Young people in and around Garlogie in Clarendon North West will benefit from training in information and communications technology (ICT) at a Community Access Point (CAP) established at the primary and junior high school in the area.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) donated 20 computers and associated equipment valued at more than $4 million for the setting up of the facility, which was officially handed over recently.

The initiative involves partnership with the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).

Chief Executive Officer of USF, Daniel Dawes, noted that Garlogie joins four other communities in the constituency that have been outfitted with CAP sites.

“We hope that citizens will take care of the facilities and use the equipment provided to enrich their lives,” he said.

Guidance Counsellor at the institution, Jacynth Ward-Parker, told JIS News that the donation will facilitate the resumption of a training programme that was discontinued due to inadequate computers and poor Internet connection.

“We are extremely grateful. We will be able to provide the unattached youth of this community with well-needed skills,” she said, noting that parents will also be equipped with ICT training to assist their children.

Member of Parliament for Clarendon North West, Phillip Henriques, in welcoming the establishment of the CAP site in Garlogie, said he will be pushing for the training programme to be certified by the HEART/NSTA Trust.

“It is an achievement that will allow us to do many more things that we couldn’t do before,” he said.

Principal of the Garlogie Primary and Junior High School, Vincent White, for his part, said that the facility is a “giant step in the right direction towards educating our young people for 21st Century labour force”.

Source: JIS

Head of the St Thomas Municipal Corporation and Mayor of Morant Bay, Michael Hue, is confident that now more than ever, the eastern parish is poised for growth.

To support his claim, he announced that the building plans for the new town centre to be erected just outside the parish’s capital have been approved by the council.

He also shared that the necessary construction fees have been paid over to the local municipality by Factories Corporation of Jamaica.

This, according to Hue, is a stark indication that the much-talked-about multi-billion project, the Morant Bay Urban Centre, will soon be a reality.

“There is no turning back. And I want to allay the fears of everyone by saying that sometime very soon construction will begin,” he said.

Hailing the initiative as a game changer which is expected to provide residents of St Thomas with many job opportunities from the start of construction through to completion, Hue also sounded a rallying cry for other investors to tap into the parish’s future.

He shared, “Billions and billions of dollars in investments are taking place. The investment in our road network is also there to see with the laying of pipelines and other infrastructure. I urge you, now is a very important time to invest because if you don’t do it now, you may be late.”

The mayor, who was speaking at the launch of the first public Wi-Fi zone in St Thomas on Friday, March 11, at the Rudolph Elder Park, proudly announced that the parish, which is often stereotyped as ‘forgotten’, will soon be the new frontier in development throughout the country.

Among other stakeholders who shared their excitement for what is to come were Member of Parliament for Eastern St Thomas Dr Michelle Charles and Councillor for the Morant Bay Division, Rohan Bryan.

The hotspot zone was established by the Universal Service Fund (USF), an agency of the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, as a part of its mandate to ensure access to information and communications tools to facilitate development.

The open network, according to USF CEO Daniel Dawes, is the only of its kind in the parish.

He said, “It has coverage from the transportation centre all the way into the township, and can facilitate up to a thousand persons at any given time. This is the first launch of seven [public hotspots) for the financial year. The next places we [intend to] go are Black River, Savanna-la-Mar, Lucea, Falmouth, Port Maria and Spanish Town, which will be rolled out between this month and the end of April.”

In addition to the public hotspot, St Thomas will also be furnished with community Wi-Fi zones, two of which have already been launched in the areas of Seaforth and Duckensfield.

The others, Dawes shared, will be initiated in the communities of Bath, Port Morant, Cedar Valley and Yallahs.

Delivering the key address, vice president of Internet service provider FLOW, Stephen Price, described the initiative to bridge the digital divide as a national imperative.

“Today, we are planting a tree that will serve today’s generation and others in the years to come. The pandemic has placed Jamaica on an accelerated digital transformation journey, and it will take partnerships like this to ensure that the respective stakeholders – the Government and the private sector – collaborate to bring affordable broadband access to all Jamaicans,” he shared, adding that FLOW remains committed in its contribution to enabling progress.

Source: The Gleaner