In a transformative development for secondary education in Belize, a $95,000 Belize dollar donation from the Waterloo Charitable Trust is set to completely revamp the outdated computer lab at Anglican Cathedral College, opening new doors of digital opportunity for hundreds of students. The gift, arranged through a cross-political collaboration between philanthropist Lord Michael Ashcroft and UDP Senator Patrick Faber – who also serves as an IT teacher at the college – marks a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation focused on advancing public education despite long-standing political disagreements.
The milestone was celebrated on June 10, 2026, during the college’s weekly mass at St. John’s Cathedral, where Lord Ashcroft and his son Andrew joined students, faculty, and school leadership in the institution’s long-standing traditional service. The visit capped off a months-long process that began when Faber and his team rediscovered the original 32-year-old commemorative plaque from Ashcroft’s first contribution to the college’s computer lab while clearing out a campus storage room. Reaching out to Ashcroft to share the discovery, Faber presented a formal proposal for a full lab upgrade, and the philanthropist approved the funding within days.
Speaking at the celebration, Lord Ashcroft emphasized that shared investment in youth development outweighs political divides. “On the political front in Belize, Patrick and I have never seen eye to eye but when we can come together and do something like this, we are able to overcome the political side of where we disagree,” he said, noting that digital fluency in an era of rapid artificial intelligence development is one of the most critical skills for young people to master for their future success.
Faber echoed that sentiment, joking of the agreement: “As you told me, let’s bury the hatchet, just not in each other’s backs. So I am glad we got to team up on this one.” The warm collaboration between the two political opponents was on clear display as they toured the current lab space, which has not received a major update in more than three decades, and embraced ahead of the upcoming renovation work.
Beyond just new computing hardware, the donation will cover full upgrades to the lab’s infrastructure, including new student workstations, improved ceilings and flooring, and the installation of modern flat-screen displays for teaching. For students, the most meaningful change will be the end of long waits to share limited working devices. College principal Paulette Augustus noted that the upgrade will guarantee every student access to their own individual device during class time, eliminating the scheduling bottlenecks that have limited hands-on practice for years.
“ It translates to them being happy that they finally come into a lab where everything is there for them. It is not going to be now that you need to share or have time to use the computer. Now everybody is going to have a computer for themselves when they come into the lab,” Augustus explained, adding that students have already expressed widespread excitement for the new learning space. While several other private donors were recognized during the event for their ongoing support to the college and adjacent cathedral, the $95,000 lab upgrade stands as the largest single investment in student technical learning at the institution in decades. School administrators say the transformation will serve as a foundational upgrade that will sharpen students’ digital skills for college, careers, and civic life in an increasingly tech-driven global economy.