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Computer shipment has reached Burundi!
Goods Shipping News
Afrinspire's shipment of computers has safely arrived in Burundi. These computers have gone to 5 organisations in Burundi.
Read more about Goods Shipping...
One of Afrinspire's principal activities has b
een the shipping of computers to Africa. This is done in an effort to help bridge the digital divide between the rich west and Africa, so that African communities can catch up. The UK has surplus computers which still have many years of life left in them, yet they discard. We are using technology heavily as a way of combating extreme poverty; we are using technology to do things charities could not do ten years ago.
The biggest need is not for more computers but rather the money to ship them. It costs Afrinspire £40 to £50 to place a computer in-situ and working in the centre of Africa. It costs Afrinspire £5 to send 10 kilos of books (the size of a Xerox box of 5 paper reams) to the centre of Africa, which is less than sending a parcel from A to B in the UK. Our process is effective because we are involved at both ends of the chain from UK to Africa. Our operation is cost effective because of the high input of volunteers. We are re-using good equipment which is surplus or redundant in the UK but still has several years of useful life in Africa. This avoids the computers entering the waste chain in the UK. But our priority is not re-using computers. Our priority is the people in Africa – putting valuable resources into their hands so that they are enabled to make the progress they want to.
In 2010, our shipping of computers to Uganda was put in jeopardy because of a regressive and controversial law to ban the import of second hand computers. Is this to address waste issues or appease influential businessmen? It certainly denies access of the poor to technology. The ban came into force in March 2010 and for the moment Afrinspire has shipped its last computers to Uganda until this law is resolved. But we continue to ship to Rwanda, Tanzania and South Africa, and are considering the many other requests we have from other African countries. Uganda is now set to lose out. We have a track record of sending good quality tested computers to schools, organisations, and even the President's representatives. We have been told that our computers are better than the ones sold as ‘new’ in the shops of Kampala. The computers have equipped school training rooms, vocational training centres, small internet café businesses and NGO’s. We hope for a groundswell of public opinion to bring pressure on Ugandan politicians not to pass this law which is holding up such a valuable contribution to the development of Uganda.