Mrs. Luversa R. Sullivan, Clever Programme Director has said plans
are underway with Intel, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of PC
microprocessors, to establish an Intel Clubhouse in Ghana in 2009.
The computer clubhouse provides a creative and safe after-school
learning environment where young people from under-served communities
work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop skills, and
build confidence in themselves through the use of technology.
First
in the sub-region, Mrs. Sullivan disclosed to ADM, the Clubhouse will
give opportunity to deprived children in Ghana to learn how to produce
music, video, animation and among others to build robots.
“This
will help them to be fluent in using technology, so that in future,
they can better use their creative skills for their own benefit and
that of the society,” she said.
Mrs. Sullivan is in Ghana with
five teenagers from the Clubhouse Clever Kids of USA for a three-week
training programme. On Wednesday, the children who are beneficiaries of
the Clubhouse visited the Autism Awareness, Care & Training (AACT)
at Kokomlele in Accra.
At the centre, the autism children and
their trainers where taught about kinetic sculpture, photo paint and
other creative arts using the computer.
The equipment used in the
training which included four laptops, picocrickets (engineering
programme), digital camera and wireless router worth about $6,000 was
donated to the centre. Mrs. Sullivan advised them to make good use of
the items. The group also visited Morning Star School at Cantonments
and donated a computer and a projector worth $4,000.
Mrs.
Sullivan said she was happy the group had been able to achieve the
objective of coming to Ghana for the second time and said it would be
made an annual affair.
“It will help the kids to know the importance
of not taking life for granted. We have achieved our goal because,
coming back home in Africa and giving back what we have acquired is a
dream we always have,” she said.
A member of the group, Liischai Pickinson expressed happiness at having visited Ghana.
“I
am happy I had a chance to come here. You see everyone happy and
willing to learn. We are learning from them and they are also learning
from us,” she told ADM.
Mrs. Serwah Quaynor founder of AACT said
it is wonderful to be selected for such a project. She described
autistic children as amazing and appealed to society to support them
and not to shun them.
She promised to use the equipment judiciously to churn out creative children from the centre with knowledge in technology.
Mrs. Quaynor hoped to put up a boarding and respite centre for autistic children.
Clubhouse Clever Kids’ trip was sponsored by Microsoft, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Intel.
From : http://news.accra-mail.com/
