Matt Crotty, a visitor from Ireland speaking to the Class three students of Welches Primary School as Member of Parliament for St James Central Kerrie Symmonds, and Aron Truss, Founder of the Aron and Christina Foundation look on.
Irish visitor Matt Crotty is encouraging Barbadian youth to focus on their education.
Crotty, who every year spends up to four months on the island, made this plea as he recently presented the class three students of Welches Primary School with Samsung Tablets.
He is but another visitor to Barbados who has embraced the Aron and Christina Foundation Tablet Project. Through his generous donation 25 tablets were distributed.
The registered charity started by Aron and Christina Truss in 2009, has been promoting and facilitating children’s education at the primary and secondary levels in Barbados.
Aron Truss revealed that the Foundation will be distributing approximately 600 tablets in academic year 2016/2017.
“Once we add a school to the tablet project, we do feel it is important to try and return every year, so that the new class three students get tablets as well. We do feel in order to raise the level of the school’s performance overall, it’s good that we continue and the teachers get to learn about the devices to develop lesson plans for you and those that follow.”
“To do that, we have to secure funding to buy these tablets every year and we have been very fortunate that Matt Crotty has agreed to pay for the tablets that you received,” Truss told students.
Member of Parliament for St James Central, Kerrie Symmonds lauded the work being carried out by Aron and Christina Truss, as well as thanking Crotty.
“We have to give thanks that Barbados is still able to attract people like Mr. Crotty. He has a belief that this country can do good things and has done good things, and will do more good things in the future. He has come to help this generation to be in a better position than you would have been otherwise,” he said.
The MP told the students to consider themselves lucky and urged them to treasure the tablets.
“There was a time not so long ago when we felt in government that the government of Barbados would be able to provide this kind of electronic equipment to all of our schools. We genuinely thought we would have been in a position to have what we called Education Technology, with computer labs in every school and every child would have access to computers.
The reality is - that was a dream, and that was a dream that did not come through! There are still far too many children who do not in 2016 have that type of access to computers. The reality is, it is not likely that in the near future that situation is going to get any better. Things are becoming very difficult in Barbados. Government is finding it harder and harder to meet the commitments it already has. Therefore, I want you to treasure these tablets. It is a wonderful gift and it is an educational opportunity.”
Principal at Welches Primary, Patricia Lovell, also took the opportunity to express her gratitude and appreciation for the donation.
“I am delighted to welcome back Mr. Truss this year. When he came last year, we weren’t sure if it was a one-off opportunity, but we are very glad to hear him say that it is going to be an ongoing endeavour. I want to compliment him and his wife, and Mr. Crotty… I want to thank you for considering Welches Primary School and helping us out, so that our students will be on par with their peers”. (TL)
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