Wi-Fi Opens New Possibilities For Rural Facey

Residents of the deep rural community of Facey in St. Catherine, now have full access to the internet following the installation of a free secured wi-fi hotspot.

Teacher at the Troja Primary and Infant School Paula Duncan Frater, said a wonderful opportunity has opened in the community to boost education. The Universal Service Fund (USF) sponsored internet facility will help residents keep abreast of important information, she said.

“It will help us to be on par with our counterparts regionally and globally. We can learn and introduce new learning methodologies, key concepts, and add new learning apps to our lessons,” the teacher told the official commissioning ceremony which was held recently.

She noted that during the heights of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), pandemic, it was a “challenge for us” to communicate with students, and to navigate the digital platforms due to connectivity issues.

“But with this new development, we will be better able to engage our students through the use of various learning apps. We can now ensure that our students’ education will be improved, because we have internet connection. We can now use dual modalities for learning and our students can go online and learn through various videos and power point presentations,” she told her audience.

Mrs. Duncan Frater further added that the internet will allow them to provide a “wide range of leaning activities” for school children and youth, and the initiative is a “big boost” for the community to chart its development path.

Member of Parliament for St. Catherine North Eastern Kerensia Morrison, said the internet must be used for development purposes, and when persons connect to the system, “you do it in a way that is going to make your life better, and the life of your children.

“You have every type of development which is just a click [away], the world is …at finger tips, virtually, and I am happy that this development has come. It opens a world of possibilities and opportunities – it is limit less – and we feel confident that rural folks are not forgotten,” the MP said.

Director of Procurement at the USF Melissa Taylor, said when the community wi-fi project was conceptualised, the agency envisioned that computer literacy would increase across rural Jamaica. That there would be improved performance of schools, and the “under-educated and unemployed would gain valuable skills.”

The Director added that the investment for the Facey community is “well deserved, when you look at the long-term benefits that can be derived from this initiative,” she stated.