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Tamaimo School
7th October 2003 – The Official Opening of new Computer Facilities
– made possible by gift of 250,000 euros to he club by Local
Businessman - Jens-Peter Fulda
14 computers
have been installed at Tamaimo School in the first phase of an
ongoing project of the Lions Club of Santiago del Teide, which
is to equip every colegio publico in Santiago del Teide and Guía
de Isora with computer systems.
In the words of Santiago del Teide Lions Club President Steve
Gilbert, there was a "simple but sincere ceremony" held
at the colegio publico in Tamaimo yesterday, when their brand
new computer suite was officially opened. The computer suite comprises
of 14 computers, printing facilities etc. in a purpose built air-conditioned
classroom.
Attending
the ceremony were
Of behalf
of Lions Clubs International:
District Governor of Lions Clubs of Spain –Rod Weale
Head of Zone – Ken Ward
President of the Lions Club of Santiago del Teide – Steve
Gilbert
Deputising for the Mayor and representing the Ayuntamiento of
Santiago del Teide - Doña Maria Candelaria
Head mistress of the school Doña Marina Fernadez-Hernandez
as well as various members of the Lions Club of Santiago del Teide,
Teaching Staff, Representatives of the equipment suppliers: CBC
Computers and JTS Services and members of the press.
And of course the man whose generosity made it all possible -
local businessman Mr Jens-Peter Fulda and his wife
Lions President
Steve Gilbert was at pains to point out the importance of starting
computer skills education at as young an age as possible. "Our
future is our children. The better we can equip them to take their
place in the modern world, the better the world may become. Computers
provide access to information and communication. The manipulative
skills required, need to be taught at the earliest possible stage
in a child’s development. At a time when they are most receptive
to learning. We should not wait until they are nearly halfway
through the process, nor can we wait until funding is available
to allow younger children to access this knowledge"
Mr Fulda was
presented with a plaque to mark the occasion, and in his speech
said that he "did not want any thanks, all he asked the children
to do was to think about their environment and to keep the computer
room, their school and their towns clean and tidy, not to leave
rubbish lying around, for in his opinion respect for our environment
was as equally an important lesson to be taught as early as possible"
This is probably
one of the biggest projects ever undertaken by a Lions Club in
Spain and would not have been possible without the funding provided
by a generous donation from Mr Jens – Peter Fulda. The whole
project will cost in the region of 250,000 euros.
Steve Gilbert
went on to say "We wish to demonstrate to our hosts that
there are many of us amongst the expatriate community who don’t
just take out the benefits of living here but want to put something
back. It is one way of saying thank you for your hospitality.
As this project unfolds I personally have been lucky to make some
good friends within the ayuntamientos of Santiago del Teide and
Guia de Isora. In particular I would like to thank Doña
Maria Candelaria and her staff in the social services department.
Through this friendship we have been able to open a line of communication
that allows us to better understand the needs of the people and
identify projects where we can offer our help."
Whilst praising
the magnificent donation from Mr Fulda, Steve Gilbert also pointed
out: "In order to continue our work in the Lions Club we
continually need to raise money. Traditionally our funds have
been raised through the generous support of the expat community
in the coastal region. but I honestly believe that there are many
philanthropically minded Canarians who would like to assist us
in our future projects and many who would like to become Lions
themselves.
We would very
much like anyone to contact us, who are interested in helping
us help those who need it most.
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