A Gloucestershire charity pioneering IT education in Africa and cross-cultural communication between African and UK schools, is appealing to classrooms for help. Will Gethin explains how you can get involved.

Press Cutting: Sec Ed, Thursday 13th November 2006

Hot on the heels of sending its 10,000th computer to Africa, IT Schools Africa (ITSA) – a Cheltenham-based charity which supplies recycled computers to African schools to promote learning and cross-cultural communication – is throwing open the gauntlet to UK schools to help improve education in Africa. The appeal to schools is threefold: the charitys computers for Christmas campaign; its school linking programme; and its work in sourcing and supplying used computers to Africa.

The appeal to schools is threefold: the charitys computers for Christmas campaign; its school linking programme; and its work in sourcing and supplying used computers to Africa.

Set up in 2004, ITSA receives used computers from companies, organisations, schools and individuals, and refurbishes them with the help of volunteers before shipping them to Africa. ITSA targets state and mission schools in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Tanzania, setting up a computer lab with 10 computers in each school. It also supports one-off projects in other African countries.

The ITSA Computers for African Schools programme has made a major difference in some of the poorest countries in Africa, providing over half a million children with access to IT technology.

The goal is to send 70,000 computers to Africa by 2011.

Contact Murray Douglas for more information.

African adventure: (clockwise from bottom left) ITSA computers bound for Africa; pupils at Ruiru Primary School, Thika, Kenya, which is an ITSA partner school; children use their news computers at Fumathoka Primary School in Kenya; special guests from Zambia help load the 10,000th computer to be shipped to Africa by ITSA

The Computers for Christmas Programme

ITSA invites UK schools to create positive lives in Africa this Christmas by giving African schools the invaluable gift of IT education. A major cause of lack of development in the countries ITSA works in is a shortage of basic IT skills among the workforce which are increasingly in demand by business and the global economy. Computers are an excellent tool for learning and communication and greatly improve employment prospects.

You can support ITSAs Christmas campaign by sponsoring the set up of a computer lab (containing 10 computers) in a Tanzanian school at a cost of £500, or by sponsoring one computer to be supplied to a Tanzanian school at a cost of £50.

Murray Douglas, ITSA project manager, said: “Supporting our Computers for Christmas campaign will give African students the IT skills they desperately need to get decent jobs. Please remember the plight of African children this Christmas time and help them to help themselves out of the poverty trap.

“School children can raise funds for the campaign through events such as sponsored walks or runs, car boot sales or washing cars at weekends,” he added.

The Computers for Christmas campaign is sponsored by Pickabook, the UKs leading supplier of low-cost, educational books for schools.

School Linking Programme

ITSA has recently set up a school linking programme, with the Global Dimension Trust (GDT), called the Share to Learn Programme (STLP), which is forging links between primary and secondary schools in the UK and Kenya.

Initially the programme is looking for UK schools in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire and so far 25 schools have joined the programme. The programme is looking to recruit a further 20 schools in these areas by December 15. The GDT is a charity pioneering supportive and responsible partnerships between schools and communities in the UK and East Africa as well Asia. Schools will be grouped into regional clusters of approximately five schools and linked with a cluster of schools within five regions of Kenya. These cluster schools will work together and be mutually supportive. Schools will be linked with African counterparts who want to explore similar themes, such as sustainable living, the environment, health issues or food and nutrition.

The linking programme includes the following benefits and services: a connection to a compatible Kenyan school; support and advice with the link; providing computers for linked African school; links and advice to support an inter-country teacher exchange; and computer training of teachers in African schools.

“The STLP scheme is a wonderful learning opportunity for our students”

Greg Whitehead, programme co-ordinator for the GDT, said: “Once the initial link has been made with an African school, the school partners then agree to work on a common theme, of equal interest to both. Communications by post are there from the start, but once internet links are in place, then the shared learning process moves to a different level – instantaneous and exciting. Its a powerful platform for cross-cultural communication and the scope is endless.”

Brockworth Enterprise School near Cheltenham was one of the first schools to sign up for the STLP programme and will be linking with the Nakuru Girls High School in Kenya. “The STLP scheme is a wonderful learning opportunity for our students,” says Rebecca Coleman, international co-ordinator at Brockworth.

“It has incredible potential for expanding our students horizons well beyond the normal parameters of the classroom. It raises their awareness about how much they have here in the West and inspires empathy for their African counterparts and a desire to make a difference.”

The focus themes for shared learning between Brockworth and Nakuru Girls High School, include water harvesting, the environment and gender and health issues.

“These themes will be incorporated into our curriculum through geography, biology, mathematics and drama classes,” says Nancy Ngeno, principal of Nakuru Girls High School.

“One of the key national goals of education in Kenya is promoting international consciousness and positive attitude towards other nations, and this shared learning link with Brockworth provides a unique opportunity for Nakuru to implement this goal.”

The STLP linking programme will be officially launched in December when one or two schools from the programme will ceremoniously link up with their African counterparts on the internet at ITSAs headquarters in Cheltenham.

Further information

For details about the Share to Learn Programme and the costs involved, contact Greg Whitehead at the Global Dimension Trust on 01242 224311, or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sourcing and supplying used computers

“Each computer we send to Africa has the potential to educate dozens of children in Africa.”

ITSA needs help sourcing used computers to meet the huge demand from schools in Africa. ITSA urges UK schools who have used computers to donate them to the appeal and it urging schools to source used unwanted computers from local businesses and organisations.

ITSA does not have the facilities or the budget to collect computers so would rely on having the computers delivered.

“We will be truly grateful for your support,” says Monis Khalifa, IT manager for ITSA. “Each computer we send to Africa has the potential to educate dozens of children in Africa.”