​In February this year we donated laptops to the Kambia Appeal and the Network for Rural Development (NRD - SL) for their computer training lab project; benefiting schools and the wider community in the district of Kambia, Sierra Leone. The objective of the computer lab is to empower young people, rural women and children to access basic and advanced computer training skills with the future aim of sustainable livelihoods.

​The computer training covers Windows, Excel, Word, Access, Publisher, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer. For the more advanced learners the understanding of computer use in a business world is included in the training.

After six months we were delighted to hear that 14 trainers have been trained and ​86 school girls and 26 school boys have completed the IT training. 
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We hope to continue supporting this wonderful and invaluable project in the future.

In Africa IT skills are essential for young people to access better paid jobs. Furthermore, without an IT literate workforce, countries are less able to broaden their economy and access the benefits of the information revolution. 

Lack of IT literacy in Africa is also a barrier to further education, with students struggling to complete coursework and dissertations without being able to use computers. Some schools have such limited resources; one computer is shared between ten children, and other schools ask for broken machines just to explain the basic elements of computers to the children.

Over the last decade IT Schools Africa has been Improving education in Africa, working closely with our in-country partners to provide quality education to schools. 

We understand the needs of the schools; what the teachers want and importantly how we can help to improve the learning experience for children in Africa. 

Our computers have educational software pre-installed, ready for the teachers to use to make their lessons not only informative but also interesting and interactive for the students.  

Our e-Learning Centres are helping to give access to ICT education to more students than ever before. These projects are transforming IT Education for the students, increasing the number of children taking exams in the subject and improving the teaching of other subjects.  We now have 15 Centres in Malawi and Zambia, you can read more about them here.

We plan to further improve education in Africa through the development of projects to provide access to IT for vulnerable communities; for young, unemployed adults or adults that perhaps didn't get the chance to go to school. 

Q - What is your role at ITSA and how long have you held this position? 

Lucy - I’m the Overseas Operations Manager and I look after the African side of the charity, I’ve been in the role for over a year.  My job is to supervise the country programmes that we send our computers to.  I make sure that the equipment meets the needs of the schools in Africa in terms of quality and quantity.  It’s not just about providing computers, we also focus on the educational software as well as developing new projects that will provide greater access to schools and the local communities.
     
Q - What has been your proudest achievement during your time at ITSA?

Lucy - Probably seeing a shipment off to Zimbabwe after a gap of nearly three years.  Over the last six months we have been able to breathe some much needed life into our programme in Zimbabwe.  The programme had been near to closure due to the some issues with one of the local partners.  Now, after a few ups and downs we have restarted the programme and despite the gloomy economic situation in the country, demand for IT education is as high as ever.

Q - What did you do before your role at ITSA?

Lucy - I used to live in Zambia, where I had a variety of roles; managing a busy backpacker’s lodge, and as COO of a charity that focuses on education and local community projects.  I enjoyed both jobs immensely not least because I got to live in one of Africa’s most beautiful countries, based just 10kms away from the awe-inspiring Victoria Falls!

Q - What do you find most challenging about your role?

Lucy - As rewarding as it is seeing the impact the computers have, it can also be challenging to ensure that the entire process from donation to distribution is monitored at each stage.  Communication in particular can be difficult when trying to reach our partners in Africa, power cuts, expensive and poor Internet connection can hamper our best efforts to link up at times.

Q - How do you see the charity developing in the future? 

Lucy - To continue to provide high quality computers to schools in Africa, but also to extend our mission to new programmes and destinations.  To link with partners with similar goals to our own, to reach more people and ultimately to close the digital divide.

Thanks to a kind donation from Fondation Eagle and the hard work of our partner charity, Computers for Malawian Schools, another school in Malawi now has an e-Learning centre. 

Namikasi Secondary School is located in the Blantyre district and has a wide catchment area with almost 1,200 students attending - many travelling many miles to and from school.  Before the new computer lab was donated, the school had just 12 computers between 180 students. 

The donation from Fondation Eagle has given the students at Namikasi Secondary School the chance to gain an education in IT – a skill so relevant to us all in this day and age. 

The IT lab has been completely transformed with new desks, air conditioning and secure doors and windows to ensure the equipment is kept safe and protected. 

In total, the e-learning centre has 40 computers, 1 laptop and a digital projector. The equipment and purpose built space will make teaching and learning more enjoyable and productive for all.

Q - How did you first hear about ITSA? 

Mark - I was introduced to ITSA via a Work Programme experience offered by the DWP and I became a volunteer in February of 2016. 

Q - What type of tasks are you involved in at ITSA?

Mark - My initial task was to help in the office, making telephone calls to potential future donors to discuss the possibility of them giving their unused PC equipment to ITSA. 

Q - What is your favourite thing about being part of the ITSA team? 

Mark -  The collective efforts of everyone at ITSA mean that a computer's lifespan is extended for 5 years or more and children in Africa get a life changing opportunity to improve their future. No wonder everyone smiles every day at ITSA! Thank You ITSA for the experience.         

​When IT Schools Africa first started sending computers to Africa, we gave them as donations. At the time, when the charity was just finding its feet, we were not aware that despite it being a kind gesture, this wasn’t a viable way of encouraging the teaching of IT in African schools in the long term.  

The trouble we faced when giving the computers away at no cost was that a number of the schools were not aware of how to get the most out of the equipment. Due to lack of IT training available for teachers, and little accessible educational software, the computers were not being used to their full capability. 

ITSA recognised this problem and made the decision to begin charging schools a minimal cost for the computers.  This cost recovery strategy allowed ITSA to be able to provide needed support on how to get the most out of the technology.

10 years have passed since ITSA put in place the cost recovery strategy and it is clear what a difference it has made, not only to the students using the computers but to the teachers and wider communities. The schools now see their computers as valuable assets and utilise them as much as they can - with many offering extra classes out of school hours for people in the local community. 

ITSA has 3 technical centres in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They employ local people to provide schools with ongoing support when they buy computers and laptops. The technical centres provide teacher training to ensure a good and up to date understanding of technology is passed on to students. 

The strategy ITSA implemented back in 2006 has made it possible for the charity to grow and has helped more schools have access to affordable computers. The technical centres continue to thrive and we hope that in the next 10 years we will be working with more programmes right across Africa. 

Teachers, IT departments, parents and students before you run out the door to enjoy your 6 weeks summer holidays, we need to ask a favour! 

Schools make up ITSA’s largest percentage of donors with a whopping 48% of all donations coming from schools.  Which makes you a huge part of our mission to close the digital divide between nations. 

Now before you set your ‘out of office’ and put on your sunglasses we are asking if you can put together any IT equipment that your school no longer uses for us to collect and put to better use. 

We are in need of:

• Computers (in working order and less than 6 years old)
• Flat screens
• Mice
• Keyboards
• Power Leads
• Laptops
• Tablets

If you work for a school who you think might be able to help, let us know! Email louise@itschoolsafrica.org or call us 01242 228800. 

​In Africa IT skills are essential for young people to access better paid jobs. Furthermore, without an IT literate workforce, countries are less able to broaden their economy and access the benefits of the information revolution. 

Lack of IT literacy in Africa is also a barrier to further education, with students struggling to complete coursework and dissertations without being able to use computers. Some schools have such limited resources; one computer is shared between ten children, and other schools ask for broken machines just to explain the basic elements of computers to the children.

Over the last decade IT Schools Africa has been improving education in Africa, working closely with our in-country partners to provide good quality, affordable computers to schools. 

We understand the needs of the schools; what the teachers want and importantly how we can help to improve the learning experience for children in Africa. 

Our computers have educational software pre-installed, ready for the teachers to use to make their lessons not only informative but also interesting and interactive for the students.  

Our e-Learning Centres in Malawi have been so successful we plan to develop more in Zambia and Zimbabwe. These projects are able to transform IT Education for the students, increasing the number of children taking exams in the subject and improving the teaching of other subjects. 

We plan to further improve education in Africa through the development of projects to provide access to IT for vulnerable communities; for young, unemployed adults or adults that perhaps didn't get the chance to go to school. ​

Although our end goal is to supply schools in Africa with access to e-learning, a lot of work has to be done in the UK to begin the process. That is where ITSA's UK Operations Manager, Simon, comes in! Simon's role involves managing and organising volunteers and ensuring the UK operations run as smoothly as possible....

Q - Hi Simon. How long have you worked for IT Schools Africa? 
Simon - 6 years

Q - How has ITSA changed in the time that you have been working there?
Simon - We have become much more efficient and streamlined in our processes. 

Q - What do you enjoy about most about working at ITSA?
Simon - I find it most rewarding to see our fantastic volunteers learn new skills and grow in confidence. 

Q - How do you see ITSA developing in the future? 
Simon - Technology is changing so fast so we will have to keep adapting to keep pace with it.