ENTERTAINER Papa Michigan partnered with Flow Foundation to donate 30 tablets to students of Bethlehem Primary and Infant School in Malvern, St Elizabeth, recently.

“I chose to give the students tablets because of the present crime situation. A lot of teenagers are involved in criminal activities, so if we can catch them at an early age to focus on education, they can see a different way out. I really chose education to change the mindset,” Papa Michigan told the Jamaica Observer.

Papa Michigan, who placed second to Buju Banton’s winning entry I Am a Jamaican in the 2020 staging of the Jamaica Festival Song Competition, shared how the rural school was selected for this project.

“I had family members who attended that school. The initiative started when I entered the festival song competition last year with the song Jamaica Dance. It caught the attention of an elementary school music teacher in Wisconsin, USA. He (the teacher) then used the song in a project with his students. The school was so happy with the song that they gave me a donation at the end of the project to be used for a charity of my choice,” said the veteran artiste.

He continued, “After speaking with my wife, we decided to donate the tablets to the Bethlehem Primary and Infant School which several members of my family had attended… Flow Foundation came on in a big way and made things much easier. I am very grateful to them,” he continued.

The tablets are equipped with cases, SIM cards, and are all pre-loaded with a 25GB data plan which will give the students a huge boost.

According to Papa Michigan, his association with Flow Foundation goes back three decades when his brother coached the company’s — then known as Telecommunications of Jamaica — football team.

“I played for the Masters league, so I have been affiliated with them for three decades,” said Papa Michigan, who also represented Tivoli Gardens at the Manning Cup level.

Flow Foundation’s Community Programmes Coordinator Courtney Bell said his company was elated to be part of the initiative.

“When Papa Michigan approached us, we were happy to support the initiative and quickly agreed to match his donation. We understand the importance of technology, especially during this time. As we continue to support the education of our nation’s children, we also saw this as an opportunity to use our products and services to further bridge the digital divide, and so, we were happy to also upgrade Bethlehem Primary’s Internet speed to ensure a better teaching and learning experience for the teachers and students respectively,” he said.

Flow Foundation has had a long-standing history of supporting education in Jamaica through various initiatives and partnerships. The partnership with Papa Michigan is the latest venture in tablet donations to students across the island. Earlier this year, the foundation partnered with the Sean Paul and Sandals Foundations which saw over 200 tablets being donated to several schools islandwide.