For the last number of years I have worn a total of about three different pieces of jewelry on about three different occasions so naturally I am now in the jewelry business.

I have the honor to work with a group of adolescents from varying backgrounds who have in common that the education system has failed them. A couple of the adolescents have hearing loss and were never fitted for hearing aids nor taught sign language. If you have ever tried to communicate with someone who does not share your language, you have had a taste of what these two, and the people with whom they communicate, go through every day. The rest of the students have moderate to severe learning

Jessica with one of her students

disabilities, which make it especially difficult to learn in a class of 50 kids in a cement block classroom with a tin roof where at times there is more chaos than structure.

The class developed at Common Hope for these 10 students focuses on developing basic life skills, moving them to become more independent within their communities. Through jewelry making and sewing classes the students learn how to follow patterns, plan out their own designs (numbers, colors, shapes, sizes etc.), measure, set prices, make change from a sale, and further develop their fine motor skills. We also dedicate part of the classes to hygiene, safety, and interpersonal communication skills.

How do you teach or learn style? I do not pretend to have lots of style but learned in my 7th grade home economics class that I should not wear a floral print with plaid and that there are shades of green that shouldn’t be worn together. In the sewing class the students and I are learning how to quilt. We are using pieces of fabric from the typical fabrics of Guatemala. The designs are beautiful and vibrant. Each piece has several colors and is distinct from the others. Most also carry a diverse pattern. We were planning out some squares one day and I asked one of the students how to decide what pieces to put where. She looked at me kind of funny wondering why it was not obvious to me and said, ¨Well, you look at the colors and then match them to the other pieces in the square. See?¨ The squares she and others had spread out on the table included pink and green strips next to light blue and yellow ones next to red and black pieces with lines next to turquoise and green squares next to blue, hot pink and orange birds. They looked beautiful together.

I still have a lot to learn.

Jessica is originally from New York Mills, MN and has been an Antigua volunteer for over two years.  Jessica’s parents were friends with the founders of Common Hope, Dave and Betty Huebsch, which is how she first was introduced to us.  She works within the Psychology department working with another full time speech language therapist working with children who are deaf, have Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, autism, or undiagnosed disorders, articulation and phonological disorders, and expressive and receptive language delays.

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