This week we asked the man and woman on the street what they thought of the President’s plan to spend $30 million to provide one laptop per family. Their responses follow:
Desmond Dass, teacher – ‘It’s a good contribution for the poor people. It would help improve education. Students could go on the internet to get information and cut back the need to go through old material at the library. What would be a nice idea is to get hot spots in the rural areas so that people who have the laptop and can’t afford internet can access it.’
Althea Jones, public sector employee – ‘I 
think it’s a great idea that the government is taking into consideration education. He [the President] needs to take into consideration persons who don’t have light and who are not computer literate. Certain procedures need to be in place before he even thinks of providing laptops. Also, who will fix it if something goes wrong? A lot of the poor people will not be able to pay for it to be fixed. Will there be an IT person around to fix the laptops if they are down?’
Melina Marshall, student GTI – ‘I think it’s a good idea. It would be better for students like me who can learn how to use the computer and internet and get more information as well as chat with friends.’
Olicka Butts, teacher – ‘The $30 million could 
be used for something more beneficial. Not everyone needs one, knows how to use one or knows what to do with it. If you give it to an uneducated person what will they do with it? A lot of people need homes and the education sector needs developing; take the money and use it in those areas instead of handing out a laptop.’
Kevin, public sector employee – ‘It’s a good idea. It will make work easier on schoolchildren. I think it can work. The schoolchildren with SBAs can do research online and type out their information for themselves.’
Christian Welch, student – ‘There are people who don’t have electricity in their houses. I don’t know how wise it is to give everyone a laptop when it will just be a white elephant and then there are those who can’t use the laptop so it would be a waste of money. The money could be used to do the roads or go to the schools or any project that they see beneficial to the development of Guyana.’
Troy Daniels, private sector employee – ‘I
think it’s a good idea because I need one right now to study. I’m from the East Bank and the laptop could be used for information that you cannot get in a library. It allows for more research so I think it would definitely work.’
Michelle Sampson, self employed – ‘I think it’s good because not every parent can afford to buy a computer for their children. They would benefit because it is used in schools and it is going to be good for the children at home because it will have the internet. But who will provide the internet? It is important but it is an added expense to the parents at the end of the month.’
Amika Lewis, public sector employee – ‘For me, I think it’s a great initiative. I have four children and am a person who likes to study. My eldest son is into this thing. It’s not just about playing games but it helps with spelling and you can type and do research. Also, you can buy educational games which keep the children occupied. It will aid a lot in giving the Guyanese public a chance to come up to date with the computer world. No family will be at a disadvantage and this I think is a great initiative.’
Danny Persaud, private sector employee – ‘I feel one, while it’s a good promotion in the country because of technology, do all persons need one? Why I ask is because some people may use it to look at all kinds of movies including pornography. The other side of the coin is there is a need for it because there are those who are going to computer classes to learn to use it. I strongly feel a criterion should be worked out to see who gets a computer. I also hope he’s not promoting something that will incite racial talk in terms of how distribution is done.’
Interviews by Tiffny Rhodius with photos by Jules Gibson
