Volunteering in Puerto Rico

During the first two weeks of last June, my brother and I travelled to Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean near the Dominican Republic. We volunteered with a non-profit organization called CRES (The Coalition for the Restoration of Santurcean Ecosystems). Their mission is to preserve and restore biodiversity in San Juan, the ever-developing capital city of Puerto Rico.

CRES aims to promote sustainable practices that ensure the health and integrity of the local ecosystems which are vital for sustaining many native plant and animal species. For two weeks we worked every week day with the local team. It's a relatively small organization and we mostly worked with three amazing and interesting people—Ferni, Yvette, and Juan—all natives born on the island.

Our main task was at their plant centre where we planted native species and cultivated them until they were ready to be transferred to their "urban jungle." This green space had been created in an abandoned construction site where building had stopped after only the foundations were laid. The area was now an urban forest with trees and plants growing among half-built concrete pillars. It was located right on the coast, practically in the city centre, and was bustling with wildlife like lizards, chickens, and birds.

We worked for about 3-4 hours each morning and then had the afternoons free to explore. We stayed in a hostel with our own room and a communal kitchen where we cooked our own meals each day. The beach was just a five-minute walk away so we spent every afternoon swimming in the crystal-clear waters in 30-degree weather.

Throughout the trip we enjoyed numerous activities like paddleboarding in the marina with manatees and turtles swimming beside us while 30-story buildings loomed in the background. We also rented electric scooters to explore the lively La Placita square.  One of the highlights was attending a Puerto Rican national football team World Cup qualifier against Anguilla which the former won 8-0.

For me, the best experience was a private tour of El Yunque whcih is the only rainforest in North America. Ferni and Yvette, who also offer private tours, took us and another volunteer from Virginia deep into the jungle. We hiked to three different waterfalls, making it one of the most picturesque days I've ever had. The scenery was breathtaking, and the company couldn’t have been better. Afterwards, they took us to a local food shack, packed with locals, where we enjoyed some of the best food I’ve ever tasted—authentic Puerto Rican dishes with ingredients I couldn’t even name!

We booked our trip through IVHQ (International Volunteer Headquarters), which offers hundreds of volunteer opportunities worldwide from preserving marine species to building homes and teaching in underprivileged schools. They were incredibly helpful in organizing our trip and remained available if we needed assistance during our stay in Puerto Rico.  All in all it was an incredible experience and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone looking for a unique and meaningful adventure. 
Callum McLoughlin

One Hundread Years in The Making - President Jimmy Carter

This week on the first of October 2024, Jimmy Carter the 39th President of the United States reached his 100th birthday, becoming the first ever US President to do so! Born in 1924 in Plains, Georgia - the first US President to born in a hospital - James Earl Carter Junior went on to craft an impressive and posite legacy worldwide that has been felt far beyond his four years as Commander in Chief, one that is still remembered and celebrated today; and for good reason. Carter had an eclectic range of jobs before becoming the 39th President. He had served in the US

Navy in the Second World War, been a nuclear technician and a Sunday School teacher. Most famously though, Carter was a long time peanut farmer - something he and his hometown of Plains is still remembered fondly for to this today. In fact peanuts are such an iconic staple of Carter's life that massive peanut carvings of himself and his wife Rosalynn greet visitors to the entrance of his presidential library! Carter got into politics by running for the Georgia State Senate on the platform of abolishing segregation in the American Deep South, and strongly dedicated himself to civil rights. In 1971 he became the 79th Governor of the State of Georgia, and then in 1976 ran as the Democratic Party candidate for 

President alongside Walter Mondale against incumbent Republican 38th President Gerald Ford and Vice President Nelson Rockerfeller. Carter promoted his origins as a humble peanut farmer and a political outsider as a fresh and necessary perspective in Washington following the Watergate Scandal and the resignation of 37th President Richard Nixon. Though the campaign was tough on both Carter and Ford, the two would later become close friends; Carter eventually delivered the eulogy at Ford's funeral in 2006. Carter won the 1976 election and was sworn in as President on January 20th 1977. He devoted his presidency to the advancement of human rights domestically and internationally, and also supported envionrmental protection and international diplomacy initatives. Carter prioritised transparency of government following the political turbulence of the 1970's, and famously told the American public that if he was ever caught telling them a lie, they should force him to resign.

Carter's presidency faced its fair share of difficulties. The United States faced a serious petrol and diesel shortage and was entering a period of severe economic stagflation (where unemployment is high and the economy is stagnant with high inflation). Most troubling was the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979, where 52 American diplomats were held hostage by Iranian protestors who siezed the US Embassy in Tehran. Carter also experienced a great success in 1978 with the Camp David Accords, where Carter personally mediated and brokered a peace deal between President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin, bringing a formal end to the Yom Kippur War. After the challenges of the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the turbulent economy of his presidency, Jimmy Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to 40th President Ronald Reagan and his Vice President George Bush Senior. Carter spent his final moments in office finalising agreements to have the American hostages in Tehran released - none of whom has been harmed. The negotiations were a success, but the government of Iran refused to release them until Reagan had been sworn in.

After his presidency Carter and Rosalynn returned to their home in Plains, Georgia, where they founded The Carter Centre - a nonprofit organisation that has been working continuously to this day to promote Carter's strong values of human rights and human development. Carter has had the longest and most active post presidency of any former American president. Working tirelessly for causes he believes in, some of Carter's greatest accomplishments since leaving office in 1981 include eradicating dracunculiasis (aka "Guinea Worm Disease"), preventing an American invasion of Haiti in 1994 by convincing Dictator Raoul Cédras to resign peacefully, monitoring and promoting fair and free elections worldwide - most notably in El Salvador, South Africa and Ukraine, overseeing the distribution of wheat and grain from the World Food Bank in North Korea after a famine alongside Mary Robinson, and convincing the government of the People's Republic of China to drop its policy of outlawing private religious worship. These efforts and more earned Carter a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, becoming the third American president to receive one (Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson before him, and after him Barack Obama). Carter has also famously supported Habitat for Humanity in his post presidency - an organisation that The High School also shares a long history with! Carter continued carpentry as a hobby well into his 90's, and has worked on over 4,900 projects with them since he joined the organisation in 1984. Jimmy Carter has enjoyed a long and successful life, and a peaceful but highly active 'retirement'. Dispite his troubled presidency, Carter has received widespread praise for his humanitarian efforts in and out of office. In 2009 Carter himself refelected that "I believe I had been a far better post president than I was a president". Carter enjoyed his adventures alongside his childhood sweetheart Rosalynn for almost his whole life until she passed away peacefully in November 2023. Rosalynn had developed dementia, but had never forgotten who Jimmy was or how special their relationship had been. Jimmy Carter has been in hospice care since, his last public appearance was at her funeral in Plains. According to his grandson Jason, Carter still likes to keep his mind buisy and has been enjoying listening to a variety of audio books. Reportedly, he is hoping to be able to vote in the 2024 American Presidential Election in November. Jimmy Carter has achieved a fantastic milestone in reaching his 100th birthday, and has lived a long and successful life. If you are interested in learning more about him I would highly recommend two excellent books about him, the first being his definative autobiography, 'A Full Life: Reflections at Nintey' and 'Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains to Post Presidency' by Peter G. Bourne. All that's left to say now is: Happy birthday President Carter!! 

Leo Shorten