Technology Entities Donate Tablets For Children Of Sanitation Workers
By: , June 26, 2020
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon (standing, right); and Deputy Chairman of EduTech Aid Caribbean and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Project Manager at GeoTechVision, Stephen Wedderburn (standing, left), observe as two NSWMA sanitation workers and their children check out the features of their new Geo-X tablets. Seated (from left) are Sophia Clarke and her son, Tyrese Wright, who is a student of Camperdown High School; and Ascott High student, Rehanna Chung and her father, Michael Chung. EduTech and GeoTechVision have donated 20 tablets to help children of NSWMA staff access education material online. The devices were handed over at the NSWMA’s Head Office in St. Andrew on June 24.
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon (left), receives a donation of Geo-X tablets from Deputy Chairman of EduTech Aid Caribbean and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Project Manager at GeoTechVision, Stephen Wedderburn, at the NSWMA’s Head Office in St. Andrew on June 24. Twenty devices were handed over to benefit children of sanitation workers.The Full Story
Twenty new Geo-X tablet computers have been handed over to the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) for the children of sanitation workers, to aid in their access to online learning while schools remain closed.
The devices, donated by GeoTechVision Enterprises Limited in collaboration with EduTech Aid Caribbean, were handed over at the NSWMA’s Head Office on Half-Way Tree Road on Wednesday (June 24).
Executive Director of the NSWMA, Audley Gordon, expressed gratitude.
“It is a rapidly changing world, and technology will be the way of the future. The tablets that are to be given out are not just welcomed by us here at the Authority but I am sure that those little hearts that will be blessed with those tablets will never forget today, and we here are eternally grateful for this gesture,” he said.
GeoTechVision and EduTech Aid Caribbean had initially proposed the donation of 14 tablets, one for the child of one sanitation worker per parish, and then decided to add six more.
The staff members were chosen based on level of need, with consideration given to persons with multiple children, or those with limited or no access to smartphones and other smart devices.
Mr. Gordon said he is pleased that the workers were considered for the support. “This is a great step that was made. If you are looking for something to do by way of a contribution to the development of the country, this group of sanitation workers is as good as any to look to with your blessing. Not only do they have the need but I have never met a more committed group of people in my time who, despite all odds, are always at work,” he noted.
Deputy Chairman of EduTech Aid and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Project Manager at GeoTechVision, Stephen Wedderburn, said the entities, in making the donation “wanted to recognise a set of front-line workers who are not often appreciated but who are essential”.
“Certainly, the people who, day to day, are helping us to have a clean environment are the workers of the NSWMA, and so we felt that they were a very worthy target of our efforts to make a difference,” he added.
Mr. Wedderburn said he would like the students to utilise the tablets, not only to complete schoolwork but also to explore graphic design, coding, app development and animation.
The tablets are preloaded with software subscriptions such as Educosoft, which will allow students to access and do online lessons at their own pace.