Minnesota man sends used laptops to Guatemala: "We cannot solve all the problems in Guatemala, but we can help"
If you think it might be trash, think again.
A former Minneapolis teacher collects used laptops to help those in his home country.
"She was reading the screen and couldn't believe that she could write her name and look at the screen," said Julio Batres of Minneapolis.
A memory in the can for one husband, father, abuelo, and current soccer referee.
"It was a big surprise for her," said Batres.
Batres recalls one time he gave a laptop away in his rural hometown, San Felipe, Guatemala. So, he's continued the gesture for the past 15 years, donating over 350 computers and counting.
"In Guatemala, students don't have access to technology," said Batres. "Old computers that people don't like here, they become new in Guatemala."
Batres is a former Minnesota teacher himself who's been in the U.S. since 1980.
"It was sad for me to see the schools waste computers here. Three or five years old and they just get rid of them," Batres added.
So Batres tries to bridge the gap, flying down to Central America nearly twice a year with stacks of donated tech.
But if it's an urgent need...
"I'm shipping at the end of this month. Fifteen laptops to Guatemala," said Batres.
You might be curious as to how Batres gets these laptops to Guatemala. He said he pays for it.
"It doesn't matter to me, I'm happy to do it," Batres said.
Which he'll continue to do, even if donations slow down. Batres himself continues to look for and purchase cheap laptops, computers, keyboards and more posted to Facebook Marketplace.
"I think it has an impact. We cannot solve all the problems in Guatemala, but we can help," Batres told WCCO.
Batres will even find a way to refurbish laptops with minor damage. He accepts donations by finding him on Facebook.
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