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Access points must be shared with the community – USF boss

Published:Wednesday | February 17, 2021 | 4:51 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
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Daniel Dawes, CEO, Universal Service Fund; Camille Hoarde, principal, Goodwill Primary and Infant School, and student Micayla Harris at the comissioning of four community access points in St James recently.
Ashley Anguin/Photographer
Daniel Dawes, CEO, Universal Service Fund; Camille Hoarde, principal, Goodwill Primary and Infant School, and student Micayla Harris at the comissioning of four community access points in St James recently.
From left: Mark McGann, councillor, Somerton division; Rev Noel Murray, chairman of Goodwill Primary and Infant School; Daniel Dawes, CEO, USF; Mickayla Harris, student, and Camille Hoarde, principal, Goodwill Primary and Infant School, at the commissionin
Ashley Anguin/Photographer
From left: Mark McGann, councillor, Somerton division; Rev Noel Murray, chairman of Goodwill Primary and Infant School; Daniel Dawes, CEO, USF; Mickayla Harris, student, and Camille Hoarde, principal, Goodwill Primary and Infant School, at the commissioning of the Goodwill Primary and Infant School community access point in St James recently.
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WESTERN BUREAU:

Daniel Dawes, the chief executive officer of the Universal Service Fund (USF), has warned against barring residents from logging on to community access points islandwide, saying he wants the wider community to benefit alongside students.

“I say with emphasis Madam Principal, I don’t want you to lock out the community. You have to put some kind of structure in place where the community can be facilitated,” said Dawes during a function to commission the Goodwill Primary and Infant School community access point in St James into full service on Monday.

“If you don’t do so, I am going to come and take up the computers, because they belong to the people of the community,” Dawes warned.

WATCH: Universal Service Fund provides computer lab for Goodwill Primary & Infant School

The Goodwill Primary and Infant School community access point consists of 20 desktop computers and a projector, which were made possible through the USF at a cost of $7 million.

According to Dawes, residents of Goodwill and adjoining communities are now in a better position to generate wealth and prosperity for themselves and their community, now that they have the tools required to make them better off.

ACCESSING ONLINE PORTALS

“Today, we are happy to hand over this fully equipped computer lab to the Goodwill Primary and Infant School and the wider community,” the USF boss stated.

Camille Hoarde, principal of the school, said her students and teachers are now in a better position to access their online portals and continue the business of teaching and learning in the virtual space.

“This is the most opportune time for this ceremony to be handing over our community access point, because of the varying challenges we are having due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hoarde. “I can assure you that we will do everything that we can to ensure that this (community access point) is sustained.”

The principal further stated that the academic staff is quite aware that the world is rapidly advancing technologically and as a result, now is the time to equip their students with the necessary knowledge and skills to cope effectively in this changing world.

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