The Disability, Aging, and Development in Jamaica Study Abroad Program (Early Fall Start, 2020) is now accepting applications! This program is cross-listed with LSJ, JSIS, and Disability Studies, but is open to everyone.

Application deadline 2/15/2020

You can learn more about the program and apply here

We will also be doing two info sessions. They will take place on Friday, January 17th at 2:30 pm and Monday, January 27th at 2:30 pm in Smith Hall M261 (the conference room in the middle of the Law, Societies & Justice hallway). If you cannot make one of these, but want to learn more, email Prof. Meyers at sjmeyers@uw.edu.

Program Description

This study abroad program focused on the lived experience of persons with disabilities and older persons in Jamaica. As in any context, older persons and persons with disabilities face both barriers and opportunities to full participation in their communities, particularly as Jamaica continues to socially and economically develop. We will travel around the island, to learn directly from persons with disabilities and older persons in Jamaica that they are active agents of social change that have started their own grassroots groups to represent their voice, address their members' needs, and engage with the broader community. As a class, we will meet with all of the stakeholders, from United Nations agencies and government officials through to local civil society associations and clubs, in order to understand the issues of ageing and disability from multiple perspectives. We will also actively engage with each group, ranging from doing water aerobics with senior citizens on the beach or getting a volleyball lesson from the world champion Jamaica Special Olympics team through to volunteering in schools, reviewing laws and policies with elected officials, and living in a community of Deaf families. The program sites that we will use as home bases as we explore the surrounding area will include the University of West Indies in Kingston, a Marine Research Lab in Discovery Bay on the north coast, and the Jamaica Deaf Village outside of Mandeville. In each location we will be hosted by local Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs) or Older People's Associations (OPAs).