Seville to open Lacovia iHub

Jamaica’s world 100m champion and 2026 Diamond League champion Oblique Seville will be guest speaker at the official opening of the new Lacovia iHub at Lacovia High School, with the ceremony scheduled for 10:00 am on Friday, October 16. Seville will cut the ribbon and deliver remarks at the opening ceremony, which will bring together students, teachers, school administrators, community members and representatives of the Sandra Lindsay Foundation. The iHub represents the transformation of a library damaged by Hurricane Melissa in 2025 into a modern digital learning centre designed to give students greater access to technology, information and digital learning opportunities. Lacovia High was among the institutions severely affected by the hurricane, which damaged the school’s library and destroyed its computers and other equipment, leaving students without a vital space for studying, research and access to technology. Lindsay said the response was about more than replacing what had been lost. The foundation already had a strong relationship with Lacovia High through its menstrual equity programme. Following the hurricane, Lindsay visited the school and met with administrators to determine what assistance would have the greatest impact across the student population. The answer was the library. But Lindsay and her foundation decided not simply to restore the old space - they would reimagine it. “We didn’t want to just put back what the storm took away. We wanted to give these students a place where the possibilities are endless, where a young person in Lacovia can connect with the world, research anything, and build the future they imagine,” said Lindsay. “This iHub belongs to every student at Lacovia, girls and boys alike, and to the community that surrounds them,” Lindsay said. The iHub is equipped with 20 computers, representing a 50 per cent increase over the library’s previous computer capacity. It also features high-speed Internet, voice-activated controls, two large-screen televisions with streaming capability, new furniture, fans and air conditioning. The facility will allow up to 20 students at a time to conduct research, learn coding, participate in virtual classes, collaborate on projects and connect with classrooms, educators and experts around the world. The iHub will also be available to the wider Lacovia community, creating a new digital resource for students, educators and residents of the surrounding area. The project was made possible through the generosity of donors to the Sandra Lindsay Foundation, whose contributions helped transform the hurricane- damaged room into a modern digital learning centre. Seville will also address students during the opening ceremony.