We care about the planet and digital exclusion.
Refugees
It has been heartening to see the huge desire to help in response to the horrors currently going on in Ukraine, with many people in the UK opening their homes to help Ukrainian refugees. Of course, it has also been fantastic to see a similar response right across Europe. While the numbers making it to the UK have been small, this looks set to change very quickly, as problems with visas get prioritised and resolved.
At Laptops4Learinng, we have already been getting many sustainable devices out to help refugees from Afghanistan rebuild their lives, with over 300 more devices going out in March. While we continue this work, we are also looking forward to getting devices out to help Ukrainian refugees keep in touch with their families and access services and education. Our first donation of laptops went to a Ukrainian family this week through the Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign. The children in the family were excited to receive the laptops, which have already enabled them to attend remote schooling - so important to their development.
Homeless
We have been delighted to be able to continue supporting Youth Community Home in London with another laptop, this time to help a new 18 year old resident. Youth Community Home provides quality accommodation in a safe and secure house to help young adults affected by the housing crisis. They work in partnership with other charities to support their education and training to help them find employment and sustainable long-term accommodation. In today’s digital world, online access through a digital device is essential if young people are to flourish.
We delivered more mobile phones to It Takes a City in Cambridge. When people are homeless, having a means to communicate becomes more important than ever. It Takes a City do great work supporting people in their journey from street to home.
Digital Exclusion
We are acutely aware of the problems that digital exclusion causes for all who are affected by it, and have been involved with local needs within Cambridgeshire for some time. We are on the steering group for the Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership (CDP), which works to improve digital inclusion across Cambridgeshire. Cambridge CVS play a pivotal role in enabling the functioning of CDP, and we were pleased to be able to provide them with video conferencing equipment to help their work.
We were delighted to be able to donate a laptop through the Ely Primary Care Network to enable a mother to access online learning to help improve her situation, get employment and support her children. The ability to engage with the digital world is fundamental to improving people’s life chances.
Kind to the planet
We love that the reuse of tech for social good is also great for the planet. At this time of climate crisis, having redundant tech refurbished into sustainable tech for social good means that CO2 emissions and e-waste are saved, as well as the scarce raw materials to make new devices. Sustainable choices are essential for companies, and the Laptops4Learning solution combines this with social good, making a real difference to the lives of those in need. What’s not to like?
Sue Gowling - 11/04/22
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