CIBC Caribbean has partnered with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands Campus Lifelong Learning Unit to donate ten desktop computers to His Majesty’s Prison, marking the second consecutive year the bank has supported the initiative.

The handover ceremony brought together representatives from CIBC Caribbean, UWI, and prison administration, along with several inmates currently enrolled in the Lifelong Learning Unit’s programmes.

Speaking on the university’s behalf, Executive Director of the Lifelong Learning Unit Paula Lee said the donation supports students enrolled in the “Seeds of Hope” programme, which offers professional development courses and degree pathways, including bachelor’s and master’s programmes, to incarcerated individuals.

She pointed to the experience of one former student who completed an entrepreneurship course and went on to describe education as transformative, telling her repeatedly, “I attended university.”

“Learning and development can transform,” she said, adding that UWI Five Islands remains committed to expanding access to professional and academic programmes for inmates through partnerships with private-sector leaders such as CIBC Caribbean.

Priscilla Leonce, Head of Country for CIBC Caribbean, said the donation reflected CIBC’s commitment to the “learning and development journey” of the prison’s residents.

“As they learn, behave, and ultimately are transformed, this will result in better homes, families and communities,” the message read. “As all these groups harness their skills and talents, the nation will be the beneficiary of greatness and excellence.”

Superintendent of Prisons Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Pennyfeather welcomed the donation as an extension of the institution’s broader rehabilitation efforts, noting that computer literacy is becoming essential across nearly every sector, from business and sports to medicine, an area where he said artificial intelligence is increasingly present as well.

He said the computers would support inmates pursuing coursework ranging from basic literacy to CXC-level examinations, giving them what he called “a viable path” back into society upon release.

Michaela Harris, Assistant Rehabilitation Coordinator at the prison overseeing the IT programme, said the donation would significantly expand access.

Previously, she said, the prison’s IT centre had only about six computers shared among ten or more inmates seeking to use them.

She thanked both CIBC Caribbean and the UWI Lifelong Learning Unit for their consistent support and appealed to the wider public for further donations, computers or otherwise, to sustain the programme.

Harris also noted that internet access at the facility is currently sponsored by a private donor, and said expanded connectivity will likely be needed now that additional computers are coming online. She invited members of the public interested in supporting internet access to reach out to the prison.

Several inmates enrolled in the programme also spoke at the ceremony.

One inmate, currently completing his fifth course in Governance and Leadership in the Public Sector, noted that the donation will enhance his research into governance of the West Indies cricket team of the 1970s and 1980s and said the skills gained would carry into life after release.

He thanked CIBC Caribbean and UWI for the donation and said he and fellow inmates intend to continue contributing to similar programmes once they reintegrate into society.

Officials from CIBC Caribbean, UWI, and His Majesty’s Prison expressed hope that the partnership would encourage other businesses in Antigua and Barbuda to invest in rehabilitation and educational programming for incarcerated individuals.