US: Doctors of Indian origin shrink digital divide, donate laptops to students

By Reena Bhardwaj
Rockville [USA], July 25 (ANI): As schools and colleges have switched to remote learning in response to the coronavirus crisis, several students and families in marginalised communities are in need of laptop computers. Bridging this digital divide for more than two dozen students is a group of doctors of Indian origin.
The Greater Washington Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GWAPI), a group of 500 plus medical professionals in the Washington DC metro area, have donated laptop computers worth USD 10,000 to the under-resourced students of Montgomery College in Rockville.
On Friday (local time), a contactless drive-thru was set up to give brand new and some fully refurbished laptops to the needy. Queuing up in the drive-thru were hardworking parents like Angela Cooper, who is thankful to get laptop computers for her daughter who is a fresher at the college. And with this drive through laptop donation opportunity Cooper's daughter was handed over a free laptop to use at home.
"This opportunity allows my daughter to be able to really utilise technology to help her to excel at her studies. Maybe our technology is limited because it is not as updated. So this is really a great opportunity for us as a family," Angela told ANI.
Dr Sudhir Sekhsaria, representing GWAPI, puts a smile on his face and a laptop in his hands and gives away a boxed machine to select students that show up at the college driveway. Helping Dr Sekhsaria to vibrate hope and optimism is Montgomery college staff.
"We want to help the students learn. At the end of the day we all know, education is the most important thing in our lives. If we educate these children. It will give them a very good future and a good life," Dr Sekhsaria told ANI.
"With coronavirus, there is enough fear as it is, but not know how you are going to make it through school. Students should not have to worry about it. So, we are here to just hand out laptops to students watch them drive away from the big old smile and hopefully tackle another successful semester here at Montgomery College," said James Mitchell, Montgomery College representative.
GWAPI plans to duplicate this laptop donation drive in a couple of weeks from now. Apart from this project of helping students, GWAPI has been carrying out several other drives for the needy during these difficult COVID-19 times.
When millions of Americans have lost their jobs, GWAPI members of Indian origin are demonstrating unprecedented unity in coming together and raising funds for several food drives in and around the capital. The association has also taken a lead role in helping with prescriptions for hundreds of patients who were not able to return to India due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have run out of medicines. (ANI)