Home For Boys

Tonight is a first. I am updating my blog from Grenada. I am here covering Operation Southern Partner for the Air Force. Straight from the link, OSP is an exchange with seven nations “aimed at providing intensive, periodic subject matter exchanges with partner nation air forces.” It’s quite an event, and a great opportunity for me to come down here and see this part of the world. Over the next two weeks I’ll be here in Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, and Belize. It will be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun, especially days like today when I am able to get out in the community and meet some of the local people.

This morning I went with the Air Force Academy band, Blue Steel, to a “home for boys”. It was basically an orphanage for school age boys who were abandoned or beaten, etc. It was such a blast hanging out with them; it is hard to tell who had the most fun, us or them.

When we first got there it was pouring down rain so everyone was forced inside the small schoolhouse. The drummer for the band started using a table as a drum and had some of the boys drum along with him; before long the whole room was beating the table, clapping their hands, and singing. It all meshed perfectly and was quite entertaining.

After a few hours, the rain stopped and we made it out to a court down the streets where the kids showed us how to play cricket. I then joined a big group of them in a pick up soccer game. It was myself, a house supervisor and a couple of the younger kids against all the older boys. I’m not sure who won, I wasn’t keeping score, nor was anybody else. I didn’t suck though, so that’s good.

Later, the band set up their equipment and played an impromptu show for the boys. They all had KFC and danced around with the band. It was a blast, as these sort of trips always are.

I put together a story on the visit, check it out below. I’ll do my best to continue updating the blog during the trip, with videos and pics if I can. Stay tuned.