A WESTBURY project is thanking people for their support and donations as it sends 70 computers and 70 printers to schools in the Philippines, to help enhance the education of children in the country.
The Westbury couple behind the scheme have now pledged to continue Project 300 with ambitious plans for the future, which include opening a library and sending books, clothes, and more computers to the Philippines.
James Lewis and his Filipino wife Cherry started Project 300 last year by accepting donations of old computers and refurbishing them, ready to send out to schools in the Philippines. James was inspired to start the project after visiting schools in the Philippines and seeing for himself the lack of facilities the children had for learning. In an age where computers are part of everyday life, the couple say that computer literacy is a key skill for children if they are to keep up with their peers at college and get a good job in the future.
The couple spread the word about their project through family, friends, and colleagues, and through an appeal in the White Horse News last month. James told the White Horse News, “The people who read your newspaper have been so kind and helped in a huge way by donating equipment that is ready to use. This means we simply wipe the hard drive, reformat and reload software to get going. This saves so much time and allows us to reach out to even more schools, with every computer we send supporting the learning opportunities and also reducing the carbon footprint of the community here in Wiltshire.”
Thanks to the donations from Westbury and further afield, the computers and printers are being shipped out this month.
Donations will help
open library
James and Cherry now plan to continue the project in the long term, extending to sending out books and clothes to help with the education of the Filipino children. They plan to open a library in the coming year so that children can borrow books and improve their reading skills.
James explains, “I am going to continue the [computer] project as before, with donations being given via my place and processed into small shipments that will go monthly in shared container space. This will mean I need to be quick about the repair and processing of items, but will mean that we have items arriving there monthly from April onwards.
“I am going to ask for book and clothes donations (summer clothes only) so we can pack the computers safely. The items used as packing can then add to the value of each box, in terms of donating to the poorest children there.
“My wife has been asked for books for children and it would be nice to sponsor a book library in the city of Cebu where ˚children can borrow books and enjoy reading. So we plan to open such a library in the coming year once donations are there. I am flying there at the end of April to fit the first schools out. My wife will fly there in August to fit out more schools and we hope by December that the majority of schools will start to receive their equipment.
“Our project is going to be long term and we welcome donations of computers, laptops, books, and children’ s summer clothes th˚at can be used to help with the education programme there. I can be reached on james.project 300@yahoo.co.uk or via the website www.project 300team@yolasite.com with texts being left on 07946 619934.”
