New Mexico Navajo wins essay contest
Sorraine Hot wins national essay contest ‘How Broadband Changed My Life’

Sorraine Hot, a Navajo employee of the New Mexico-based telephone company, Sacred Wind Communications (SWC). Hot won first place in a national essay contest on the subject of how high speed Internet services have affected rural lifestyles.

Sorraine Hot, a Navajo employee of the New Mexico-based telephone company, Sacred Wind Communications (SWC). Hot won first place in a national essay contest on the subject of how high speed Internet services have affected rural lifestyles.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Sorraine Hot, a Navajo employee of the New Mexico-based telephone company, Sacred Wind Communications (SWC), won first place in a national essay contest on the subject of how high speed Internet services have affected rural lifestyles. The prize included an award of $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. to speak on the benefits of the Internet for low-income communities.

The essay contest was sponsored by the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) out of Washington, D.C., a national organization promoting the development of broadband services for the advancement of health care, educational and personal development opportunities. Hundreds of people from around the country entered the contest, responding to the essay title, "How Broadband Changed My Life."

Hot, a resident of Shiprock, N.M., has been employed since February as a bilingual Internet trainer for SWC. She is a single mother of four young children and commutes to the Huerfano Chapter's Internet Training Center south of Bloomfield, N.M. The Huerfano training center was built and operated by SWC as part of a grant. The purpose of the computer lab is to provide free computer and Internet training to the Huerfano Chapter and all surrounding communities while also allowing the public free access to computers for their academic, personal and business use.

In the eight months that the Huerfano Computer Training Center has been operational, there have been approximately 4,000 visits to the center and SWC has distributed 44 refurbished computers to low income families who have completed their basic computer training course.

The people using the lab have been of all ages: school children researching papers on the Internet, adults applying for jobs, high school grads applying for college, adults reconnecting with family members by e-mail, elders researching health issue. One Internet user, a Navajo mother, was finally able to contact her son-a soldier in Iraq-by e-mail. She had not been able to contact him for a year due to the lack of phone service anywhere in her area.

"Sorraine Hot has been the heart of this Sacred Wind project at the Huerfano Chapter," said Mae Arviso, SWC's community relations manager. "Many of those who have come to the computer lab had never used a computer before, and others wanted to be proficient in the use of computers but had no where to go to learn until this center was opened."

"We at Sacred Wind are so happy Sorraine has won this award," said Janice Badal, executive director of SWC's nonprofit arm. "Sorraine is a caring and patient teacher for her people, presenting material in both English and Navajo. Sacred Wind's Computer Training Center at Huerfano Chapter has added much to people's lives," she added.

About Sacred Wind Communications Community Connect, Inc. - Sacred Wind Communications Community Connect, Inc. (SWCCC) is a 501 (c) (3) exclusively organized for the benefit of the Navajo people on tribal lands for the purposes of furthering education, technology and healthcare issues. SWCCC was created by Sacred Wind Communications, a telecommunications company dedicated to serve the Navajo people in western and northwestern New Mexico. SWCCC is involved in managing the Huerfano Computer Training Center, the Huerfano Ecommerce Business Center, and establishing a scholarship fund for the 22 Chapters in Sacred Wind's territory. For more information about Sacred Wind, Sacred Wind's non-profit organization SWCCC, please see our websites at www.sacredwindcommunications.com, www.swcccnm.com and our e-commerce site www.navajoarts-crafts.com.

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