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County surplus PC's dropped off around the globe
Narrator Says:
The work may start in a Garfield High School classroom, but the product ends up several thousand miles away in places where it’s needed. The work is that of students from Garfield High School, involved in the Global Technology Academy program, which has been around since the mid-90’s.
King County recently got in on the giving by donating some of its surplus computers to GTA. The program has two main objectives: teaching students the skill of repairing computers,
GTA Student Monica Boatwright Says:
I learned how to network, I learned crimping, I learned how to fix a computer obviously I didn't know how to do that when I came in here, I've learned parts of the computer, and I made really good friends in here, I guess, that's something I can say I learned.
Narrator Says:
And providing computer technology to people in places it might not otherwise be available. Places like Bursa, Turkey. This is video shot by one of the students on that trip in the summer of 2006.
A third objective, which may be more of an added benefit, is the unique experience students can absorb in different cultures.
GTA Student Damon Bomar Says:
We learned dances, we learned a lot about the food there, we ate like every two hours, we learned a lot about the people and their hospitality, they're just so nice, it was kind of weird when we first got there.
It was better when we got to know each other, it was like we were actually a family, I'm not saying that to be corny it was like we were actually a family.
GTA Student Andrea Wise Says:
This trip was more of a mutual thing, it was a barter system, not only did we go down there, to teach them tech kills, but they opened up everything for us, we were treated like royalty down there, and it wasn't like we were tourists, although our big group, a lot of times I just felt like I was at home, it was like family down there, so I guess that was the most rewarding thing.
Narrator Says:
On top of turkey, the list of countries the program has visited includes Tanzania, Guatemala, Philippines, Ghana, Nepal, Russia, India, Poland, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Mexico. A typical project includes between 100 and 400 computers, With between 15 and 35 students working on the project. As you might expect, the students say their experiences have been irreplaceable.
GTA Student Nancy Rojas Says:
We did a whole week where we actually taught the schools, we'd have a whole bunch of schools from the neighborhood of Guatemala come in to a specific school and we would give classes of 50 students and it would be just our team working with some of our brothers and sisters from Guatemala, it was a really nice experience, the people were really nice, they treated us well, and it's something I don't think I'll ever forget.
GTA Student Shantea Cardenas Says:
Now I'm trying to be more focused, because a lot of kids there have to walk 8 miles Just to get to school and I have a bus that takes me to school, and I don't have to pay for school, so I really took a lot of things for granted, before I went down there so now I know to be grateful for what I have.
Narrator Says:
Global technology academy has about 200 active members, and on top of Garfield High, Students from Roosevelt, Nova, Center school, and Skyline also take part.
While on the trip, the students set up the computers they worked to refurbish, And teach their hosts how to use them. Many of the students I spoke with at Garfield say they feel as though they took away more than they gave.
GTA Student Andrea Wise Says:
It was a really good trip overall, but also on a personal level because I am African American, it was really nice to see a lot of the dynamics, that I can trace back to what we do here, and also really emotional because a lot was asked and expected of me from the people there so that was different in terms of culture shock.
GTA Student Shantea Cardenas Says:
It felt good for me to be the majority where here in America, I'm the minority, and it was also eye-opening that some of them didn't realize that there were black people in America, so we told them the story about slavery, and they were so shocked like 'Why didn't you come home?', and we told them we didn't know where home was, so it was a welcome back party.
GTA Student Shantea Cardenas Says:
It was something I could relate too, I could talk to them, communicate with them fluently because I spoke Spanish, and I feel like I learned a lot myself, I got to teach some stuff that I recently learned, which made me captivate more of the knowledge that I got here from the classes, it was a really nice experience, installing all the labs.
GTA Student Damon Bomar Says:
People really need to get out of the country, to really see how people live, because you don't really know how good it is until you've gone, you don't really appreciate how much we have until you've gone and seen how much other people have and how they work with it, once you go and realize that and you spend time with them and they're families and it's like 'I have it great'.
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