200 more Georgetown residents receive laptops – several persons with disabilities among beneficiaries

TIMES INT'L

Two hundred residents from a catchment area from Camp Street to Norton Street, Georgetown are now the proud owners of laptops, courtesy of the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme. The exercise was conducted on Sunday at the Church of Heavenly Light on Norton Street by a nine-member OLPF team, along with two trainers, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

OLPF staffers distributing laptops to residents
OLPF staffers distributing laptops to residents

The distribution was welcomed by the residents, among them, Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities Chairperson Leon Walcott, who said it was certainly a high point to receive the computer which will help to further improve the quality of his life.
“When you’re physically disabled, you have to rely on people for so many things and any little thing that can reduce that dependence is good for you,” Walcott said.
Several other disabled persons also received laptops including a nearby resident, a shut-in, whose computer was delivered to him by OLPF staffers who went to his home.
The exercise was a success according to OLPF Oversight Quality Assurance Manager Ganand Chanderpaul. He said that despite the inclement weather, when they arrived at the location to begin the distribution effort, more than 20 persons were waiting. He added that more than 60 residents were exposed to preliminary basic introductory training before midday by the two designated trainers for the location and this would be ongoing.
More than 31,000 laptops have been distributed since the exercise commenced in 2011, to families in various communities countrywide. The current phase, which commenced on May 21, targets 6000 beneficiaries from Region Four.
The OLPF programme was set up by former President Bharrat Jagdeo with the aim of equipping 90,000 families with laptops, to expand the use of Information Computer Technology (ICT) across the country.

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