Kingston, Jamaica – 06 February 2019: There were grateful hugs aplenty from the children, as the SOS Children’s Village in Stony Hill, St. Andrew welcomed a team from IGT Jamaica to their campus on January 22, 2019. Residents and administrators alike were enthusiastic about their IGT After School Advantage (ASA) Centre, which has made a difference in their lives.
Students were eager to demonstrate to their visitors how they were using the Centre, which comprises 10 computers. “We are able to keep up with the other children and complete our homework on time,” said Peter Johnson* as he completed a Math Quiz online on the Lexia Educational Programme. Lexia and similar computer programmes allow students to develop at their own pace without the group pressure that traditional classrooms often impose.
The Centre is in such great demand among the Village’s 72 residents, (ranging from primary to tertiary level students) that there is a strict schedule in place to ensure that the children have access who need it the most. Director of SOS Stony Hill, Mr. Marvin Simpson, noted: “We have to keep the Centre open until late at night to accommodate everyone – especially at exam time.” Mr. Simpson added: “We have a number of remedial programmes loaded on the computers, which have really helped our students to boost their grades.”
IGT Jamaica’s General Manager Debbie Green expressed her delight that the ASA Centre is so well used. “We are so pleased to hear that the students appreciate the Centre and are using it to improve their education and enhance their lives. The aim of our ASA programme has always been to provide opportunities for children who would otherwise not have access to computers where they live. We want to ensure no child is left behind along the digital highway.”
The ASA Centre at Stony Hill has been through “ups and downs” in recent years. Established in 2015, it suffered a major blow in 2016 when it was destroyed by fire caused by an electrical fault in the old main building. However, IGT Jamaica stepped in and provided new computers and other equipment.
Since the Centre – newly refurbished and equipped – opened in August 2017, it has become even stronger. The “Aunties” (who administer the houses that make up the village) mentor and support the children in the computer lab, and the older students provide guidance to the younger ones and those with special needs. While the weekend schedule is a little more relaxed, the roster allows enough time for the children to research projects, complete homework assignments and prepare for school-based assessments. While academics come first, the opportunity to explore new horizons and simply enjoy browsing the Internet is also an important aspect of the students’ learning and development.
In addition to the computer lab, as part of IGT Jamaica’s mentorship and support for young people, Stony Hill students benefited from several outreach projects in 2018. Several students living on the autism spectrum at Stony Hill received special attention from IGT staff during Autism Awareness Month last April, when they received gift baskets containing books, stationery, sensory toys and other materials. Students from Stony Hill and Barret Town Villages also joined a select group of young people for a special tour of the Mona GeoInformatics Institute (MGI) at the University of the West Indies last May. These experiences provided invaluable exposure for the young people to the world of work, technology and innovation.
There are ASA Centres at both SOS Children’s Villages in Jamaica – in Barrett Town, St. James (established 1971) as well as the Stony Hill village, where construction began in 1982. The villages were founded through the initiative of Dr. Harland Hastings, Mr. John Rollins and Professor Heinz Simonitsch. The goals of SOS Children’s Villages are to offer orphaned and abandoned children, regardless of race, nationality or creed, a permanent home; and to prepare them for an independent life. IGT’s ASA programme across the Caribbean strengthens the latter goal, aiming to provide these disadvantaged children with the tools for further development, through technology.
“Thank you, the computers help us a lot!” exclaimed one eighth grader, as he excitedly gave out hugs to the visiting IGT Jamaica team.
*Name changed to protect identity.
The Digital Generation: Ricardo Callum (right), Field Service Representative of International Game Technology (IGT), takes a keen interest in the instructions being given by Marvin Simpson (2nd right), Director of the SOS Children’s Village of Stony Hill, to youngsters who are using IGT’s After School Advantage (ASA) Centre. IGT and its subsidiaries have opened 39 After School Advantage computer centres in the English-speaking Caribbean, including 14 such centres in Jamaica.
Jamaica Highlights 