"Education for a Better World"
Promoting the use of knowledge and computer technology to improve the human condition
For more information, please contact us:
(847)329-9847
or
nyef@springmail.com
In 2002, the Program shipped 55 computer systems and 10
printers to Guatemala. With the logistical help of its Guatemalan partner
non-profit groups the Asociacion de Investigacion, Desarrollo y Educacion
Integral (IDEI) and the Programa de Becas Mayas, and with funding from
the New England Biolabs Foundation, a total of three community computer
centers and an academic computer center were created or supported in
the areas of Quetzaltenango, Chimaltenango, and Guatemala City. All
four centers support the education of disadvantaged indigenous Mayan
students and leaders.
In 2005, we shipped another 130 computer systems to these partner organizations, and to Sexto Sol, a partner in Chiapas, Mexico that supports small farmers and promotes sustainable agricultural practices. In 2006, the First Byte Program will send another 150 computers to IDEI and the PBM as well as to two new partners.
In Guatemala our new partner is called the Asociacion para el Desarrollo Integral de las Victimas de la Violencia en las Verapaces, Maya Achi (ADIVIMA). This organization protects the rights and seeks justice for victims of massacres and human rights abuses in and around Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. It also sponsors educational projects in the area which we will support with computers.
This picture shows Carlos Chen Osorio and Pedrina Burrero Lopez, officers of ADIVIMA, in the organization’s office, Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala.
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The First Byte Program
"Technology Addressing Global Challenges"
The NYEF believes that computer technology should be used as a research and communications tool to help less advantaged individuals, non-profit organizations and communities address global challenges. Given that people with limited resources outside the U.S. rarely have free access to computers, NYEF is committed to transferring this technology to disadvantaged populations free of charge, and thus bridging the digital divide through its First Byte Program. In sum, we want to empower disadvantaged people in developing countries with computers, and give them the technological resources that can help them create better societies.
In Honduras we shall send computers to the Organizacion Fraternal Negra Hondurena (OFRANEH). This organization represents 46 different garifuna (Afro-indigenous) communities in Honduras and seeks to protect the rights, lands and culture of their people. We shall support their educational and AIDS prevention initiatives in these communities. As always, our support will be tailored to the local needs and circumstances of its new partners. If the NYEF receives enough gifts from its Friends by 2006, it will expand its First Byte initiatives to Asia, Africa, and Middle East, as well as to other Latin American countries.
This picture shows Miriam Miranda and Selvin Lopez officers of OFRANEH, with Gloria Garcia (right) Member, Board of Directors (NYEF), in the organization’s office, La Ceiba, Honduras.
This is a monument that memorializes civilian victims of one of several massacres perpetrated by Guatemalan- government security forces in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz during the early 1980s. About 1000 people perished in this area during those years. The NYEF is helping survivors and their families reconstruct their lives and educate their children with computer technology.