Hillsborough Community Helps Collect Computers for Schools in Haiti
Source: Hillsborough Community Helps Collect Computers for Schools in Haiti | Hillsborough, NJ News TAPinto By Rod Hirsch
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ – An effort that began with the purchase of a lawnmower is underway to collect laptop and desktop computers that will be shipped to students at schools in earthquake-ravaged Haitian villages.
Gary Diogene, a member of the Rotary Club of Hillsborough, is president and CEO of AAME – All About Motivation & Education. Founded in 2016, the non-profit organization works to cover the cost of school tuition for underprivileged children in Haiti and supply food and personal care items to help Haitian families cope with the hard times they encounter on a daily basis.
As with any non-profit organization, fund-raising is a never-ending task; a few years ago, AAME volunteers spread out in the township to raise money doing landscape work and cutting grass. Diogene went to Central Jersey Nurseries – owned by Mayor Shawn Lipani and a member of the Rotary Club of Hillsborough – to buy a mower.
“Shawn found out what we were doing and gave us deep discounts on equipment and introduced me to the Rotary Club; I learned what Rotary is all about, how they give back to the community and I became a member,” Diogene said.
Diogene has returned to Haiti several times and seen firsthand the devastation and its long-lasting impact on Haitians of all ages but remains optimistic that the quality of life for Haitians will improve as they attend schools – 90 percent of which are private and not government-funded – and develop their computer skills.
The last major quake to hit the Caribbean island nation was in August, 2021, further weakening an infrastructure that has been wracked by natural disasters in recent years.
AAME is now focused on equipping the schools with as many computers as it can find.
Diogene found help close at hand; fellow Rotarian Abed Medawar, an executive with Magnate Worldwide, an international shipping and logistics company, heads Magnate’s community outreach initiative. He made a few phone calls and in short order, arranged to have 175 excess laptop and desktop computers shipped to Diogene after their hard drives had been scrubbed cleaned.
Magnate Worldwide is a diversified supply chain management company, comprised of a platform of complementary, premier logistics providers focused on expedited domestic transportation, Fine Arts, and global freight forwarding.
“We are committed to helping our family of brands grow, creating employment opportunities and developing our people, conducting our business with integrity, elevating safety and compliance, giving back to our communities, and being mindful of the planet and our environmental impact on it,” according to the company’s website.
“They came through beyond our dreams,” Diogene said.
Medawar’s wife Lisa works with Pinnacle Fitness Center in Hillsborough, which has also donated computers; Christopher Jones of Van Cleef Engineering has donated 15 computers, with promises of more.
A source in Woodbridge has promised to donate two dozen computers, and according to Diogene, another company said it would provide licenses for Microsoft computers.
Still needed are keyboards, monitors, wires and connectors, according to Diogene.
“There are very few computers in Haiti,” Diogene said. “We purchased a couple of laptops and sent them to our director in Haiti, that’s how the idea of equipping the schools started. If we can put something in place, get the centers set up with the Internet, students can do research, paperwork, and the professors too, it would just be great for the community.”
Complications brought on by COVID-19 have slowed the process, but Diogene hopes to send the first batch of computers to Haiti by summer, with a grand opening at the first computer center by year’s end.
“This has been amazing,” Diogene said, “something that you cannot explain when you don’t expect that kind of generosity. It renews your faith in humanity.”
Diogene came to the United States from Haiti when he was 13; he spoke Creole and did not speak English but learned to do so in public school in Essex County. He went on to college, and became a police officer in Irvington.
Now retired from law enforcement, he owns several businesses.
“I am blessed,” he said.
“It is crucial for these kids to go to school; you cannot expect anyone to be a proud member of society when they can’t read or write,” Diogene said. “I felt compelled to give back, that’s what I chose to do, hoping the kids will be able to provide for themselves and their families with food and clothing; if we can train them on a computer, we can be sure to turn these kids into professionals and when they look back, they can remember how strangers changed their lives.”
Anyone interested in donating computers to AAME or making a cash donation to the non-profit organization can contact Diogene at (973) 704-0199 or click here to donate.
