Highland schools send computers to Gambia
Schools in Highland today sent 57 computers to Gambia in West Africa.
As part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, pupils in Culloden, Inverness Royal and Nairn Academies have been collecting disused school computers which are being sent to the President’s Centre in the township of Bakau. The President’s Centre is an IT training centre for participants in the Presidents Award (the Gambian equivalent of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award).
The Bakau Centre already provides woodworking and metalworking skills opportunities for the Presidents Award participants and information technology is a welcome addition as this is not available in their mainstream schools programme.
Sending the computers of at M & H Carriers, Carsegate, Inverness were (back row left to right) pupils Siobhan Rushforth (16) from Nairn Academy and John MacLennan (17) from Nairn Academy, middle row left to right, Kim Williamson (16) Inverness Royal Academy, Greig Wilson (16) Culloden Academy, teachers Carolann Andrews at Nairn Academy, and Lindsay Shepherd at Culloden Academy, (front row left to right), Helen Cromarty (16) Culloden Academy, Andrew Elam (16) Inverness Royal Academy and teacher Doug Morrison, at Inverness Royal Academy.
Bruce Robertson, Highland Council’s Director of Education, Culture and Sport said: “This is an outstanding and most generous offer from these schools which builds on the relationship that we have been developing through the Duke of Edinburgh Award with schools in the Gambia.
“Eighteen months ago young people from the Highlands installed a state of the art computer suite in a skill centre in the Gambia and last Easter nine teachers from Highland schools went there to train their Gambian counterparts in IT skills.
“The computers, which are still in excellent condition, will replace old manual typewriters from the 1960s which are now quite redundant. I only wish that we could be there to see the appreciation in the eyes of the young people as these computers are unpacked.”