As St. Vincent and the Grenadines continues to recover from the eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano, the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) lends support to its sister Community College towards the successful completion of the academic year in the areas of transportation assistance, supplies and teacher training for the virtual environment.
At least 300 staff and students of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) resident in the Red and Orange Zone were evacuated to safety, but their lives have not returned to complete normalcy.
The SALCC, in responding to the needs of the SVGCC, encouraged its staff and student clubs to donate non-perishable items to the displaced students who were still in need. BOS Marine based in St. Vincent, through their agents General and Maritime, assisted with the shipment.
In consultation with the Director of the College, Mr. Nigel Scott, the need for assistance with transportation was also identified as key to the successful completion of the academic year for some students.
Seventy-one (71) students of the SVGCC will not have to worry about their transportation costs for the next several weeks. They have had a long and arduous year and as we wind up this academic year we thank the SALCC for coming to our assistance even as we seek to recover.
Mr. Nigel Scott, Director of The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Community College
The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College through its elearning department, has also collaborated with the St. Vincent State College, to facilitate training for thirty-five educators in response to difficulties that emerged within the education sector in the wake of the disaster. The educators work at primary, secondary and tertiary level schools in St. Vincent.
The programme will run for four months, and will be facilitated entirely online as part of the SALCC Elearning Academy for Educators which is dedicated to the training of teachers to effectively leverage media and technology in the facilitation of learning both in the virtual and physical context. Funding for this initiative has been given by the International Co-operation and Development Fund (ICDF), Taiwan. Participants will obtain a certificate in Technology Enabled Instruction.
The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College will continue to work with its sister Colleges in the region, particularly those in the Windward Islands. The SALCC reached out to assist the Dominica State College after the passage of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The Colleges have also collaborated on many initiatives including the Windward Island Debating Competition which began in 2015 and has forged ties between students and faculty.
