In early October, former Winnipeg Police Chief Devon Clunis returned to his native Jamaica, volunteering with a humanitarian organization to support three schools.
But just weeks after he left, Hurricane Melissa swept through the island, hitting the hard-hit western region where he worked and damaging the very schools he had just helped.
Now Clunis, who was in Mexico last week on business, is waiting for the right time to return.
Former Winnipeg Police Chief Devon Clunis (Michaela McKenzie/Free Press files)
“We don't have the full range of capabilities, but we are in constant contact with people in these specific areas,” said Clunis, who served as police chief from 2012 until his retirement in 2016. Free press on Saturday. “Some are just now returning to school in some places. I just saw that some schools will now have tent schools because some schools have been significantly damaged.”
Clunis, whose family lives in Harmony Vale on Jamaica's relatively pristine northeast coast, said it was important for outsiders to stay away for now to give cleanup crews, support workers and local construction workers the space to do their jobs safely and efficiently.
“We don't want people flooding the island,” he said. “So let's work with the people who are there and support them until we can get back to Jamaica. We don't want to create more stress. I know a lot of the hotels have been closed for a while. Some of the hotels have staff and families staying in them.”
Clunis heads to Jamaica with Great Shape! Inc., a humanitarian organization founded in 1988 that provides children with dental, vision, literacy and computer education programs.
About 80 volunteers took part in the two-week trip, including several from Winnipeg. Together they helped install 200 computers donated to schools and worked closely with students on literacy and learning issues. Clunis brought copies of his 2017 children's book. Little Boy from Jamaica: A Tale of Canadian Historywhich he co-wrote with his wife Pearline.
“A lot of the students there have just basic literacy, understanding the alphabet, and in those two weeks you could see a huge transformation in some of these kids as they learned to understand words and read,” Clunis said. “Education unlocks the potential and future of any child.”
He said many Jamaican children face greater challenges than students in Canada. Learning infrastructure is limited: some classes are held in open-air schools where temperatures regularly exceed 30°C, while others have too many students and too few resources.
“It’s not the easiest learning environment,” he said. “It’s a completely different socioeconomic culture that really impacts learning ability, especially if the student is already struggling to get started.”
In the meantime, Clunis continues to do a lot of consulting work for police across North America, including his main focus at the moment: unity.
He feels its absence on both sides of the border, saying that while the division is more pronounced in the United States, there is a quieter, more subtle lack of unity in Canada.
“We are different, we want to be fair, but are we one country?” – Clunis said. “Everything we do now, I don't feel like we're united. So this is a big push for me. At the end of the day, we are one people.”
Scott Billeck – general assignment reporter Free press. A graduate of Red River College's Creative Communications Department, Scott has over a decade of experience covering hockey, soccer and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. More about Scott.
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