The report highlights the importance of developing safe recycling capacity and recovery infrastructure in Africa.  As is well known, the impact of inappropriately-treated WEEE can be catastrophic for the health and the environment in communities that do not have adequate recycling facilities in place. Computer Aid fully supports such developments, as the threat of e-waste cannot be ignored.

The report also highlights the very real social and economic value of providing high quality refurbished and tested EEE to African countries.  Computer Aid exists to reduce poverty through practical ICT solutions, which is largely done through the provision of computers and laptops for use in education, agriculture and health across Africa and Latin America. There is a massive need for the use of ICT in many communities across the developing world. There is also the need for safe waste management facilities to be in place to deal with the ICT equipment once it reaches its end-of-life.

There’s still a lot of work to do

Whilst a number of African states are making progress in adopting WEEE legislation and seeking to boost waste management capacities, there is still a lot of work to be done.  Without solid investment, the economic incentive for informal recovery remains high, this means that engagement with WEEE in Africa must be tackled in a dynamic and comprehensive way.  To promote environmental protection, support must be given so that African countries are able to apply the best available techniques for e-waste recovery activities.

The Basel Convention’s report makes three main recommendations regarding e-waste in Africa:

1. tackling the illegal import of waste or near-end-of-use equipment from developed countries
2. promoting the collection and recycling of WEEE in-country
3. developing proactive policies and legislation supported by well-resourced enforcement.

What Computer Aid is doing to help

The report’s conclusions and recommendations are very much in line with Computer Aid’s ongoing environmental advocacy work. Computer Aid is currently putting together the fifth in a series of special reports relating to ICTs and the Environment, the next special report explores and develops recommendations for transferable Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

For more information on Computer Aid’s e-waste advocacy work and to read our special reports relating to ICTs and the environment click here. To download the Basel Convention report click here.

Zambia is an absolutely beautiful country. As I travelled in and around its capital, Lusaka, I was surprised by the sheer amount of building work and the number of shopping centres popping up around the city (I counted 6) –  apparently a result of what seems to be fairly extensive Chinese investment.

There is a huge demand for computers as well as a significant need for an improved ICT infrastructure across the country.

The organisations we visited that already have access to IT were clearly putting the technology to good use. Both teachers and pupils at all the schools we went to, spoke about the importance of learning IT and the difference PCs had made to their lessons.

At St Michael’s Early Learning Centre, Miss Pascalina Chabu, a teacher at the school, told me that “We know that in the modern world, everyone needs IT skills. All jobs expect their employees to have them so our computers are very beneficial for all the children.”

Miss Chabu had taught all the teachers at the school how to use PCs and said that “With books you can only learn so much and you are limited to the information within them. With the internet, the learning opportunities are so much greater. It’s also great for the teachers too because now that we have PCs and the internet, planning lessons is much easier. I can find information that I need for my classes and it has improved all my lessons.”

It seemed to be assumed by everyone I spoke to that IT skills were necessary both to get into university and employment.  At Matero Girls School, 2,000 children shared 20 PCs and there was a rota in place to help ensure that as many students as possible got access to weekly IT lessons. Grace and Tamalis, both 14, told me “we enjoy the IT lessons, we can now write letters and change fonts and size of text on the computer. I think this is really useful to us. With more practice we can get even better and this is very useful. All jobs need IT skills.”

Teachers also emphasised how IT was valuable in other subjects explaining that “it is so useful to have PCs and now that we have the internet the older children can learn how they are used in employment. For example in business studies we teach them about e-commerce. Until we got the internet, the lessons were all theoretical but now we can show them how e-commerce works and the type of sites where you can buy goods online. It is no longer just theory.”

Outside of schools, organisations such as the Kafue Child Development Agency (the implementing agency for Child Fund) were also focused on improving access to IT and computer skills. The Agency ran a peer to peer IT learning centre which encourages children who learn a host of IT skills at the centre and can then pass this knowledge on to others in the community. Esra, the initiator and youth facilitator of the project says that “once one child is trained, they are then very enthusiastic about teaching other children. One child trains another who trains another… this means that IT knowledge spreads very quickly and effectively”. The centre hosts four groups of six children every day and, to date, the centre has trained 100 children in IT skills, all of whom are now able to teach other children at the centre, in school or at local libraries.

While the projects I visited impressed me with the enthusiasm and IT skills of both the teachers and pupils, it is clear that many thousands more computers are required if the majority, if not all, children are to gain access to IT and to be able to learn the skills required for further education and employment.

Alexia Ward

Paul got back in the saddle this year and jetted off to India where he completed a 400km cycle challenge across Rajasthan

I left my training rather late, buying a bike just 3 months before I was due to fly and actually starting to use it a mere 7 weeks before. I later regretted this delay as despite being fit and a previous regular cyclist the training was pretty gruelling cycling every day to work and long distances over the weekends. However even by the end of 7 weeks of intense training I was once again loving cycling and excited for the challenge ahead.

The challenge began in Heathrow began with a panic as my luggage was whisked away in a mini bus whilst I made a quick trip to the loos. Fortunately after a quick word to a parking attendant the bus returned and I was whisked away to meet my fellow travellers. A group of around twenty soon-to-be adventurers, including Jeff the doctor, was waiting at Heathrow airport to begin their journey to India.

On arrival I was immediately struck by the cultural and physical differences between the UK and India. The sight of a mother and her three children living under a flyover next to a main road and the chaotic city was both a shocking and enlightening experience. 

The trek

The first day of cycling was also the hottest we were to experience, not helped by a late start which meant cycling through the heat of midday. The first day was definitely the toughest with high temperatures, little wind and several uphill stretches. But after the first day it all got easier and more enjoyable- especially on the second day which included a visit to a Tiger safari where we spotted 3 wild tigers- a spectacular sight and an experience never to be forgotten.

The support crew were fantastic, fixing any punctures and mechanical problems immediately, and there was always a back up vehicle to ride in if the challenge got too tough. Tents were ready for us on arrival each day and the food was tasty- though pretty spicy! 

A life-changing experience

All my experiences, good and bad, made the trek very worthwhile and I met some amazing people along the way- both amongst fellow trekkers and local people. I can only sum up the experience as a‘totally and absolutely amazing and life changing’

And a great help to Computer Aid

Of course not only did the trip make for the adventure (and the challenge!) of a lifetime it also raised a considerable sum for Computer Aid. Paul, like all of our supporters, was given loads of support from Computer Aid and reached his sponsorship target.

The funds which Paul, and many other events participants like him, raised this year have helped us to provide thousands of people with access to ICT and its benefits. It’s because of people like Paul that we can refurbish and ship PCs to projects all over the world and give thousands of people the tools they need to improve their education, health and development prospects. Check out our website for more on the work that we do.

So what’s happening next year?

We’ll once again be tackling the iconic London to Paris cycle challenge, cycling the streets of London from dusk ‘til dawn and taking on a 400km cycle over the Rift Valley in beautiful Kenya. Places are already filling up and next year looks set to be as exciting as this year.

If you’re up for the challenge of a lifetime visit our website for more information on the amazing challenges we get involved in, email me at events@computeraid.org or give me a call on 0208 361 5540 (just ask for Rachel!).

Computer Aid’s offices will be closed from 3pm on the 23rd December until 9am on the 3rd January.

If you’d like to support our Christmas appeal it is not too late, please click here for more information

With best wishes

Computer Aid International team

“As Head of ICT at Hornsby House School, an independent co-educational prep school for 4-11 year olds in Wandsworth, London, I know how important ICT is to children in the UK. It’s essential for all the pupils at our school to gain a good understanding of ICT and to start learning the skills required in the wider world – and the children here use ICT for everything from researching projects to playing games, reading and art. Having seen the benefits that computer skills can bring to our pupils, we wanted to help ensure children in developing countries also get the chance to learn these skills as IT literacy is essential for children the world over.

 “As part of the school’s five-year plan for expanding our ICT facilities, we replaced and upgraded 36 computers and, instead of sending them to be recycled, we wanted to make sure that they could be used by children in developing countries who also need to learn these essential ICT skills but have far less access to computers than children in the UK.

“We decided to donate the 36 computers to ComputerAid so that they would have a new lease of life. These ex-Hornsby House computers were collected, data wiped and refurbished and are now on their way to a range of projects around the world, including Chilenter, an organisation in Chile, whose aim is to ensure that schools in the poorest and most isolated areas have access to ICT.

“We are very happy that these computers will contribute to the excellent work being done by ComputerAid and their partner organisations in developing countries and hope to be able to make further donations to ComputerAid in the future as we continue to replace our school computers every four years.”

Thanks to Hornsby House and all our other donors for your equipment this year, it’s very much appreciated!

Our Trusts Partnerships Officer, Sion Jones, has recently returned from Papua New Guinea where he visited a number of projects to report on how IT was being used in schools. Having recently written up a project overview, we thought we’d share some of his insights on ICT use within the country and the schools he visited…

Recently I was able to visit a project that was started a year ago in the Western Highlands province of Papua New Guinea. Deploying 100 refurbished PCs to a primary and secondary school, the project faced a number of challenges in order to establish strong examples of the role IT can play in children’s education.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is roughly double the size of the UK, but has a population of only 7 million. Mountainous terrain and a lack of infrastructure means travelling between the main towns is largely done by air. The country is incredibly culturally diverse, with over 850 native languages – a fact that almost every Papua New Guinean is proud of and mentions at every opportunity. Around 80% of the population live in rural areas, with subsistence farming their primary activity. Social relationships are built through the ‘wantok’ system whereby individuals build strong social bonds based on family relationship, community ties or perhaps a common language, establishing an obligation to help your fellow ‘wantok’ when in need.

Abundant natural gas is becoming a key export, but investment in energy infrastructure is also driving up costs across the economy, making life for ordinary Papua New Guineans increasingly difficult. Prices are also high due to the lack of infrastructure, meaning transporting products and goods into or around the country is very expensive. Food, accommodation and transport costs are comparable to, if not more expensive, than the UK.

Whilst enjoying lifestyles enriched with unparalleled cultural diversity, a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, strong family units and social relationships, many Papua New Guineans are income poor, with over half of the population living on less than US$2 (Purchasing Power Parity) a day. Families struggle to pay education fees, selling any surplus home-grown produce in the local market to generate income, with the government only contributing around a third of school budgets.

Security is also a concern when travelling and operating in PNG. Tribal violence occasionally flares up, car-jackings and other forms of crime are common. Despite this, the ‘wantok’ system provided a significant level of security, without which it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for me to travel around the country.

Looking at education, there is significant untapped potential amongst students who show a strong eagerness to learn, but often go to schools with poor infrastructure and a lack of resources. School budgets are limited by parents’ ability to contribute fees making donor support for significant improvements to facilities and resources necessary. Most schools don’t have any computers, and the cost of purchasing new machines locally is prohibitively high.

Working with Local Partners

In this project, we worked with the Melanesia Education Development Foundation (MEDF). Established in 2000, MEDF work to improve education in PNG by providing, among other things, a scholarship and sponsorship program to support students from low income families in primary, secondary and tertiary education as well as providing textbooks and library books, school uniforms, computers and other resources to schools. They also operate Peace Training Programs which work at a community level to address and overcome social issues and tribal tensions within PNG.

MEDF’s capacity to reach remote communities at an appropriate level is illustrative of their experience and expertise within the country. They draw heavily on voluntary support and good will, having established a network of associates and supporters in key positions of community influence across the country in order to facilitate the delivery and implementation of their numerous projects. This less formal network structure can present challenges but is also vital to being able to operate effectively within PNG.

Kudjip Primary School

The first school I visited was Kudjip Primary School, located in a rural area in the Western Highlands. Surrounded by a population of 40,000, many parents earn a modest income from the local tea plantation. Many of the students’ parents sold excess produce in the small market outside the school. The school had received 50 refurbished computers at the start of the year, but it had taken a few months to prepare the classroom and hire a teacher. There are now 2 IT teachers at the school, however there is a shortage in the country as a whole.

On completion of their studies, students receive a certificate in IT which only one other school in the region provides. With 900 students, the school also receives children from a number of feeder schools in surrounding communities who come to study grades 7 and 8.

The time I spent with the teachers was inspiring. Clearly dedicated to the education of their students, the teachers emphasised the value and significance of having the ability to introduce their children to IT, and the impact it will have on their lives in the future. Ms Tukne, a teacher of 19 years at Kudjip, spoke of how the school was living a dream, having hoped for so long they could have a computer lab for their children. She explained that seeing their students leaving the school with a certificate in IT was a massive achievement for their school. Such sentiments were echoed by other teachers and students.

Mt Hagen Secondary School

The second school I visited was Mt. Hagen Secondary School, located near the centre of the small town of Mt Hagen. 75% of the students families were local subsistence farmers and were unable to pay all of the students fees on time, and so the school worked with a challenging budget. With a student population of 1,370, the school was very happy to receive 50 refurbished PCs in addition to the existing computer lab which contained computers donated by AusAID in 1998. The new computers funded by BFSS meant the school would now be able to extend IT education to grades 9 and 10. The school currently had 2 IT teachers and were planning on hiring another shortly.

One of the key resources available at Mt Hagen Secondary School is IT teacher, Mr Dave Ogles. An expatriate from the UK, Mr Ogles has been teaching in PNG for over 20 years and taught both mathematics and ICT at the school. His insights and honesty regarding the role of ICT in education in PNG were invaluable.

The school was conducting in-service training sessions for teachers, with most being very enthusiastic and moving towards using IT in a number of different subject lessons. Mathematics was a key subject where the school was already using IT in teaching and saw strong potential thanks to a wealth of online resources and the value of displaying graphs and other illustrations on screen. Similarly to observations recently made in Kenya, the presence of a projector was seen as vital in being able to communicate ideas and concepts effectively to the class, as well as helping the teacher to manage and control the students.

Mt Hagen Secondary School displayed significant commitment and innovation in expanding the use of IT in terms of both teaching computer skills and delivering other lessons. There is a lot of potential for the school to become a centre of excellence for such teaching, delivering improvements to education that would be at the forefront of IT use in Papua New Guinea.

Conclusion

The introduction of IT into education is in its very early stages in PNG and the project will act as an example to local schools, politicians and key stake-holders regarding the potential of using computers to teach. Mt Hagen Secondary School is particularly committed and well placed to establish itself as a centre of excellence for IT supported education. The school’s focus on training teachers as well as students, along with its objective of eventually teaching all classes using IT and digital whiteboards makes it an innovative role model for other schools and IT in education initiatives.

There is no doubt that IT can play a significant role in strengthening the provision of education in PNG, and this project is successfully playing a part in that process. Continued support to expand IT in education in PNG will release the potential of students to develop their IT skills and of teachers to innovate in the teaching of all subjects.

Thanks to British Airways for providing the flights to enable this trip to take place!

Christmas is the perfect time to get the whole team together whether its a quick office whip-around, mince pies (and mulled wine?) on a Friday or your Christmas party! And whether you can fundraise for £10 or £10,000 your support will help us combat poverty through practical ICT solutions this Christmas.

We’re raising funds this Christmas to help even more people access the tools they need for development. Getting your office involved in fundraising is a great way to support us- and it’s also great team fun!

Here’s some Christmas fundraising ideas to get your office in the mood this Christmas

A Computer Aid Christmas Party!

Hold a raffle or talent auction to add a bit of excitement to the office party or charge a small entrance fee to come along.

Give it a fancy dress theme, provide some traditional Christmas games, mince pies and mulled wine to make it a party to remember!

Christmas challenge

Get competitive this Christmas! Pitch marketing against sales in some festive games and charge those who enter. Get adventurous with mince pie eating and christmas tree assembling competitions and you could even charge the audience!

Friday treats

Add a bit of sparkle to your Friday with mulled wine and mince pies. Ask everyone for a small donation to join in the festivities at the end of the week.

Be a Christmas Elf

Wrap Christmas presents, peel potatoes or write Christmas cards for your colleagues and donate your earnings to Computer Aid!

Donate your cards

Ditch the cards this Christmas and send merry Christmas emails instead- get everyone involved and you won’t end up with piles of Christmas cards and the money you would have spent will help us combat poverty- far better than yet another Rudolph card!

Bag packing

Help someone pack their potatoes and bag up their bacon for a few hours and take donations for charity! Just ask your local supermarket or shop

Collecting change

A quick office-whip round or a moan jar in the office could see your office making a real difference to the lives of people around the world.

Carol singing

Get a group together, lay down your cap and sing a tune for Computer Aid- Jingle Bells might go down better than Silent Night if you’re not the favourite at Karaoke Night!

Dress up day

Charge everyone £1 to come in fancy dress- and £2 not to!

Nominate Computer Aid for 2012!

Keep the team motivated with engaging fundraising projects all year- we can work together to achieve tangible goals with global reach- get in touch for more info!

What’s it all for?

Computer Aid works to reduce poverty through practical ICT solutions. We work with schools, hospitals and charities in over 100 countries to give people the tools they need to improve their employment, health and development prospects.

We have big plans this Christmas to help even more people access the tools they need for development- please help us achieve our goals this Christmas- a little goes a long way.

Get in touch!

We’re here to help with ideas, tips and advice whether you want to donate £5 or embark on a fundraising project for £5,000 so please do get in touch!

 Whatever you do- enjoy it!

Christmas fundraising should be funs so whatever you get up to this festive season make sure it puts a smile on people’s faces!

Merry Christmas!

The conference was the final part of the two year funded project and it brought together experts in sustainable IT and e-waste from countries across the Balkans and Europe.

Lovely Autumn view of the Vardar River from outside the conference centre in Skopje

I found the conference very interesting, there were some very good and insightful presentations.

There was a presentation from the Danish media and research organisation, DanWatch, who launched their latest findings on the harmful effects of e-waste, and examined  the exploitation of child labour in Ghana. According to their research (which they took a year and half to complete), children shockingly constitute around 40 percent of the scrap workers working on the toxic e-waste dump sites in Ghana. DanWatch were looking at equipment leaving Denmark that goes to Africa, they found that a lot of the equipment currently being sent out of the country deemed for reuse, has only about half a year’s life left in it. Click here for the full presentation.

David Rochat, from the Swiss Environmental consultancy SOFIES gave a useful presentation on how to implement an efficient e-waste management system. He spoke about the many business opportunities that there are to deal with e-waste. David has experience of setting up e-waste management systems, both in Europe and in developing countries.

Federico Magalini from the UN’s StEP Initiative gave a presentation on the work they are doing in trying to find sustainable solutions to the e-waste problem. StEP is an initiative that the UN set up to facilitate environmentally, economically & socially sound approaches to reduce e-waste flows and handle them in a sustainable way. StEP works closely with NGO’s, OEMs and Recyclers.

At the conference I bought some lovely earrings made from e-waste

There were presentations on the Macedonian and the Bulgarian experiences of e-waste. Bulgaria is in the EU, however Macedonia is not, so they don’t have e-waste legislation in place like we do in the UK, as they don’t have the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) in place. Macedonia are currently implementing their own legislation similar to the WEEE legislation.

My presentation looked at solutions to dealing with the problem of e-waste.

All the presentations are available and can be downloaded here.

Anja ffrench, Director of Marketing and Communications, Computer Aid International

• 39 per cent of UK’s largest companies do not data wipe all their unwanted PCs

• One-third have decommissioned computers containing data which are unaccounted for

• 1 in 5 senior IT decision makers in the UK are “not confident” that zero per cent of their company’s unwanted IT goes to landfill

• Only 14 per cent follow best practice IT disposal and send their working IT for reuse

These statistics are shocking, particularly when one thinks of the scale of this problem. Each of the 100 companies surveyed are among the largest in the UK with half of the respondents employed in organisations with over 1,000 staff and the other half with over 3,000. Moreover, each company decommissions just under 550 PCs each per year.

With so much IT unaccounted for, sent to landfill or still containing data – it is clear that significant improvements in IT decommissioning has to occur not only to meet basic regulatory and security requirements but also to minimize the damaging impacts e-waste can have on the environment. An estimated 75 per cent of e-waste generated in the EU, equivalent to eight million tonnes a year, is unaccounted for – either sent to landfill, substandard treatment facilities or illegally exported. The toxins in PCs (lead, mercury and arsenic to name just a few) can be damaging to health and the environment and we cannot allow companies in the UK to continue contributing to this damage.

To help IT managers improve their decommissioning procedures, Computer Aid have today launched a Best Practice Guide to IT Disposal – click here to download a free copy. We hope that this information will help companies meet current regulatory requirements around e-waste and improve the environmental and reputational impact of their IT disposal strategies.

The problem

The statistics are scary, the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that globally we generate around 50 million tonnes of e-waste per year and, with current trends in electronics design and manufacture driving rapid replacement cycles, this only seems like it will continue to get worse.

Why is Computer Aid concerned?

Of particular concern to Computer Aid is the impact that e-waste has on communities and the environment in developing countries, where we predominantly work. Computer Aid exists to reduce poverty through practical ICT solutions and we work in some of the poorest and most marginalised communities in the world, providing ICT for use in educations, health and agriculture. However, as well as providing essential IT to these communities, we want there to be safe and environmentally friendly facilities for them to get their electronic waste recycled, once it has reached its end of life.

In Europe we have authorised recyclers we can go to, which we take for granted. We also have a law, the WEEE Directive which means that companies within the EU have a legal obligation to ensure their equipment is either reused or recycled. Many countries don’t have these laws and, highly disturbingly, our laws seems to have exacerbated the flow of Europe’s e-waste to countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and China, as it’s so much cheaper to recycle it there. However without proper e-waste laws, the equipment is often recycled in a manner that is extremely harmful to the health of the people working on and living near the recycling sites as well as to the environment.

We want to see systems in place in all countries in the world that ensure the safe and responsible management of e-waste – which is why we’ve published this guide.

Why do we need e-waste advocacy guide?

Computer Aid believes that campaigning and advocacy in this area can make a real difference to policy as well as to awareness among decision makers and the general public.

We, along with other civil society groups and NGO’s in the UK, have been campaigning on e-waste and green IT issues for several years and have seen these changes happen in the UK and in Europe. We’ve learnt a lot from our experiences and wanted to share this knowledge with other organisations who are looking to bring about change in e-waste management in their own countries. We hope that this toolkit will enable other civil society actors to push for changes in their countries and bring about the essential first steps in building the capacity to minimise the environmental, health and social impacts of electronics and e-waste.

The guide takes into account the whole lifecycle of electronics from their manufacture through to their end of life and their disposal. It was written by Computer Aid’s former Environmental Advocacy Officer, Haley Bowcock, in conjunction with our partners in the Balkans the Balkans E-Waste Management Advocacy Network (BEWMAN). The whole project was financed thanks to a grant from the European Union.

Click here to down load the guide

Anja ffrench

Director of Marketing and Communications at Computer Aid International