Computers for Saul Rodiles Elementary School

Computers for Saul Rodiles Elementary School

The project started through a plea for help on the noticeboard at the Lake Chapala Society, and Rotarian Jo Ross' field trip to the school in February of 2023. Here is a summary of Jo's findings:

The building is in a shocking state of disrepair to the point that it is unsafe. There is a concrete stairway leading up to an unfinished classroom with no roof. The stairway has no handrails on either side and the drop from the top step is about 15 feet. This school doesn’t have money to pay a salary to an English teacher, even though it is government requirement that school children in Mexico learn English. Teachers provides their own classroom supplies. When the lightbulb burned out in the school projector it could no longer be used. The school drinking fountains haven’t worked in years. Children either bring water from home or go without. The roof leaks and some of the walls have mold growing on them. The curtains at the windows are so tattered that the classrooms cannot be darkened enough for the projector’s images to be visible.

Before class the children fill buckets from a single working faucet. This is how the toilets are flushed. Once a year the students’ fathers climb up on the roof to clear away leaves, branches and other debris . This school doesn’t have a low budget. It has no budget at all.

The school computers date back to about 1995. They run on Widows 97. The computer lab has a large crack in the wall which appeared following the Colima earthquake in Sept. of 2022. The crack is still there. 

Judith Labadie is the volunteer English as a Second Language teacher. She agreed to take the position and was so appalled by the conditions in the school that she formed a committee of volunteers to help make the school safe and able to provide the learning environment that these children deserve. Thanks to this committee’s efforts there have been some improvements.

The Needlepushers at the Lake Chapala Society have recently provided new blackout curtains. A fundraiser held by the volunteers last December enabled the purchase of a new projector. A plumbing company, owned by a former student, has submitted a very reasonable bid for roofing and other repairs. An anonymous donor purchased a new refrigerator.

Our club has agreed to provide funding for 10 new computer stations. The average class size is around 30 students so this is just a start. Much still needs to be done.