular tourist attraction. The afternoon is open for free-time activities such as shopping at the open-air craft market or swimming in the crystal blue sea or the pool. That evening, a pizza party will be held poolside followed by a final team meeting and reflection time. The next morning, the hotel offers a free continental breakfast to its guests. Then the team travels to Montego Bay to fly home.
We recommend team members bring $100-$200 spending money, depending on how much money they plan to spend on souvenirs, soda, smoothies, etc.. Money should be brought in small denominations. There will be no need to exchange money into Jamaican currency. A challenge will be given to each team to help meet a need of a local Jamaican family. At the Harmons' Craft Night we accept checks for crafts and the challenge, so participants should bring one or two checks for this reason.
The exchange rate is currently 85 Jamaican dollars (known simply as J's) to the US dollar; however, the exchange rate can change every day. Again, there is no need to exchange money, as American money is widely accepted throughout the island.