Fall semester is now fully underway and the air is full of the scent of scholarship, the scent of fresh knowledge, and the scent—of coffee. There are some people who casually enjoy it, there are some who choose not to indulge, and then there are those people who only stop drinking long enough to brew the next pot. Whichever group you may find yourself in, we can all identify with the image of a person sitting in front of a computer screen with a mug of the black stuff sitting inches from the keyboard.

            It is an image that we connect with hard work, focused effort and progress. And it is right that we should. Coffee fueled the Industrial Age so many years ago, beating out beer as the working man’s drink. Now computers are giving rise to a new Information Age, the age in which we will all forge our futures.

            But the progress doesn’t have to be exclusive to America alone. This October, the IVCC chapter of S.I.F.E (Students in Free Enterprise), is assisting a professor, Pat Cole who is involved in a project to provide aid in Guatemala.

            In October SIFE will be selling several pounds of fresh roasted coffee. The sale is open to all, although lucky members of the faculty will be able to pre-order theirs. The Coffee is grown by a farmer in rural Guatemala and money raised will go back to the farmer and help him with problems he has with water rights during the dry season.

            In addition, SIFE is working with Cole to collect CPU’s, monitors (we have enough of these) and all other hardware will be sent to Rural Guatemalan schools. SIFE will be arranging several different opportunities for anyone who wishes to donate old, working computer items. And what is amazing about this project is how far a little contribution can go. The price for one floppy disk in America is worth the cost of one meal for Guatemalan students. “As IVCC students begin to move toward the use of Flash drives they will undoubtedly have lots of spare Floppy disks they can contribute,” One SIFE member remarked.  

            Anyone with hardware to contribute can contact SIFE through email at SIFE@IVCC.edu, and SIFE will arrange pickup. In addition they can also contact Susan Koepke at her office A327 or (815)-224-0392.

            As IVCC Students and members of the Illinois Valley Community, let’s all join together to do what we can for those who, like us, are working to improve their futures. And maybe one day we will get an email of thanks from a student drinking coffee at their computer screen, several countries away.

Primary School , Chi Nima Ya, in Panajachel, Guatemala

Primary School , Chi Nima Ya, in Panajachel, Guatemala.
Teachers and Students

         SIFE is trying to change the world by helping communities.  SIFE is having a used computer drive for the Guatemalan Schools. This will fit for our market economy project. Pat Cole a retired IVCC instructor who now lives in Guatemala is here to present a learning experience for the community about Guatemala.

        The schools need technology to achieve more.  Most of the schools have no electricity but various organizations will be working to improve the status. We will be collecting all types of items: monitors, power strips, keyboards, floppy disks, computer programs and CD’s.  The specifications are: any available processor speed, a hard drive space of at least 20 GB, 40 is best and minimum memory of 128 MB.  We will be collecting the items till November 16, 2007.