Avia Collinder, Gleaner Writer

You may have seen people volunteering, making a difference in someone's life. Would you be interested in doing the same?

The invitation to give back has become a hot new tourist trend internationally.

Former insurance executive Maureen Wright-Evans, who has designed this kind of vacation for travellers to Jamaica, giving them the opportunity to visit schools, children's homes, hospitals and other places of need, never knew that there was something called voluntourism when, in 1999, she decided to turn her home into a guest home for visiting volunteers.

Born in Port Antonio, Wright-Evans has many happy memories of living in the villas of San San in Portland where her mother, Lorena Jones-Martin, worked and where visitors were happy to talk to a young girl who had no one else to play with.

At work with her mother

Wright-Evans was kept on the job by her mother who was a housekeeper and cook at several villas in the San San area, and who was determined that her daughter would not get pregnant like she did as a teenager.

It was there that Wright-Evans met the Clarkes from Windsor, Ontario, visitors who were to volunteer to pay her school fees and lunch money for several years.

The guests were delighted to discover their housekeeper's daughter and would later ask the housekeeper to allow them to take her back to Canada.

Wright-Evans developed a relationship with the tourists who, by the time they were ready to leave, were determined to take her with them. Her mother would not agree, would not even take a tip from them.

She remembers, "My mother had a vision of me that was really outside of the box. She thought I was destined for greatness. She would cook during the days and make coconut oil at night, which she would sell in the mornings to make money for extra lessons for me. I was in the same classes with children of her employees."

Pay for school

Although Wright-Evans' mom refused their help, the Clarkes, who were business people, nevertheless decided to pay for attendance at Titchfield High School in Port Antonio.

Later when her mother died, when Wright-Evans was 16, and when the Clarkes were no longer able to continue helping, Mortimer Geddes, then principal of Titchfield High School, secured the assistance of another Canadian couple - Percy and Nancy Horne - through the Save the Children Fund. So Wright-Evans, who was a top performer in Girls Champs hurdles, continued to get help.

The Hornes continued the needed assistance and on each occasion that they visited Jamaica, they would take the teenager to various resorts with them. The young girl came to discover a side of the island that she had not known about and it triggered her interest in tourism.

When Wright-Evans left school and became a teacher, she gave the Hornes an extended tour of Jamaica as payback for their kindness. On her 21st birthday, they invited her to Canada and staged a big celebration in Orillia by the lake.

Her exposure through the Hornes, Wright-Evans explains, left her dissatisfied with an ordinary life and in the early '70s she left teaching for insurance, in which she excelled - eventually creating her own agency.

At age 50, after 25 years in insurance, Wright-Evans decided that she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing something that she really loved. Remembering the days spent with her mother in San San, she decided that running a villa might be the answer.

Wright-Evans was also involved in the Jamaica Youth Development Foundation (JYDF), which started as a way of getting scholarships for youth with talent.

Her oldest son, Kimani Evans, had been to college on an athletic scholarship and would become known as one of Jamaica's top basketball players (After a stint in the NBA he is now working in Turkey and married to a Serbian.)

Educational assistance

The JYDF would assist other talented youth in securing educational assistance. She would also invite the youngsters to her home.

Wright-Evans wanted to integrate her love of tourists, adventure and giving. She wanted to give visitors the opportunity to do, for locals who needed it, what the Clarkes and Hornes did for her many years ago.

Researching the issue on the Internet, she came across the concept of voluntourism, which is a combination of volunteering and tourism.

Since 1999, Wright-Evans has refined the concept into something uniquely Jamaican, she believes, and she enjoys exposing guests to her own version of the island adventure. A big part of this, she says, is the food.

Natural juices, hearty porridges, evening barbecues and even visits to mango walk feature in her packages. Guests also get to meet her neighbours in Smokeyvale.

With the help of her husband, Audley Evans, she refurbished her home and has been inviting guests to enjoy thrilling Jamaican experiences, inclusive of volunteering at a children's village, meeting friendly teachers, reading to children, participating in physical education, among other activities.

Her website at www.jamaicaadventuresecrets.com promises, "You worked hard, but you feel rewarded. These are memories, images, stories, friendships that you will carry for a lifetime."

Nadja Shaw and Joaille Araujo from the Brooks School in Massachusetts in the United States who came as part of a group earlier this year, wrote after their trip to Kingston and Smokeyvale:

"We were reminiscing on our most recent and exciting trip to Jamaica and have come to the conclusion that we couldn't have done it without you and your family.

"Each morning we woke up thinking of the cornmeal porridge, festival, and the ackee and salt fish. We remember the country walk. It was a lot of exercise, but we enjoyed our tour of the hills in Jamaica.

"Another person that made our stay even more wonderful than it already was were Marlon and his friends, Jemoi, Javere, and Lennox (locals). They were great hosts and friends that we will all cherish forever. We hope to keep in touch with them. We can't wait to go back to our respective schools and teach our peers what Jamaica has to offer."

Maureen Wright-Evans, mother of Kimani, Marlon and Omar, says guests - young and old - also enjoy dancing with her in the morning, an activity which she does "to set the tone for the day".

Activities for the day

Later, after a big Jamaican breakfast, they visit schools and other local groups. When their volunteer programme is over, the days are spent making tracks for the Blue Mountains, rafting on the Rio Grande and other local attractions.

Wright-Evans, who remembers the wonderful days in San San, and how strangers cared for her after her mother's death, hopes that she will spend the rest of her life sharing the pleasures of the island with many others who will want to share with and care for Jamaicans in need.