In 2008, the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club in Washington state, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Antigua, began donating computers to Antigua and Barbuda schools. By 2023, the Club had made 13 trips to the island and delivered at least 6,000 computers, as well as Wi-Fi networks, printers, whiteboards, and projectors, to island schools. They have visited nearly every school in Antigua and Barbuda at least once, and in some cases several times.
Technology and student demands have grown significantly throughout the years. The Rotary Club originally wired desktop computers into fixed labs. Nowadays, they provide laptops and wire schools for Wi-Fi. In addition, the Rotary Club provides a teacher training program to assist instructors in incorporating technology into their lesson plans.
– John Martinka, Project Leader
As one student’s mom noted in a program evaluation, children all have electronics at home and prefer to learn at school with tools with which they are acquainted. Test results have improved, and teachers and principals routinely comment on how helpful computers are in the classroom. High school students in the Bellevue region are assisting in the preparation of computers for delivery to Antiguan and Barbudan schools, and contingents of those students participate in the delivery and installation of technology on the island.
The Rotary Club began opening sewing centers on the island in 2012, and by 2023, there were 10. Sewing classes enable island locals to sew for their families and sell their handmade goods. The facilities help foster a sense of community and self-esteem.
