As a Microsoft Gold Partner we receive more than access to the exciting new business service developments coming out of their facilities. We also gain first hand insight into the great work the info-tech leader is doing for the lesser developed nations of our world.
For example, Microsoft is working to help provide global solutions to address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is a UN mandate to combat the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice.
One such initiative, is the Microsoft Education program.
With over half of today’s worldwide jobs requiring some technology skills, countries with limited access to necessary tools are being left behind. And this concern will only grow if unchecked, as experts predict that the percentage will increase to over 75 percent within the decade to come. In order for any nation to rise above poverty and the other challenges noted under the UN’s SDG, increased adoption of digital technology to allow a given nation to innovate, compete and drive economic growth is essential. Recognizing this, Microsoft is putting necessary tools into the right hands - those that belong to the youth, the future of our planet.
The success stories of Microsoft’s education programs grow significantly larger with each passing month. For instance, right now in India, a new app, powered by Azure machine learning and the cloud, is predicting which students are most likely to drop out of school. The resulting data allows administrators and educators to intervene and devise initiatives that prevent dropouts and keep their nation’s youth learning. In Brazil, Microsoft is working with educators to incorporate technology including Skype, OneNote Class Notebook, Office 365 and Microsoft Azure into teaching practices. By applying these modern technologies to the learning environment students become familiar with the very same software needed to succeed in the job market. These are just a couple of success stories that show how the tech giant is taking steps that will inevitably help the youth of underdeveloped nations make big leaps towards a brighter future.
Of course, not all programs need to be sweeping initiatives that work within a entire school curriculum to make a difference. Sometimes the simple act of putting the right tool into the hands of a student is all that it takes to spark a flame in someone that may change the world, even if that change begins in their home. This belief is what inspired Fully Managed’s own Laptop Donation Program. The program is exactly as it sounds, allowing repurposed laptops to find a new home where youth in need can use them to further their education and break free from the chains of poverty through technical knowledge and empowerment.
We recently had the opportunity to partner with a Microsoft associate who made a trip to the city of Iquitos, Peru. As a part of Microsoft’s Education program, an initiative was underway to work girls living in impoverished conditions, those who without help typically end up doing menial labor such as cleaning homes. In some troubling scenarios, the girls are lost to the sex traffic trade in order to financially support their parents and younger siblings. Fully Managed was able to provide our associate with refurbished laptops, and those laptops were delivered to ambitious and bright young ladies living in Iquitos, delivering the instruments they need to do their homework and develop important technical skills that will allow them to find careers and rise above the impoverished conditions that plagued their families for generations.
We’re happy to share the names and photos of three special students that are now proud beneficiaries of the program. Please meet Ana, Jemina, and Vivian:
We look forward to following their educational and career progress in the months and years to come. If you have any questions about our Laptop Donation Program,
contact us today.