NASSAU, The Bahamas -- Corporate Bahamas has heeded the call to assist the nation’s youth with the acquisition of learning devices. Leading the charge to ensure that no child is left behind in the current virtual environment is Leno Corporate Services Limited, with its objective of providing learning devices for Bahamian students.

The joint partnership between Leno and the Ministry of Education titled, "Leno Learning Link" was developed to encourage corporate partners and private citizens alike to support the effort to put a device in the hands of every child in the public school sector.  The tablets were presented during a press conference held in the foyer of the Ministry Education on Thursday, 5th November, 2020. 

Over $123,000 has been poured into the campaign to put a tablet or learning device in every child’s hand.  Donors included: Boys Brigade, Insurance Commission of The Bahamas, Bahamas Cooperative League, Trinity Methodist Church, Aliv, Cable Bahamas, Run for Pompey and Photo Magic.  Assistance has also been given in the form of free ad placement by the Tribune.

During the ceremony, CEO of Aliv, Damian Blackburn also pledged $10,000 for devices for special needs children and Director of International Organization for Migration (IOM), JanWillem Wegdam, pledged $40,000 for the children of St. James Street in the Kemp Road area.

Minister of Education, the Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd thanked the donors and said the donations are timely, as over 36,000 students in the public sector are seriously challenged as a result of the pandemic, which requires a virtual learning platform.

Pandemic and hurricane, he said, have presented unprecedented challenges for the country and the nation’s students, who principally lack devices or internet access or in some instances, both.  Minister Lloyd said “Covid 19 has placed an interference on learning. The Ministry of Education, however, is determined that no child should be left behind due to the deprivation of a device. We realized that we could not do it alone, therefore, we depend on and need the assistance of everyone. We are, therefore, proud and grateful to Leno who led this initiative to ensure that our children do not suffer due to this disruption in normalcy.”

Also expressing gratitude for the donations was Director of Education, Dr. Marcellus Taylor. He said ‘responsible’ is the key word that epitomized the action taken by Corporate Bahamas. He also charged students to be responsible. “Corporate citizens have seen the importance of assisting with this initiative at this time,” he said. “Those who will be the recipients of their generosity must translate this with educational gratitude.”

Leno Managing Director, Wealth Solutions, Brian Jones said that his organization was happy to be a part of this initiative.  He also thanked the others for their donations. “Leno is proud to lead this transformational initiative because we understand that it takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “We started with $60,000 to lead and we are very grateful to all who have joined us to contribute to our efforts. We also wish to thank our clients for pitching in.”

The Ministry plans to continue with ceremonies over the next few days as donations come in.