…as gov’t commissions six internet hotspots in community

THE village of Orealla can now access internet service following the commissioning of six internet hotspots across the community by Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes.

These hubs will allow residents to have free, uninterrupted access to the internet while being in a public space. For the first time in history, via the Telemedicine initiative, doctors and healthcare providers at the Orealla Heath Centre are now able to have direct video communication with Central Hospitals such as the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital and various other hinterland health centres.

According to Dr. Lerone Henry, who is stationed at the centre, the intervention will greatly improve the facility’s ability to conduct medical tests and facilitates direct contact with specialists. He no longer needs to take the two-hour journey up the river to the coast, as he is now able to speak directly with the specialists in real time while carrying out prescribed diagnoses and relaying symptoms and reactions.

In terms of public security, the Orealla Police Station is now online as well, allowing for the officers stationed there to make faster contact with Central Police Stations in the Capital and across the different regions via their dedicated internet pathways. Also commissioned during Minister Hughes’s visit was an internet hub dedicated to education, connecting students and teachers to the worldwide web. The hub features 10 laptops loaded with all the textbooks available from the Ministry of Education, removing the difficulties of having to find monies to purchase these books.

Minister Hughes wrapped up the visit by officially opening a Community Benab, which will be a central location for the villagers to access the internet with their various devices.
In brief remarks on the commissioning, Toshao of Orealla, Carl Peneux said the residents of the community are appreciative of the work done by the ministry and acknowledged that it is, in fact, a history-making occasion for the village which had remained cut off from the online world throughout the previous years. He also indicated that this initiative will go a far way in the village council’s plans to promote the community’s tourism potential as visitors and tourists will feel more comfortable knowing that despite being this far out from the mainland, they would still be connected.

In a presentation of appreciation to the minister, residents related that they are already seeing the benefits of being online, as they were able to sell two hammocks made in this very village, for $140,000. Minister Hughes also donated five new tablets to five critical committees and groups in the village, the Toshao, the Orealla Women’s Group, the Orealla Farmer’s Group, a representative of the Orealla Sports Group and, lastly, the Orealla Fisheries Group. Orealla is just the latest in several remote villages brought online via the initiative by the Ministry of Public Telecommunications to ensure that citizens across the country are all connected.