Our Mission
Chaptops’ mission is to bring access to computer technology and innovative programs to the students of Guatemala.
Our Story
Chaptops grew out of conversations among Fredy Oxom, Byron Cap, and Rex Dwyer, who became acquainted through the activities of Guatemalan Student Support Group, a North Carolina scholarship nonprofit. Fredy communicated a need for computers for his rural secondary school, which Chris Huwe, Rex’s coworker at Metabolon, Inc., suggested could be fulfilled with twenty retired laptops. In the meantime, Byron had scraped together some computers in Guatemala and had been experimenting with a small free “internet café” in his village. Soon, Syngenta provided twenty computers for Byron’s center and for CasaSito, a nonprofit operating nearby.
Rex and Byron saw a potential opportunity: Did other companies have retired computers to dispose of? In June 2022, Rex incorporated Chaptops in North Carolina “for the charitable and educational purpose of promoting Computer Literacy and general education among needy students in the Republic of Guatemala.” A board was formed by Rex and Byron, Fredy, Greg Schwendinger of CasaSito, and Dina Fiorentino – like Rex a parent of two Guatemalan adoptees.
Byron began to experiment (again) with a small informal computer rental program in his hometown, Tactic. Village students were grateful for this opportunity because they saved time, bus fare, and hourly fees at for-profit internet sites. In late 2022, Syngenta made another very generous donation, and Byron proposed a facility with computers on site along with an expanded rental program. With the help of many volunteers in Tactic, a storefront center opened in April 2023. By November 2023, the center had outgrown its space and moved to new quarters in a more visible location. In the meantime, Metabolon has continued to expand opportunities for students at IMaCK, working to maintain a high computer-to-student ratio as enrollment grows.
How it works
We acquire donations of retired laptops from generous corporations. Although these computers are typically 4-6 years old, they are much newer than many computers in Guatemala, and they had better-than-average configurations when purchased. We occasionally buy used computers with cosmetic defects, and also receive some donations from individuals.
Our shipper serves the 50,000 Guatemalans living in North Carolina. We can ship computers in bulk by sea in a month for $10 each or less. Despite warnings from other nonprofits about customs duties, we have paid no duties or taxes on any of our shipments, even though we declare the contents of our shipments in detail.
It’s true! Ten dollars will put a donated computer in front of a student in Guatemala.