Saint John’s donates 36 computers to Be Like Brit orphanage

St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury has donated 36 new computers to the Be Like Brit orphanage in Grand Goâve, Haiti. Len and Cherylann Gengel and their son Bernie picked up the computers from St. John’s to be brought to the orphanage that is now home to 35 children.

They hope to use the computers, which utilize both English and French interface languages for the children, to provide advanced elementary and middle school educational software. These computers will allow the children of Be Like Brit access to educational resources and opportunities that would be otherwise unavailable to them in Haiti.

As part of Saint John’s High School’s annual Global Encounters program in February 2013, eight students and two faculty members traveled to the Be Like Brit Orphanage to volunteer with the Be Like Brit foundation. The orphanage, which welcomed its first children in January, was established by the Gengel family, all of whom have worked tirelessly for three years to bring hope and aid to some of the poorest communities in Haiti.

A group of St. John’s students and teachers will be returning to Be Like Brit as “Britsionaries” again in 2014.

The Be Like Brit orphanage and Poorest of the Poor Fund were established in honor of Britney Gengel, of Rutland, MA, who while on a service trip through Lynn University fell victim to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The mission of the BLB Foundation is “to serve the children of Haiti by establishing a safe, nurturing and sustainable orphanage in an environment where they can grow, learn and thrive.”