Helping our local community to use technology
DigiBus is a free digital support service to help people of all ages improve their digital skills for better life and work opportunities. We are supporting a wide range of needs; from booking virtual appointments with the GP, setting up an email address, accessing online public services and an introduction to robotics and virtual reality!

We are delighted to have received 1,481 visitors since the service began and are pleased to see how people are benefitting from the DigiBus service. Our recent evaluation report provided valuable data on how learners felt after their session on the DigiBus following its first tour of Gloucestershire. 
​67% feel more confident using technology and learning on their own
47% say it has benefited their health and sense of wellbeing
16% say it enables them to take a more active part in the community
8% say they’ve learned skills they can use in a job

We were delighted to welcome the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, Sir Dusty Miller KBE to visit DigiBus, to see first hand how our mobile digital inclusion project helps community members to improve their digital skills and get help with technology. 
"The ITSA DigiBus - a terrific concept bringing extremely valuable learning opportunities to members of the more dispersed communities, dispelling uncertainty, promoting communication and reducing isolation." 
Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller KBE

​Huge congratulations to Precious Majoni on receiving the Best Computer Studies Teacher Award for 2021 presented by the Ministry of Education (South West Education Division) in Malawi. 

Precious is an IT Teacher at Zingwangwa Secondary School, a partner school in Blantyre, Malawi.  IT Schools Africa donated two school IT labs in 2014/2015 and more recently started an Entrepreneurial Digital Skills Course for students through our local partner Computers For Malawian Schools (CFMS).
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​IT Schools Africa has been instrumental in helping Precious achieve his award and improving digital education at the school. We recently caught up with Precious to find out more about this prestigious award and what it means to him and the wider school community. 
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“I am so proud to win this award because we were competing against very good schools and I have overcome a lot of challenges. My students and fellow teachers have renewed energy and motivation and will never look down on themselves again.“
Precious Majoni, IT teacher, Zingwangwa School, Blantyre, Malawi

Question:  Please tell us a little more about the award you received?
I was awarded the Best Subject Teacher Award 2021 for Computer Studies, presented by the Ministry of Education (South West Education Division) in Malawi. In addition to teaching the curriculum-based course focussing on the Microsoft applications, this award was in recognition of achieving the best Malawi School Certificate of Education (MCSE) results in computer studies that the school has ever produced. 
Furthermore, the new Entrepreneurial Digital Skills Course incorporating Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Photoshop and video editing, developed and implemented with local partner Computers For Malawian Schools (CFMS) and IT Schools Africa (ITSA), is transforming digital skills education. This course is quite unique for Malawian schools and teaches real life, useful skills enabling these students to generate an income and improve their lives.

Tell us a little more about IT teaching in school and how learning digital skills helps students.
ICT is a compulsory subject up to the age of 14 and is optional for older students. IT is a game changer for students’ education, supporting learning across all subjects and accessing global information. Developing digital skills has enabled the students to increase their chances for internship, employment and access to university. 

Could you share more details on your new Entrepreneurial Digital Skills Course?
There is a demand for digital design skills such as Publisher, Photoshop and Premier Pro in Malawi. These skills enable the students to generate income and help their families financially. We are seeing higher enrolment for computer studies, more engagement from students and new energy in teaching amongst the teachers. Our first cohort of 48 students last year benefitted so much we are repeating the course now for a further 70 students. We have also worked with local companies, such as Hallmark to ensure the modules are covering all areas that are marketable in the industry. 

How much does schooling cost in Malawi?  
Primary education is free in Malawi but secondary schooling has to be paid for. Students’ families have to pay MWK 33,000 per year (which converts to approximately £30 per year), sadly many families struggle to pay school fees. 
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How do you handle the challenges of internet and power? 
We do our best under the circumstances. We do not have access to regular internet but we manage. In case of a blackout, I always prepare two sets of lessons, I can teach a theory lesson if this happens. 

​Thank you Precious - you are an inspiration to your fellow teachers and students!

​Huge congratulations to our very own Monis Khalifa! 
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Monis was invited to attend the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace last month, in recognition of his work at IT Schools Africa. Monis has been with IT Schools Africa since its very beginning. He is not just a very well recognised face with our volunteers, but has been the heart of the charity over the last 17 years.  

​The seed for IT Schools Africa (ITSA) was sown when an old computer was thrown into a skip - watched by Monis - he thought to himself, is there not a better way to recycle old computers? He mentioned this to his friend Michael Ratcliffe, and between the two of them, they decided that there definitely was a better way - to send them to schools in Africa!
 
Subsequently IT Schools Africa was established in 2004 and operations started the following year, with the renovation of a warehouse in Cheltenham and from there the first refurbished computers were shipped in a container to Africa. The rest, as they say is history! 

We are pleased to share the IT Schools Africa Annual Review 2020-2021 showcasing our work and impact in Africa and the UK. 
“Despite the extraordinary challenges of operating during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, IT Schools Africa (ITSA) continued to successfully support its programmes in Africa and the UK, its focus, as always, to transform lives by improving digital access.”
Lucy Pollock General Manager
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Our year in numbers - Africa 
Our programmes in Africa help to improve the teaching of digital training for teachers and the skills and experience of students learning ICT at school. ​We are proud to have positively impacted so many students through digital education to enable life opportunities.  

Our year in numbers - UK
Our work in the UK, specifically in Gloucestershire, to improve digital access and skills locally has been very successful. Working with Cheltenham Borough Council and GCHQ, ITSA supported their No Child Left Behind campaign to supply laptops to primary and secondary schools to ensure pupils had access to a computer for home study. 

Helping our local community to use technology
DigiBus is our digital inclusion project that's helping people of all ages improve their digital skills for better life and work opportunities. The DigiBus ‘mobile learning experience’ is a converted double-decker bus, packed with digital technology, travelling around the whole of Gloucestershire, as it visits community venues and town centres providing free digital support and workshops. 

We are pleased to see increasing numbers of learners benefiting from DigiBus; over 650 visitors have now benefited from the service and had help to improve their digital skills since the DigiBus began. We are supporting a wide range of needs; from booking virtual appointments with the GP, setting up an email address, accessing online public services and an introduction to robotics and virtual reality! 

“An elderly gentleman, 96 year old ‘Tom’ came to the DigiBus to learn how to use his Smart Phone. Many years ago Tom was responsible for placing the first computers into schools in Gloucestershire. Today, after his visit to the DigiBus Tom is not only mastering his phone, but he knows all about what is involved in programming miniature robots, along with what VR (Virtual Reality) goggles can do. A huge leap in learning!”
​Taff, DigiBus Project Manager 

​DigiBus is currently visiting Gloucester and heading to Dursley, Chalford and  Stroud community venues in April. Then it will begin its second tour of the county and returning to the Forest of Dean. 

Our DigiBus IT trainers and volunteers are providing personalised one-to-one sessions helping people with technology.  Learning how to order prescriptions, setting up mobile banking apps and finding out how to use social networks to ease isolation are just some of the many things we can help with. Learners can book a one-to-one session with the IT trainer or alternatively anyone can drop in between 10.00am and 3.00pm.
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Please get in touch if you would like to host DigiBus at your community centre, volunteer on DigiBus, partner with DigiBus or find out more, we want to hear from you!
Please email digibus@itschoolsafrica.org

Our Teacher Training Programme is helping to improve the quality of digital education throughout schools in Zambia.  The training course is designed to improve teachers’ digital skills proficiency and students' learning. Despite many challenges, including teacher strikes and further Covid-related school closures, we are delighted to have successfully trained over 220 teachers in Zambia since the beginning of 2021.

The training will help both ICT and non-ICT teachers as it provides an in-depth practical study of computers and how to use them effectively. We want to ensure teachers within all subject areas are able to promote and encourage students to use technology, as well as making lessons more fun and interactive!

“It helped me enhance my skills in using ICT's in our school. Through this training my confidence has grown”  Teacher, Chiawa, Lusaka Province
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“I learnt skills about how to use the computer correctly and effectively, and how helpful the computer is in our daily lives. Furthermore, I gained skills about how to use Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint presentations.”  Teacher, Kitwe, Copperbelt Province

If your school or business would like to support our  teacher training project please get in touch. Email jenny@itschoolsafrica.org

Helping our local community to use technology
We are delighted to see increasing numbers of visitors coming on-board and getting help with technology; from help installing the NHS app, to emailing important documents, to an introduction to robotics and virtual reality! The Digibus provides a free service for anyone who needs digital support, we’ve had visitors of nursery age to over 80 year olds. Our DigiBus IT trainers and volunteers are providing personalised one-to-one sessions helping people get to grips with technology. 

Digibus is visiting sites in Cheltenham throughout February, see the Digibus schedule here Followed by Tewkesbury in March, then Cotswolds and Stroud area. Then it will begin its second tour of the county, starting from the Forest of Dean.

Digibus is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 3.30pm for 1 to 1 sessions, although this may change as the weather gets warmer.  We recommend anyone visiting brings along their own phone/tablet/laptop if they have a particular issue specific to their device. 
Please get in touch if you would like to;
- Host DigiBus at your community centre
- Organise a group workshop on DigiBus
- Partner with DigiBus or find out more.
Please call 07878 250 111 or email digibuspm@itschoolsafrica.org to find out more or book a free session.

We are really pleased to announce that we have reached another milestone - receiving and processing over 110,000 donated computers and laptops in the UK and saving them from landfill. It only seems like yesterday we were celebrating the fact that we had crossed the 100,000 milestone!

This is a tremendous achievement especially given the COVID situation and we are so grateful to all our donors for their support. Without these computers and laptops we would not be able to continue and develop our programmes in both Africa and the UK to enable people access to IT. Your donations of IT equipment have meant that we have helped millions of schoolchildren in Africa and many thousands in Gloucestershire improve their IT skills and bridge the digital divide.  

Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful supporters we have exceeded our Big Give #ChristmasChallenge21 target and raised £20,744. That's £9,670 in donations, plus £9,670 matching funds plus Gift Aid - for our teacher training programme in Zimbabwe. We are delighted and overwhelmed with the support we have had over the last week, raising more than we have done in previous years. 

This vital funding will help us to deliver much needed digital skills training for 200 teachers to help improve digital education for students. The training courses help to develop knowledge and skills that will assist teachers and encourage the use of ICT in the delivery of all lessons to enhance the learning process. 

We are excited to be taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2021 for the fourth consecutive year. Last year our teacher training project in Zambia was hugely successful, we reached our fundraising targets and have exceeded our target of the number of teachers trained. In just under one month the Big Give​ Christmas Challenge launches on #GivingTuesday (midday 30th Nov)  - ​Could you support us?
Please save the date 30th November 2021 – 7th December 2021. 

​For one week only, online donations raised for our teacher training project in Zimbabwe, will be DOUBLED as part of a match funding campaign. For example, an online donation of £100 would be doubled to £200. If Gift Aid is claimed, the donation could be worth £225.
(Donations are doubled whilst matching funds last.) 

​Project Overview 
Our goal is to train 200 teachers and improve the digital skills of teachers and students. Consequently students will leave school confident and digitally focused to improve their future education, employment and life prospects. Schools lack the resources to provide digital training for teachers. Teachers are left lacking the skills, motivation and confidence to provide a positive digital learning experience for students. 

We believe the impact of our project will be improved digital literacy for better educational opportunities for Zimbabwean students. Over time we expect a digitally enabled workforce to emerge in Zimbabwe, increasing efficiency and production. 

For further information  please contact jenny@itschoolsafrica.org 
Please note only donations made through our Christmas Challenge campaign page on the Big Give website, using a valid debit or credit card, from midday Tuesday 30th November to midday Tuesday 7th December will be matched.