A Permanent Home for the Columbia Opportunity Center
by Connie Burk

The double classroom was packed with parents. People were curious about the new primary school principal. I was, too. As we sat in the big classroom on tiny chairs, Mr. Miguel Vairez introduced himself and his dreams for San Pedro Columbia. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, he moved up and down the center aisle talking about his accomplishments at previous schools and promising an energetic commitment as principal in Columbia's large primary school. He spoke smoothly and easily and I thought, this man should be a preacher. He somehow got the parents to vote for a first-time-ever annual school fee and I thought, this man should be a politician. He said he hoped to help make Columbia a better place to live and I thought, I think I can work with this man.

A week later, Mr. Vairez enthusiastically accepted my offer to move the computer lab into the school building, to be used both as a school lab and an internet café. Jerry, Peace Corps Denise and other volunteers worked hard over the December holiday to create the infrastructure, and by February, I was teaching children, four classes a day, three days a week. By the time I went to the States in May, I was exhausted, but thrilled. It was especially rewarding watching thechildren who had been regulars at the lab on weekends for several years.Those who had stubbornly refused to do anything but play our educational games were suddenly at the tops of their classes learning how to type and edit, cutting-and-pasting as if they'd been doing itall their lives. After years of chastising them for idly changing random settings, setting up bogus connections, and generally frustrating me to the limits of my technical talents, I am so proud of them now.

During the evenings, on weekends, and during school holidays, the Columbia Opportunity Center continues to successfully meet the homework, e-mailing, and internetsurfing needs of many Columbians and residents of nearby villages. Our prices have remained rock-bottom low, and the quality of service delivery from our village managers remains high.

Our final step is to work hard this year to make the project sustainable, as IAIA will turn the lab over to the school entirely as of June 2007. This will involve a focused plan of upgrading the equipment and training a number of teachers and village residents to manage and maintain the lab without us. We are very hopeful that the lab can become sustainable and that the school and village can continue to benefit from its presence in Columbia for years to come. We are certainly going to make our best efforts in that direction.

THANK YOU to all who supported IAIA and San Pedro Columbia for the past five years.

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