During COVID-19, our House has been lucky enough to receive some amazing donations of tablets and computers, to help our participants stay connected with our community and take part in our programs.
Community Therapists, BOSA, and Aly Madhani at One Percent Realty all donated computers that have proven invaluable to our Family Literacy Outreach program participants, as coordinator Morie Ford explains:
I want to tell you the story of one family, and how one computer has impacted that family.
Zong May is the mother of three young children. She and her husband came to Canada from Miramar about three years ago. They live in a BC social housing complex in Vancouver.
For the past two years, our volunteer tutor has been going to their home to strengthen the English speaking skills of Zong May and her three-year-old youngest child.
Zong May’s other two children are in school – in grade 3 and grade 5.
However, on June 19, the family had to return their on-loan iPad to the children’s school. That iPad had been their only way of connecting to the ‘new normal’ way of learning.
That is where the computer comes in! On June 25, I took one of the donated computers to the front area of their housing complex, and met Zong May and her children outside.
The trunk of my car was open and the computer parts sanitized and available for them to take. One child grabbed the monitor, another the keyboard, and Zong May took the tower.
With beaming smiles and shouts of gratitude, they headed back into their apartment. As they disappeared, I called after them, “Please send me a picture once things are set up!”
Within two hours, I heard a “ping, ping” as texts arrived to my phone with more thanks and a picture of them in front of their new computer!
Believe me, this computer will be used to strengthen the skills and capacity of this family! Thank goodness it was there!
Zong May and her three children using their donated computer.
Would you like to donate computers, tablets, or smartphones to our participants? Please contact our Executive Director Tulia Castellanos at tcastellanos@mpnh.org.