NASSAU, Bahamas – The Nassau (Bahamas) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated presented 40 electronic tablets, with keyboards attached, to the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Tuesday, September 2, 2020 during a short ceremony at the MOE headquarters on University Boulevard. The donation of the new electronic tablets, representing a $10,000 investment, will assist the MOE in fulfilling its commitment to providing equitable, quality education to students during the COVID-19 era.
Accepting the donation, the Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd, Minister of Education, expressed gratitude to the women of Links, noting that the service organization was demonstrating and emphasizing the service and generosity it has always been known for.
“This is very good and this is what we need. If you can do something now — not textbooks, not writing books, a device — this is your school, your library, your teachers, your classmates and instructors,” said Minister Lloyd.
Sharlyn Wilson-Smith, President, said the Nassau Chapter — with the support of the Links, the Links Foundation and friends of Links — is delighted to support the virtual learning platform of the Ministry in this way. The donation marked the latest phase of assistance by the organizations to communities impacted by Hurricane Dorian. Phase one comprised the distribution of over 45,000 pounds of relief supplies to 700 families in Nassau, Grand Bahama and Eleuthera.
“For Phase 2, we acknowledge that Covid-19 has meant that schools across The Bahamas, and indeed the globe, have had to close,” Mrs. Wilson-Smith said. “It soon became apparent that the digital divide was a threat to the education of children who had, in the same academic year, faced the challenges caused by the Hurricane. The digital divide, therefore, was even more acute in these areas and threatened and threatens the continued education of students in these areas. To assist with decreasing the disparity in the access to education among children in communities impacted by Hurricane Dorian, we are pleased to provide to the MOE, 40 new tablets with keyboards attached.”
Established in the United States in 1946, The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation. Its membership consists of more than 16,000 professional women of color in 288 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.
