Teens for Technology

CONTACT:

224 Marlborough Street, Suite 12
Boston, MA 02116
617 416 6693
teensfortechnology.org

Anders Jones, President and Founder

DESCRIPTION:

Teens for Technology (TFT) began with a conversation in 2001 between then 13-year-old Anders Jones from Boston and a Kingston, Jamaica taxi driver. The driver’s two children attended a school with 850 students and one computer. Anders’ school also had 850 students — and nearly 200 computers. Struck by the difference, Anders decided to do something about it. He and some friends managed to give the Jamaican school a computer lab. Four years later, TFT has donated 1,000 computers to 100 school computer labs, exposing 100,000 Jamaican children to skills that could transform their futures. The Jamaican Ministry of Education, which tracks the TFT labs, says grade-point averages, literacy rates and attendance have all increased, and violence has dropped. TFT is determined to build on its success; over the next 18 months, it plans to distribute an additional 10,000 refurbished computers to Jamaican schools, libraries and community centers. Suppliers here have given assurances that the system can handle the increase; the communities themselves are partners in the enterprise, and the schools are providing matching funds. What TFT urgently needs now is growth investments, which is where you can help.

(2005: INTERNATIONAL)