Moore Stephens offers students in Guatemala a helping hand

Friday 08 July 2016

A local accountancy firm has made a donation of computers to schoolchildren in Central America to help them meet their educational goals.

Moore Stephens is sending the School of Hope in Guatemala three notebooks and seven laptops which have been retired from its Jersey office. The donation is being coordinated by Jerseyman Micheal Fitzgerald, who travels annually to Antigua, Guatemala to work with the school.

“The school is so important," he said. "It literally saves these children’s lives. I go out every January and help out and meet the kids and their families, it is amazing to see them learning; they live in such poverty and yet always smile and are happy to see the possibility of a better life. The computers will be a big help in achieving that.”

The School of Hope is responsible for roughly 600 children. Their aim is to break the cycle of poverty and provide a safe place with food and water and regular health checks. 

Students ranging from reception to university age can attend the school and it is expected that the computers donated will be used to practise writing in English and Spanish as well as learning social skills. 

The Jocotenango area where the school is located is an urban area of extreme poverty rife with gang activity. 

The School of Hope reaches out to the area's children to help them overcome some these obstacles in the hopes of realising their full potential. 

“We are extremely pleased that our donation has been and will continue to be beneficial to the children at School of Hope," Brona Lambert, client services director at Moore Stephens said. 

“Education and social skills are extremely important and these computers will allow these children to connect with the world.”