Global ABE: Serve & Learn in Jamaica

Interested in serving in Jamaica? Want to learn and serve alongside other ECU students? Sign up for the 2023 Global ABE to Jamaica! The 2023 Global ABE is a collaborative service experience between ECU's Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement and the Honors College.

More details:

Jamaica is Amizade’s hallmark example of our Fair Trade Learning model. In the last 20 years, over 1,500+ participants have served and learned with our partner organization, the Petersfield Galloway Benevolent Society (PGBS), in the sugar producing area of Petersfield. Through this long-standing partnership, programs focus on cultural immersion, social action, and community-based learning. Amizade participants are uniquely embedded into Jamaican culture through homestays and a wide variety of community engagement activities. In addition to community development and issues surrounding globalization, Amizade’s programs can focus on other themes, like education system structures, grassroots economic development, race and gender, community leadership and youth civic engagement. Participants will arrive to/depart from Montego Bay and spend the program in one of two neighboring communities: Petersfield or Galloway. They will meet with local community and professional leaders; serve on projects developed by and implemented with PGBS members; and explore the country and culture through field trips, local presenters and community events. To affect change on personal and interpersonal levels, structured group reflections and shared learning experiences will enable students to:

• Strengthen relationships and create shared context
• Survey the community and develop the courage to open themselves to new perspectives
• Raise difficult issues and foster critical reflection
• Link Jamaican issues to global issues
• Establish creative tension between the current reality and the future

Program costs, participants will be responsible for:

• $1000 program fee (includes lodging, food, ground transportation, and all program activities; payment plans are encouraged)
• Roundtrip flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica (average price from RDU-MBJ is $560; students will purchase flights separately)

Payment schedule:

• Payment #1: $333 (due Jan. 10)
• Payment #2: $333 (due Feb. 10)
• Payment #3: $334 (due Mar. 10)
• MAKE PAYMENTS HERE

For more information, please contact:

• Dr. Dennis McCunney, Director of Intercultural Affairs: mccunneyw@ecu.edu
• Dr. Todd Fraley, Interim Dean, Honors College: fraleyt@ecu.edu 
• Lauren Howard, Director, Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement: howardl16@ecu.edu