SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGE GETS BOOST FROM GTECH

NEW COMPUTERS AT SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGE:  Marjory Kennedy (2^nd left), Chairperson of SOS Children’s Village, cuts the ribbon adorning the new computer lab at SOS Children’s Village. Sharing in the moment are team members from GTECH Corporation: Ann-Dawn Young Sang (left), Regional General Manager for the Caribbean, Michael Mello, Vice President of Government Relations and Debbie Green, Deputy General Manager for Jamaica. Occasion was the January 28 handing over of a computer lab to the SOS Children’s Village in Stony Hill, under GTECH’s After School Advantage Programme.

Saira Minter, GTECH Corporation’s External Affairs Director (centre) and Suzette J. Palmer, Chairperson for GTECH Jamaica's After School Advantage Programme, enjoy this little girl’s delight in a new computer. Occasion was the handing over of a computer lab to the SOS Children’s Village in Stony Hill, under GTECH’s After School Advantage Programme. 

Kingston, Jamaica: February 7 , 2013 – "This computer lab may not seem like a lot to you, but this means the world to SOS Children's Village," noted Paul Osbourne, Programme Director at SOS Children's Village at the opening of the GTECH After School Advantage Programme. "This was just a nice resource room void of computers, this is the  culmination of a dream we have had."

With its commitment to ensuring that children have an organized, computer-based environment in which computer skills can be learnt, the GTECH Programme has opened a fourth  computer lab at the Village in Stony Hill. The handing over ceremony took place on Monday January 28,  and over  120 children will benefit from this facility.

"At GTECH, our business is to provide the most efficient IT solutions for various organizations worldwide, and in the various territories that we serve, we saw the great need to enhance after school facilities for children—hence the establishment of the GTECH After School Advantage Programme," said Michael Mello, Vice President of Government Relations at GTECH Corporation who was on hand for the opening.

"What is important in today's society is no longer the brawn but the brain, and I want to thank GTECH on behalf of all the other schools and Homes where the After School Advantage Programme has been established. These are the children that need the opportunity the most," remarked Marjory Kennedy, Chair of the SOS Children's Village.

"One of our primary objectives is to enable computer access especially to those who do not have personal computers," noted Ann-Dawn Young Sang, GTECH Corporation's Regional General Manager for the Caribbean. "We live in a world where computer skills are an absolute necessity, we hope that this exposure will increase the interest of our young in technology and other related disciplines."

"We had a challenge with our inability to adequately assist our children with their research assignments. We had one functional computer in the office that students had access to after school," said  Paul Osbourne, Programme Director at the Village. "Research requests would come in at 3 pm and the office closed at 4:30 pm. Now that GTECH has given us more computers the children can do their research and homework after hours and also on the weekend. Our housemothers also have more flexibility in preparing their reports and budgets."

The GTECH After School Advantage Programme offers non-profit agencies and schools with computer services. The programme operates with the goal of bridging the digital divide that continues to affect the country's youth. It also strives to provide both a fun and meaningful learning experience for children and young people.  On average, the GTECH funded programme invests US$15,000 (J$1.35 million) to open and maintain each centre. Once the computer lab is opened, the company continues to make regular site visits to upgrade the software.

Since 2006, GTECH Jamaica has actively been engaged in providing assistance to a number of schools and institutions including Lawrence Tavern and Easington Primary Schools, Sylvia Foote Basic School, the University of Technology, Caribbean Maritime Institute and Portmore Community College.

In just over a year, the GTECH After School Advantage Programme has established computer labs in two schools and two children's homes. These are: Dunrobin Primary, Holy Trinity High, Jamaica Christian Boys' Home and SOS Children's Village. Over 190 GTECH supported after school centres operate globally with the aim of bringing technological literacy and advancement to our country's youth.

About GTECH Corporation

GTECH works with more than 190 After School Advantage Program centres, which successfully operate where GTECH conducts its business, and donates an average of US$ 15,000 (J$1.35 million)in computer equipment, software and volunteer hours to each center. GTECH Jamaica continues to look for partners in their campaign to bring technological literacy and advancement to the country's young people.

Incorporated in 1980, GTECH Corporation is a global information technology company that provides high-performance transaction processing for some of the world's leading lottery and gaming products, including those of Supreme Ventures Ltd. here in Jamaica. GTECH Corporation is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. 

Contact:

Vicki Cann

PROComm

Email: Vicki.cann@procomm.com.jm

T: 1(876) 413-4229