Graduation and News

Hey every one, so we were making rapid progress on the book, but this week work basically totally subsided because we had graduation a week early. My friend Lieve, a driving force at the school, is returning to Belgium tomorrow. She has been working at the school for over three and a half years, and did a year and some months another time before this. So, we were having special events for her.

However, this week we did get to work on the Jamaican timeline sewing project in hopes of finishing it in time for graduation. That didn't happen but there was a whole lot of self-expression going on. We were writing speeches to deliver, songs to sing, practicing our walk for the fashion show portion of the event.

One big problem we're facing with the book, is that many of their stories contain information that we can't print. Not because we want to censor them, but because there is a big stigma in Trench Town, and most of Jamaica, about being an "informant." You could include no one's names but describe a specific illegal event, and you may still be labeled an informant. Since that label could mean your life we have to tread very carefully......More to come. Thanks for you support!

Annie Kopena