Computers 4 Africa

On the 1st March – a beautiful day for a collection – Andy and Ally travelled to Chatham to collect 47 computers from the Medway School of Pharmacy. The school has just updated their IT equipment and were extremely happy for us to take the old computers off their hands to be given a second life in Africa.

Professor Iain Cumming, who is the head of the school, had this to say: "We were delighted to be able to help educate and develop skills for those overseas who may not have the same opportunities to get access to computers. As with many things good timing was a major factor here! However, this has enabled us to be able to provide resources of real value, rather than spend money on looking for suitable ways of disposing of these computers. I would encourage others to participate in these valuable initiatives wherever possible."

On a very  cold day in late January, Faith and Sharon (from the PR team) left Maidstone to head up to London to attend the Learning Technology and Skills Exhibition at Olympia (Earls Court). On arrival the stand was set up without any issues.
The next two days were taken up with numerous conversations about C4A, our work, vision, purpose and work practises. Both Faith and Sharon were amazed by the cross section of delegates and visitors that attended the exhibition; they varied from high street banks to Cadbury’s and from small training companies to the likes of BT and the armed forces (some in uniform!!).

The ladies "experienced first hand" a 2* basic hotel in Earls Court and let’s just say we will not be going back again!!  Although we may well return to the exhibition next year!

Lloyds Pharmacy is partnering with Computers 4 Africa in donating around 500 of its computers to benefit African schools and communities. Computers will be inspected, tested and data wiped prior to their shipment to Africa where they will be distributed to schools, universities and other educational institutions as well as libraries.

Eddie Nicholas, Head of IT Operational Support at Lloydspharmacy said:

We’re delighted to be involved in this programme. We decided to partner with Computers 4 Africa as we are currently upgrading computers across our network and were looking for a safe and secure method of disposal which would have a minimum impact on the environment. This partnership provides us with that while importantly providing opportunities for communities which wouldn’t normally have access to any IT equipment, to benefit from their use.

Mike Fleet, the Operations Manager of Computers 4 Africa, said:

We are delighted to receive this donation from Lloydspharmacy. It is a pleasure to partner with a company that take their corporate social responsibilities very seriously. With the support of businesses like Lloydspharmacy we are able to continue helping to educate children in Africa. Having just returned from Tanzania, I know how much more we need to do and how grateful the teachers and children are for our support and that of our donors.

Beneficiaries of the programme include a teacher training college in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where trainee teachers are taught how to use the computers before that are sent out to schools and projects. Once the student teachers are qualified, they are sent together with a number of computers and if necessary a generator, to a school to start working directly with the children.

Holy Trinity Primary School’s network manager Mark Jarman spent part of the summer break in Tanzania, he was able to see firsthand the impact the computers their school had donated made to an African school. As a direct result Computers for Africa was invited to Holy Trinity School (Gravesend) to hold an assembly and share the vision of Computers 4 Africa with the all at the school plus other invited guests. The C4A team we were thrilled to have this opportunity, and ended up grinning like Cheshire cats. Faith Dziruni of Computers 4 Africa said

Most of the people in the C4A office love performing and showcasing their different talents; (I won’t say what mine is!) So any opportunity to perform, or do anything on stage is grabbed by the horns. Ida and Avril wrote and performed a Computers 4 Africa rap song. The assembly kicked off with a drama and quiz. I was quite unwell but I still managed to do my bit, as I wasn’t prepared to let the opportunity slip. The children absolutely loved it and I was amazed at their knowledge about Africa, they successfully answered all the questions we had for them. Aseri did a Q&A session and was asked some amazing questions. At the end of the morning each child was given a ‘goodie bag’ which contained stickers, a lollipop, activity sheet and a pencil, which put a smile on their faces, we have since been asked supplied ‘goodie bags’ for the teachers too, which we will of course do, and this will put a smile of their faces too!

A big thank you to Cllr David Turner, the Deputy Leader of Gravesham Borough Council for coming to the assembly and showing your support!