YOU is seeking to raise funds
to establish and operate initially for one year, computer labs to provide Information
Technology Training, Cyber Centres, Mentoring programmes and life skills training
starting in inner communities throughout the island.
The communities initially
being targeted are
Canterbury
and Flankers in Montego Bay,
Allman
Town
and
Arnett
Gardens
in St. Andrew and
Kingston
respectively and finally
Spanish Town
. As a sponsor you are free to choose any other community that you may see the need
for such a facility to be installed and YOU would facilitate this.
This training and access
to technology is being placed in the heart of the communities to make it more accessible
and less costly for the recipients to attend.
These labs will be operated
on average 8 hours per day, 6 days per week and more if special circumstances require
and resources permit. The lab will have a number of spaces reserved for a cyber
centre to provide members of the community Internet, email, FAX, copying, scanning
and other office related etc services. These services will be at cost price in order
to encourage use.
In addition to the IT training
and access to technology, YOU as Jamaica’s leading mentoring organisation will be
developing mentor-mentee relationships between students on the programme and positive
role models. YOU will also be providing
the students access to the other life skills training and development programmes
that YOU currently offers.
Sponsors can elect to keep
paying the yearly operating cost for further years. Should this not be the case
other sponsors will be sought by YOU.
This training and development would be at no cost to the students. Students
would be selected based on a combination of recommendations from schools, community
leaders, their churches or sponsors. YOU being a non-profit registered charity are
able to develop these labs through very special concessionary pricing from partners
in the programme as well as significant assistance from volunteers.
The IT Training will be to
the internationally recognized “International Computer Drivers Licence” curriculum.
The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) is the world's largest vendor-neutral
end-user computer skills certification programme and is internationally recognized
as the global benchmark in this area. Outside of
Europe
, the ECDL is known as the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL).
ECDL is currently available
in 140 countries with over 5.5 million participants and has been translated into
32 languages around the world, making it the world's leading certification programme
to be adopted by governments, international organizations and corporations alike.
The ECDL/ICDL certifies that
the holder is competent in the use of a personal computer and common computer applications
and knows the essential concepts of IT.
The certified training will
be targeted mainly at youth whether in or out of school.
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