A changing world requires a changing approach.

Greetings to all on this sunny Jamaican day!

As you all know, the US is experiencing a rather scary financial meltdown – the likes of which has not been seen in decades. This has had an effect on many people around the world and many in a very severe way. For example, the inflation rate in Jamaica is 26% this year – up from 17% last year. This is in a setting where there is little in the way of a social safety net. In addition, this will negatively affect remittances to Jamaica and of course tourism - both major sources of income to the island.

Well, this has had an effect on Karen and me as well. The original plan was to put ourselves in a situation where we could tolerate a recession back home by having no debt and reasonably protected money in our retirement accounts. What we did not count on was a financial tsunami. With major financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, Wachovia, and AIG all going belly up, we have to consider the fact that our own investments may not be as secure as we had thought.

We had hoped to do a positive, helpful and enriching activity as a form of ‘give back’ for the great good fortune we have had over the course of our lives. We did not particularly plan to work when we returned as it is extremely difficult to get hired when you have been out of the workforce for 2+ years and are over 50. If the market stayed anywhere near 13,500 and above, it would have been no problem. It is now 10,000 and change and no one seems to know where the end is. Nearly everyone says that the financial disaster may roll on for years to come. This puts our retirement in play – an untenable situation. We have therefore decided that we need to leave our service in the Peace Corps and return Stateside to re-enter the work world while we still can. I’ve been offered some consulting work and Karen is returning to work on the Birth Center in a regular position with benefits. Our professional certifications and continuing education credits would have expired if we waited longer.

It is a very sad decision for us to make. We did not make the decision to serve two years lightly and we do not make the decision to leave lightly either. We have made good friends on the island: Jamaicans and other PCV’s. Parting with them and their energy, intelligence, good hearts and warm spirits is difficult beyond measure.

There is no small irony in that both of our work worlds here on the island had just started to ramp up. The Mayor offered me space in his office complex. My draft plan to ‘fix’ Hellshire Beach was completed and submitted for first reading and my Ministry of Health Safety contact had literally called RIGHT after we made the decision to leave to ask me to teach 5 safety classes for him over the next few months. Karen’s had a number of speaking engagements at teacher conferences. Teaching materials shipped from her friends from the Birth Center to support her efforts just arrived yesterday.

We are hoping to be allowed to stay until the end of the month. This will allow us to complete some aspects of our project in a way that they might be picked up by someone else within the country. I have a class to teach October 28th on hazard recognition and risk management to about 30 safety/health inspectors and I’d like to be able to do this. Karen has some training she would also like to complete as well.

We have had great experiences here in Jamaica and we do not regret making the decision to serve. As most of you reading this that are PCV’s well know, it is part of the landscape that frustrations come with the turf. Please understand that this is NOT why we are leaving. The experience here has taught us all over again the lessons of our youth. It is better to give than to receive, material things have limited value in the great scheme of things, and that one’s own spouse is your best friend in trying times. We have also convinced ourselves that we are able to surrender the comforts of home for the uncertainties of this kind of experience. This aspect will be perhaps best appreciated by those that are older as it is easy to shrink our world over time until we are completely locked into a cocoon. Doors and windows have now been installed into our cocoon to allow us to experience a much wider world. I have even managed to lose nearly 20 pounds [Peace Corps – Matt Towne’s fat farm?] and return notably healthier in body and spirit than when I left. I will certainly appreciate warm showers and temperate weather in a way I never did before.

So farewell to our fellow volunteers. We will miss you and wonder daily how you are faring over the next few years. When your time comes, may your landing stateside be a safe and soft one. We would greatly delight in seeing your smiling faces at our door in NH as a planned event OR totally on a whim of passing by. You will be offered food, drink, music and a warm bed for as long as you would like it. My email is matttowne@metrocast.net [note the three t’s in the middle]and our home number is 603-332-3953.

Signing off from Peace Corps / Jamaica Group 79,
Matt & Karen Towne