Three months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico in 2017, our team of volunteers from Intel, WWT and Camera Mundi drove up the west coast from Mayaguez to Aguadilla to assess the condition of computer resources in the local schools. I remember looking out the car window as we were driving north on Rte 2 and counting the number of power poles that that were laying down on the ground as a result of the storm. I soon lost count. For mile after mile the power poles were broken and scattered surrounded by tangled wires and debris. When we arrived at one of our assigned schools, we met with an angry school principal who complained that our assessment was a waste of time and she predicted that we would leave and return to our homes and nothing would be done to help the schools. At first I was a bit surprised at her angry comments, but by the time I left Puerto Rico after eight days of assessments, I shared her concern with the disaster recovery process, and her fear that life on the island will never be normal again. I got on the plane for home with a feeling of helpless frustration.
Last week, exactly one year after our first visit, our team returned to Puerto Rico and on Thursday I found myself on the same route from Mayaguez to Aguadilla. This time as I looked out the car window I was amazed to see new poles were standing upward and carrying power and communications to the people in the area. And this time we had a truck full of equipment and we were on our way to deliver a modern, sustainable computer lab to one of thirty selected schools across the island that were most in need. My visit to Puerto Rico this year certainly felt very different. And this year, when it was time to go home, I boarded the plane with a feeling of accomplishment and renewed hope.
The time between our visits to the island was a study of persistence, commitment, collaboration and flexibility. My personal expectations of what we would find during our assessments in 2017 was way off. I was expecting that we would find that the schools needed networks and connectivity to the Internet. To my surprise, most schools had reasonably good Internet connectivity (once the power came back on), but lacked the computers to connect to it. Also, after we left Puerto Rico last year, the schools system went through a large reorganization that resulted in the closure of a significant number of schools across the island. Many families and children had left the island after the storm and schools were being consolidated. Our initial sponsor for the project turned their focus towards the reorganization and we had to look for new sponsorship for the project. After many months of meetings, consultation and persistence, a new sponsor in the Governor’s office stepped up and the project was back on track.
The next phase of the project pivoted toward deploying computer labs in selected schools. A team of amazing contributors and volunteers provided equipment, expertise, logistics, services, knowledge and just plain hard work. A project like this is expensive and time consuming and requires a great deal of commitment. Intel donated two thousand NUC small form factor computers and with the help of WWT and Camera Mundi were imaged with an operating system and applications, shipped to Puerto Rico, assembled into systems with monitors and keyboards, and deployed to the schools with training for the teachers. A large number of the team never set foot in Puerto Rico but their contributions as were equally important as those that did.
As you might imagine, this is a challenging task. Being on this team is a life experience for me. Any egos or professional position are left behind, and this group of people with different backgrounds, skills and personalities seamlessly came together with like minds and hearts to produce results. Our focus was on what we could do to enable and enhance the educational future of the children of Puerto Rico through technology. I am simply thankful to be a participant!
We have completed just the first step. We impacted thirty schools and thousands of children but this can only be the beginning of the effort. Just as the power poles on Rte. 2 are again standing and pointed skyward carrying hope and opportunity to the schools in Puerto Rico, it is time for us to help Stand Up Education for the children of Puerto Rico!
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