2007 Project Update
This year we transported 200 computer systems with licensed software from Eugene, Oregon to Guatemala. These computers were loaded with various Spanish-Language software as well as programs to learn the local Mayan dialect of K'iche. The computers were donated to 17 different public schools and 6 Guatemalan non-government organizations (NGOs). We packed and protected the computers with children's clothing, which was in turn donated to several orphanages and children's centers.
The computer labs are a part of our “Bridging the Digital Divide” Quetzaltenango, Guatemala project. There are approximately 750,000 people in the department of Quetzaltenango. According to the Ministry of Education, less then 1% of its public schools have computer labs. This is especially evident in the rural, mostly indigenous schools. In Guatemala, computer literacy is a pre-requisite for university study. It is also a gateway to employment opportunities throughout the region.
Our project has been particularly successful because of our partnership with a local non-government organization called INEPAS (Institución de Español y Participación en Ayuda Social) which assists in the coordination and supervision of the project. INEPAS has been instrumental in the development and facilitation of the computer labs into ”community projects“. Each receiving school has to form an agreement between teachers, parents, and local leaders that provides for a security committee, a maintenance committee, a plan that states how the machines will be used, and a commitment to attend quarterly workshops that provide trainings on how to maintain and fix the computers.
The result of these ”community projects“ have been powerful. A Tulane University study in 2006 stated that schools with computer labs had notable increases in attendance, parent involvement, community respect for education, and access to new jobs and opportunities. The long-term impacts of the project will be documented as students graduate from primary and secondary schools and enter universities and other higher education institutions. Partners in Solidarity plans to study and document the effects of this project as it matures.