Early this year, the Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview (Canada) and Club Rotario Tomebamba (Cuenca, Ecuador) partnered on a project to replace the aging 1990s-era computers (Window 95 vintage) at the Unidad Educativa Especial Adinea, a school for children and youth with developmental disabilities.
Approximately 95 students from low-income families in and around Cuenca attend the school. These students, who have a wide range of physical and intellectual disabilities (i.e., Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy), are unable to attend mainstream schools because they require special support. Many of the students have little or no language skills, for example.
Computers are valuable tools for teaching students with disabilities because they provide students with access to individualized programs, they promote communication/language development, they foster independence, they make education more meaningful and fun.
The existing computers at Adinea school were old units with obsolete software, yes floppy drives, and dated or no internet capability.
Club Rotario Tomebamba obtained quotes from several computer shops in Cuenca, and with money donated by the Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview and personal funds donated by Paul and Cynthia Dusseault, 10 desktop computers, 10 sets of headphones, 1 laptop computer (for the teacher), a printer, and a large Smart TV were purchased from SECOMPU. Thanks to Fredy Segarra of SECOMPU and his team of technicians, who, in just one day, removed the old computers, set up the new ones, and wired everything to a network.
With a little bit of money left over, Paul & Cynthia bought new mouse pads, light bulbs for the ceiling fixtures (to brighten the room), and 5 new computer chairs to replace some of the old kitchen-style chairs that were being used in the computer room. Needless to say, while all this was underway, the students kept poking their heads in to see what was happening. It was a pleasure to see the first group of excited students come into the lab and immediately fire up the new computers.
Ecuadorean hospitality was shown to Paul and Cynthia. They were invited to the school director’s home to enjoy an afternoon/evening of wine, coffee, and cakes with several of the school staff and volunteers.
Thanks go to Javier Ordoñez (current president, Club Rotario Tomebamba), Alfredo Vega (incoming president), and friend of Rotary, Abdón Riquetti, who did the research in getting the computer quotes. The Riverview/Tomebamba partnership resulted in a very successful project that will help Unidad Educativa Especial Adinea as it provides education to the disadvantaged children and youth it serves.
