The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture has received another 132 Chromebooks through The Bitter End Yacht Club.

The devices will be added to the ministry’s loan programme and will assist students in need of devices for remote learning. The devices will be distributed to students in various public schools.

During the handover ceremony, Minster for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley said that the students of the Territory are worth the investment and he is grateful to the BVI Funders group including a collaborative of: The Jarecki Family, Guana Fund, Unite BVI, The McLain Association for Children, and The Bitter End Yacht Club.

“Collectively, the group came together and have now provided us a total of 1,067 Chromebooks in less than 1,000 days which is amazing,” the minister said, adding, “This has allowed us continuity and resilience in our education system after the storms of 2017 and during this pandemic. I thank The BVI Funders Group and their corporate partners for this three-year undertaking.”

The contributors have donated devices to the Chromebook project since 2017. They include:

• Jarecki Family & The Guana Fund - 100 Chromebooks
• McLain Association for Children, Inc. (MAC) Foundation -  200 Chromebooks
• Unite BVI - 400 Chromebooks and 
• The Bitter End Yacht Club - 367 Chromebooks

Additionally, the BVI Funders Group have also provided additional support to the overall project and have all worked together to create high impact philanthropic impact.

For example:

• Guana Fund has handled procurement and shipping;
• MAC Foundation has funded all the devices’;
• Unite BVI has funded teacher training, assisted with BVI logistics and Ministry partnership; and
• FLOW provided an on-line study platform to support at home education

Kiker Learning represented by Chris McCaffery and Rick Lapi were instrumental and continue to be a valued service to the Ministry in their teacher training and ICT support for on-line education.  Following the COVID-19 lockdown period, the Cable and Wireless Foundation (FLOW) joined the project by offering all students in the BVI free access to their on-line study platform, Flow Study.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture is grateful to all of the donors of the Chromebook programme for their contribution and looks forward to more partnerships in the future.

NOTES TO EDITOR(S):

• Photo 1: Pictured (left to right) is Executive Director for Unite BVI, Dr. Sauda Smith; Foundation Manager of Unite BVI, Kim Takeuchi; FLOW’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Nadia James Harris; Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley; Permanent Secretary, Carolyn Stoutt Igwe; Chief Education Officer, Mrs. Connie George; and Principal for the Elmore Stouth High School (ESHS), Mrs, Vanessa Garraway.
• Photo 2: Pictured are the remaining devices to be distributed to various schools.