Puerto Rico

Overview

The two major hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 decimated many of life’s necessities: electricity, water, and roads. And schools on the island were also hit hard by earthquakes in 2019 as almost half of the schools were closed. 40% of computers and networks in Puerto Rican schools do not work. Moreover, restoration has been severely restricted by limited budgets and capacity.

Goals

WCE provides refurbished computers loaded with educational content and other digital resources to local schools, while also raising awareness about the proper disposal of damaged computers. Not only will this provide technology career readiness and know-how in the community, it will also reinforce the movement to responsibly repair computers and recycle e-waste.

Our Work

WCE has piloted programs in Puerto Rican schools. Each school receives the following:

• Refurbished computers loaded with educational content in Spanish
• Help from tech volunteers
• Improvements in Internet
• Purchase of requested software

In exchange for these resources, teachers and students from each school do one of the following:

• Gather or create more educational content to share among schools in Puerto Rican and other Latin countries
• Design a game, club, or unit that inspires girls to pursue careers in technology

Future Plans

As youth are able to return to schools and community organizations, WCE hopes to expand this project across Puerto Rico, eventually reaching other countries in the Caribbean.

Support

If you are interested in supporting our Puerto Rico project through a monetary donation, please make your donation below:

If you have any other questions or concerns about the Puerto Rico project please contact PuertoRico@WorldComputerExchange.org.

Getting Computers

If your school or organization in Puerto Rico is interested in receiving computers, please fill out the following application and email it to PuertoRico@WorldComputerExchange.org.

Resources

For more information about WCE’s work in Puerto Rico, please refer to the following documents: