Somewhere in a storage room at Greenwood City Hall, five computer systems have sat dormant since January while members of the Baptist Town Community Organization (BTCO) search for a location to teach children basic computer skills.
BTCO Co-chairman Dash Brown said he has the computers but nowhere to put them. The curriculum is designed to teach the basics of Internet browsing, word processing and other skills.
“We are looking for a spot near Baptist Town that we can use for the summer,” he said. “We have the computers, and we have the curriculum; we just need the space.”
Brown will be teaching the students.
Members of the Community Development Project (CDP), a group of Harvard students trying to help Baptist Town, returned for another visit this week. CDP member Mike Wolking said they had put a lot of effort into searching for a space but had not found anything.
“We’ve called a couple of churches, but haven’t heard anything back yet,” Wolking said.
Brown and members of the CDP said the space would be needed only about five hours per week. They also said the host could benefit from allowing them the space.
“We can work with them if they need to use the computers,” said Sorby Grant, another CDP member. “We just need somewhere that has tables, or space for tables and five students and Dash.”
The space would of course need electricity, and Internet access would be a plus, she said.
Wolking and Grant said they could possibly obtain funding to assist with various bills associated with the project, but they did not know an exact budget.
Brown said they are willing to compromise on the location. For example, downtown would be good.
“We would prefer it to be as close as possible to Baptist Town,” he said. “But something nearby would be fine.”
The CDP, formed in 2007, is an organization of Harvard public policy graduate students that picks up funding through various fundraising efforts and grants. However, Wolking stressed that the CDP wants only to assist with Baptist Town projects, not run them.
“We are trying to work on some programs to show people that we are able to get results,” he said. “But it’s the people in Baptist Town that matter the most. We are just helping them get what they want done.”
He said the CDP is merely a link to resources that the BTCO can use to get help. The two groups stay in regular contact, and Wolking said the partnership has been a success.
“When we first started, people saw the two groups as coming together,” he said. “Now, they are getting more independent. We are just staying available where we can help.”
Brown said the young people of Baptist Town need a program to expose them to computer use.
“It would give the youth something that would get them off of the corners. They could do this instead of just riding their bikes around,” Brown said. “I want to teach them how the Internet can take you places a bike just can’t go.”
The program would incorporate stories to help build the students’ moral character, Brown said.
The curriculum also has a health component. Students will use the Internet to search for different activities.
The CDP also spent time talking to Baptist Town residents and worked on a gardening and literacy programs while visiting Greenwood this week.
Wolking said they would return in the fall with a few new members from the Harvard school.
