A number of schools in Antigua are benefiting from the donation of refurbished computers and equipment donated by CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank.
The bank’s branch manager, Dawn Soleyn explained that supporting education has always been a priority of the bank.
“Over the past seven years we have been sponsoring the National Assessment Awards which rewards and recognizes the top 100 students. In addition we have offered support to many schools on an ongoing basis.”
She added that these donations were in response to appeals made by the schools, which were facing additional problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing and online classes.
A cheque for $5,000 was presented to the Christian Union Pre & Junior Academy to purchase a photocopier/printer to assist with the printing of educational material.
Soleyn said the bank was very pleased to assist this school, even more so because the school’s founder, Camelda Michael, is one of the bank’s previous Unsung Heroes. The school’s Principal, Jo-Ann Jacob-Murrell thanked the bank for its generous and timely donation
St. Joseph’s Academy benefitted from the donation of 15 refurbished desktop computers and software. SJA’s Principal, Rudolph Davis said that the donation was very timely as the school was facing a shortage of computers to satisfy the needs of the students.
“The school has a policy that all students must take Information Technology as one of the compulsory subjects, hence the immense burden of having sufficient working computers to satisfy that demand.”
The third school to benefit was the Princess Margaret Secondary (PMS) which received 6 desktop computers.
Dr. Colin Greene, PMS’s Principal expressed his appreciation and that of the staff and students for this donation which will assist greatly in alleviating the new challenges to education posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Soleyn, who made all of these presentations on behalf of the bank pledged FirstCaribbean’s continuing support to the country’s education sector.
Over the past year the bank has donated over 1,200 refurbished desktops, laptops and all-in-one computers to scores of schools, churches and other charities across the region. The electronic equipment became available as the bank upgraded its systems and opted to refresh and donate the used computers rather than discard them.