Computer Centre Opens in Cassava Piece
By: February 13, 2014 ,The Key Point:
The Facts
- It is outfitted with 15 computers, with broadband internet access, one server, two printers, as well as furniture.
- It is the 167th community access point to be set up across the island as the Government works to ensure that all Jamaicans have access to ICT.
The Full Story
Residents of Cassava Piece in St. Andrew now have access to a fully equipped computer centre, which were provided through $3 million in funding from the Universal Service Fund (USF).
The Information Technology (IT) unit, established at the HELP Jamaica! Education Centre, located in the community, was officially opened on February 11 by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell.
It is outfitted with 15 computers, with broadband internet access, one server, two printers, as well as furniture.
It is the 167th community access point to be set up across the island as the Government works to ensure that all Jamaicans have access to Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Mr. Paulwell, in his remarks at the opening, stated that Jamaicans, through their ingenuity and creativity, can utilize IT to create wealth, and drive the growth of the economy.
“We are making this intervention because we believe that if Jamaicans have access to the latest in technology, to the world of information…it is going to enable us with our innate abilities to use such information to generate wealth, to transform the way we live,” he stated.
German national Hilmar Keding, one of the founding directors of the HELP Jamaica! Education Centre, welcomed the computer unit, noting that it will facilitate an expanded computer literacy programme for the over 120 children and 100 adults, who benefit from the programmes offered at the facility.
Mr. Keding and follow German Dr. Birte Timm established the education centre in 2009, with the assistance of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Jamaica, and local and international volunteers.
It provides free education programmes including homework classes for children, and Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) classes for adults from Cassava Piece and surrounding areas.