The Rotary Club of Portsmouth working with its Canadian Rotary partners the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East and the Rotary Club of Bracebridge in cooperation with the IT for Dominica Foundation have received all necessary approvals to fund a donation of learning technology to Dominica’s Ministry of Education and Human Resources for the benefit of primary schools.
The project will restore learning technology in the form of Chromebooks, donated by schools districts in Canada, plus all necessary network equipment and software to primary schools in Dominica. The total cost of the project will be $106,000.US. This project began with the IT for Dominica Foundation, which has been coming to the country for the past eighteen years staging seminars for primary and secondary school teachers.
Along with damage to structures, hurricane Maria destroyed 100% of Dominican school’s IT. Because secondary schools need computers to take CXC exams, much of the available funds went toward restoring IT for secondary schools. And the limited funds that were available for primary schools mainly went into the repair of the school buildings. IT for Dominica Foundation wanted to help.
Their president, Maurice Hollingsworth, secured the donation of the computers from the Canadian school districts and approached the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East for financial assistance. The Club applied for a Rotary Foundation Global Grant, which requires a partnership between contributing clubs and a host club. Rotary Club of Portsmouth had already been working with the Ministry of Education and ICT specialist Mr. Timothy Lavinier on a similar project for schools in Glanvillia, Paix Bouche, and Dublanc. So the club was the perfect partner to oversee the project in Dominica.
Through the joint efforts of the IT for Domnica Foundation, the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East, the Rotary Club of Bracebridge, The Rotary Foundation, the Canadian Government, and the Rotary Club of Portsmouth Dominica, computers will be installed in 24 primary schools selected by IT for Dominica and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources in November of this year, 2019.
