Florida-based Trini donates tablets to St Agnes

AS the Ministry of Education continues its collaboration with corporate TT in an attempt to ensure that no child is left offline, individuals too have been stepping forward to do their part.

Students at the St Agnes' Anglican School in St James were the recipients of ten new Amazon Fire HD eight-inch tablets with heavy-duty protective cases, protective shields and pens, thanks to Florida-based Claudette Alexander.

Alexander told Newsday it was her way of giving back to an institution that had given so much to her own children.

“My children had their primary education at St Agnes and during their time spent at the school they were fortunate to have teachers like Cleveland Dodds and Edna Berment who went above and beyond to assist them. Maria Thomas from Carenage Government was also very instrumental in my children’s lives. Because of the seeds sown by these teachers I decided to donate to the school, because these teachers gave their services for free.”

Alexander said she likes working with students and has served as adviser to the Bahamian Students Association for 20 years, and assisted the TT Cultural Association, Organisation for Jamaican Unity and the Caribbean Students Association.

So when her friend Hazel Mitchell, president of the TT Association of Georgia, told her the association had donated tablets to schools in the Morvant-Laventille area, she was inspired to do something similar.

“I reached out to colleagues, friends and family members to see who would be interested. Gail Duverney, Lenore Moore, Catherine Carlo and Lynette Tilden all stepped up for the cause.

“I contacted St Agnes, spoke with the principal, Mrs Lauralyn Alexander-Olivier, and she was all for it.”

Alexander-Olivier told Newsday the children selected to receive the tablets fit the criteria outlined by the donor.

“She said she wanted them to be given to children of single parents, and who are making strides toward academic proficiency, because she was a single parent and she understands the struggle.”