MOUNT VERNON — A new enterprise of the Business & Finance Academy at the Knox County Career Center is an endeavor to raise funds to donate to a foundation called “One Laptop per child.” The foundation’s the main purpose is to provide kids in third-world countries with rugged, low-cost and efficient laptops and to empower them through self-guided learning.
Kevin Williams, president of the Business & Finance Academy, said the students chose that project because, “we just got new laptops in our lab, and we had a great time with them. We learned a lot and we thought it would be wonderful if all kids could have that opportunity.”
Academy vice president Oscar Ricalde said, “It’s pretty much an opportunity to help other kids have an education. Not everyone has the educational opportunities that we have.”
“We thought,” added Williams, “you can’t really keep sending water and vaccinations to third world countries if they don’t learn anything from it, so education is, we think, the foundation of all solutions.”
Each laptop, which costs $200, comes pre-installed with a certain number of apps. The units can be solar powered, adjusted to use hydroelectric energy, or can be hand cranked.
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