Three city schools receive new computers
The Social Investment Fund has donated eight Pentium Three computers and accessories worth twenty-four thousand dollars to three Belize City schools as part of its Hurricane Repair and Rehabilitation Programme. According to Oscar Alonzo, director of SIF, the donation was made possible through a government loan from the World Bank for one and a half million U.S. dollars. So far the funding has allowed them to assist forty-two schools with repairs and equipment.
Oscar Alonzo, Director, Social Investment Fund
“We have Nazarene High School, Gwen Lizarraga High School and the St. Martin’s de Porres primary school who are the beneficiaries of this equipment. Nazarene High School is getting five computers and UPS together with several computer textbooks. Gwen Lizarraga is getting two computers with UPS, together with textbooks and St. Martin De Porres is getting one computer and UPS. We’re also conducting repairs to these three schools that were damaged by Hurricane Keith.”
Samuel Sukhnandan, Principal, Nazarene High School
“Well right after hurricane Keith we lost several of our computers due to water damage. We have over the months been able to replace some of these computers, and with this donation from the Social Investment Fund, I think it will certainly enhance the teaching of information technology at our schools and we’ll be able to provide more access so more students would be able to do the course.”
Enita Castillo, Principal, Gwen Lizarraga High School
“We have a lab with about fifteen stations, so this will boost up the numbers. We offer computer technology in our curriculum. All students get computer tech, which is pretty much new. From first to fourth were hooked up to the Internet, the children are exposed to it. We have a lab supervisor that stays in the lab, so children go in the lab all the time. Our only problem used to be the fact that we don’t have enough stations. And our lab can hold twenty-five stations. So with these two it’s a nice little addition.”
The hurricane rehabilitation programme should complete all repairs and donations to schools by the end of June.
