Computers 4 Africa is a registered charity operating out of their Head Office in Kent, who work tirelessly data wiping, restoring, and repairing unwanted computers generously donated by organisations and the general public, before shipping them over to Africa to enhance the education of both children and adults engaged within schools, colleges and community projects.
Why Donate?
Lots of Reasons!
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Ethical: Each computer greatly improves the education of approximately 24 students in an African school.
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Economic: Computers 4 Africa will collect your unwanted equipment if you have more than 10 computers to donate and wont charge you a penny to do so. They hold a certified data wiping facility certificate which enables them to securely clear your computer fully of any data stored, again free of charge, so there’s no need for you to do any work before donation if you don’t want to.
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Environmental: The benefits to the carbon footprint of reusing instead of recycling are surprisingly dramatic – The average life span of a PC is 4 years before a user will typically upgrade, however by donating to Computers 4 Africa an additional 5 years is added to that life span, therefore drastically cutting down energy emissions emitted when recycling the items.
How To Donate
It’s so simple – for donations of less than 10 computers you can drop the equipment at the headquarters in Aylesford one of the many sites across the UK, if you have more than 10, Computers 4 Africa will send one of their vans to collect them from you absolutely FREE!
Facts and Figures
Over 22 countries have received IT including Tanzania, Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa, Cameroon, Kenya, Gambia, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda and Namibia.
Currently 90% of children living in Africa have never used a computer.
Each computer can be used for 20-24 students during it’s first year.
Once trained, these students can go on to earn significantly higher than the average wage, which in turn allows them to support an extended family.
The first classroom container, a shipping container secured and fully equipped with computers was installed at Mandela Girls School, Bagamoyo, Tanzania, in 2010.
The Journey of your Computer
Inevitably you’re wondering what happens to your computer equipment once you donate it? Well, wonder no longer……..
Your computer is given a unique code and transported in one of the C4A trucks to their secure warehouse. There, technicians PAT test and refurbish the computer inside and out, testing it’s functional ability and safety. The skilled team are able to fix glitches in hardware and software so if you know there’s a problem, don’t worry!
All equipment is then passed on to data wiping. Each memory device is subjected to a secure data wiping process before it is passed to the dispatch department. Here it is put together with other computers, carefully packaged and palletised, and loaded into sealed containers ready to start their journey to Africa – which can take up to 6 weeks in some cases.
Once at the port the container is transported by truck to their in-country partner and unloaded. Here it is re-checked before it goes off to the local school, college or community group that have been identified as the beneficiary.
Once installed, each computer will provide access to education and information for 20-24 students during it’s first year with this number increasing over the following 5 years.
How Did We Help?
When we moved our office premises we donated a large quantity of computer equipment and office furniture to C4A, and we’re delighted to have been informed that the first shipment arrived safely in Tanzania a few weeks ago and was in the process of being installed ready for use in one of the local schools. We also donated our mezzanine scaffolding from our old warehouse which has been erected in the C4A HQ in order to enable the warehouse to be more productively organised.
We’re thrilled to be working with Computers 4 Africa to help enhance the lives of so many less fortunate children and adults, and we’d love for you to contact them next time you’re changing your computer.
Computers 4 Africa – give the gift of education.
