Rotary Club of Montego Bay donates tablets to needy students
MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Rotary Club of Montego Bay last week donated 10 tablets to needy students from St James under its tablet distribution initiative.
The presentation was made at The Salvation Army Divisional Headquarters in West Green, St James.
Secretary-elect for the Rotary Club of Montego Bay Franz Wiggan noted that the club’s latest donation was in partnership with the Salvation Army.
He noted that the android devices presented to the students were chosen with longevity and functionality in mind.
“We acquired not low-end equipment but some [of good] quality because the intent was to ensure that the technology, as time changes, in the next year or two, [they] would still be able to keep up and also [be] powerful enough that it would be able to handle the various platforms that are being used right now in online learning,” he explained.
“The students who received the devices are of the secondary and tertiary level and were chosen based on information provided by the principals and guidance counsellors of the respective schools.”
Added Wiggan:”we had students from the Green Pond High School, Cornwall College, Herbert Morrison Technical High, Montego Bay High School for Girls, HEART/NSTA Trust and Irwin High School. Their names were given to us by guidance counsellors and principals to ensure that we got to the right individuals who are in need.
“We had a 17-year-old who is in his first year at HEART Trust studying electrical engineering, so we identified these kids, spoke to them over the phone, and they were so eager about their desires to further their education. We have some who are aspiring to be neurosurgeons, medical technologists, artists, and other [professions]. It was great speaking with them and knowing that we are going to help them not fall behind.”
Debbie Brown, the mother of a young boy who received a tablet, expressed gratitude to the team at the Rotary Club of Montego Bay for the donation.
“I am appreciative of the gift because it comes at a very valuable time, a time of need. My son was already behind in his schoolwork so this will assist us a great deal. We are quite thrilled about it,” said the mother.
Just recently, the club presented much-needed water tanks to Irwin High School and Mount Salem Primary School in Montego Bay as it continues its drive to supply water tanks to schools in the resort city.