VALE NEWS RELEASE: Local Aboriginal Youth Get New Tech Tools for School

Hiawatha Osawamick and daughter Breeze
Hiawatha Osawamick and daughter Breeze

Sudbury, Ontario, April 15th, 2016 – This week 50 Aboriginal youth in Sudbury and Wahnapitae First Nation have new educational technology tools thanks to a donation by One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Canada and Vale. The students will receive personal tablets designed by OLPC with children and communities in mind.

The tablets feature dozens of pre-installed educational apps for skill development in areas such as literacy, math, science and Aboriginal cultures and languages. Each tablet also features a library of more than 100 e-books, including children’s stories by First Nations, Métis and Inuit authors.

On Thursday April 14th, youth participants of the N’Swakamok Native Friendship Centre received 25 tablets for use in the Centre’s AKWE:GO program and at home. The goal of the AKWE:GO program is to provide urban Aboriginal children with the support, tools and healthy activities which will build upon and foster their inherent ability to make healthy choices.

“Participants of our program don’t have technology they need to do research and complete homework assignments at home. I’m happy that this donation by OLPC Canada and Vale will give our youth tools to succeed in school” said Koreen Lewis, AKWE:GO Coordinator.

At a community breakfast held on April 15th, students of Wahnapitae First Nation also received 25 tablets for use in personal educational pursuits. Mother of three, Hiawatha Osawamick shared her plans for the new technology “The school has a technology day once a month and my children are excited that they will be able to participate with their own tablets.“

“OLPC is a program that we are very proud to support in Ontario and across Canada,” said Angie Robson, Manager of Corporate and Aboriginal Affairs for Vale’s Ontario Operations. “Through this program we are assisting Aboriginal youth in getting the most out of their studies and helping them reach their full potential.”

About One Laptop per Child Canada

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Canada enhances education for Aboriginal youth with technological tools designed for creative, innovative, self-empowered learning. Founded in 2010, OLPC Canada has provided educational technology to more than 10,000 Aboriginal youth in 9 provinces and 2 territories. Vale is a founding sponsor of the initiative, and will help connect up to 450 Aboriginal youth to technology in 2016. For more information, please contact Jennifer Martino, Executive Director, OLPC Canada martino@olpccanada.com or 647-530-5303 www.olpccanada.com

About Vale Canada

Present in over 30 countries, Vale is the world’s largest producer of iron ore and pellets, key raw materials for the steel industry, and one of the largest producers of nickel, which is used to produce stainless steel, batteries, special alloys, chemicals and other products. The company also produces copper, manganese, ferroalloys, potash, bauxite, alumina, aluminum and coal, among other raw materials important to the global industrial sector and present in people’s daily lives.