If you have an old computer lying around, leave it into the Camara NUIG drop-off hub at Lower Newcastle Rd, beside the student AIB bank, on the first Wednesday of every month between 10am-4pm.

A donation of €20 is asked per computer, which goes towards the cost of sending the computers to Africa and maintaining the computer centres there. Camara NUIG has been set up with the support of NUI Galway and DERI Outreach Programme .

For more information, contact Deirdre on 091-495336 or email deirdre.lee@camara.ie.

On Wednesday 17th February at 1.00pm Camara, the Irish Charity, will launch a new collection point at Food For Thought Africa’s African Art Gallery at 220 Lisburn Road where members of the public can drop off used computers.

Camara takes in used computers and refurbishes them for shipment and installation into village schools across Africa. In 2009 Camara sent more than 6700 computers to 400 schools in seven countries in sub Saharan Africa including Lesotho, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda to equip them with computer labs for their educational needs. The Belfast workshop has contributed 1000 of those computers. For 2010 the target from Ireland is 12,000 computers with 1,500 coming from Belfast.
The charity aims to empower thousands of African children to improve their life chances and the prosperity of their local communities through education. Camara Belfast is a Springvale Learning sponsored project.

Ann Fitzpatrick, Project Coordinator of Camara Belfast said
“We are very pleased to develop this partnership with Food For Thought Africa. Both organisations are working to enhance education opportunities for children in Kenya and Rwanda. The African Art Gallery is conveniently located and is open Tuesday to Saturday which will facilitate members of the public who wish to bring along a computer.”

Maeve Marnell from Food for Thought Africa said “We welcome the opportunity to develop this partnership with Camara. We run feeding programmes in schools in some of the poorest parts of Africa, encouraging the children to come to school and stay in school and giving them an opportunity to get themselves and their families out of poverty for good. We also provide secondary school scholarships as primary education in Kenya and Rwanda is free but secondary is not. Computer technology has really enhanced education here and we want to make sure children in Africa do not miss out. Therefore we are looking forward to working with Camara both here and in Africa. I want to encourage members of the public who would like to donate a computer to take advantage of our convenient location just opposite Tescos on the Lisburn Road. All suitable equipment will be used to enhance education in Africa.”

Contact Details
Camara
Ann Fitzpatrick
Unit 23 and 24, Townsend Enterprise Park, Townsend Street, Belfast BT13 2ES, Telephone 02890332470 or email ann.fitzpatrick@camara.ie or google us at
www.camara.ie

Food For Thought Africa
Maeve Marnell 07867780550
maevemarnell@hotmail.co.uk
The African Art Gallery, 220 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 5HG
www.foodforthoughtafrica.org

We have made several contacts with organisations involved in education throughout the country, including VSO and Rhenanie Palatinat- Jumelage. The latter has the longest ties of cooperation with Rwanda, lasting 28 years. We thank Mr. Frank Lehmann for this lead and his daily supporting and guidance of our operations. Rhenanie Palatinat- Jumelage is supporting 213 schools in Rwanda and they are keen to receive computers from Camara. So far, five schools are lined up to benefit from this new venture.

On Tuesday 19th 2010, we had a ceremony launching the computer laboratory, equipped with Camara computers, at one of their supported schools. The ceremony was marked by thankful messages and speeches from dignitaries present at the ceremony on this joint venture between Camara and Rhenanie Palatinat- Jumelage. The school where the ceremony took place is run by the Catholic diocese of Ruhengeri. His lordship the Monsignor of the diocese sent a representative to this ceremony. Also present were the Mayor of the district where the school is located, the person in charge of cooperation in Rhenanie Palatinat- Jumelage, the Executive Secretary of the area who also doubles as a representative of a Parents Teachers Association (PTA), teachers of the school, and journalists from the local FM radio station.

All of those present wanted to know more about Camara and how it works. Camara’s CEO in Rwanda, Edward Rwagasore, explained all by giving a small presentation of Camara computers and open source software. Everyone seemed to be very interested with the initiative and surely they are going to spread the word. This event was aired on the local FM radio station in their news bulletin, so we expect more contacts to be made, even those schools beyond the cooperation with Rhenanie Palatinat- Jumelage.

You will:

• have a tour of the workshop
• watch a short video from last years trip
• have the opportunity to ask questions about this years project
• speak to returned volunteers

No need to make an appointment just come on down and find out how you can make a difference.

Please could you go to Camara’s Learning Shop on http://www.camara.ie/shop

If you are thinking about what small, inexpensive but meaningful present to give someone this Christmas for only €10 ($15 or £9) you can give your family, friends and work colleagues a computer.

This computer will be sent on their behalf to a school in Africa where it will provide Teachers and Kids with the GIFT of EDUCATION by improving their learning environment.

The recipient of the gift will get a Card on which they will get a unique tracking number that allows them to follow the progress of their computer from when it arrives in our workshop to when it lands in Africa.

Anniversary Celebrations
As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, Our Lady Mother of the Church, Castleknock, set up a Third World Partnership (TWP) in early 2008 with the aim of supporting a community in Ethiopia.
The Castleknock TWP have partnered with a region called Metcha Boroddo, north east of Addis Ababa. Since September 2008, they have sponsored 100 children and have increased this to 185 for 2009/10, ensuring that they have an education, something most of us take for granted. Thanks to sponsorship support from the parishioners of Castleknock they are assured of a brighter future.

In March of this year, some of the committee went to Metcha Boroddo on a fact finding mission. They were able to see at first- hand how well the partnership was going and to see what other areas may need their support. The community identified repairs to their church in Metcha Borrodo and the provision of Computers for their school, St Mary’s as their top priorities.

Making contact
Following this visit, the Castleknock TWP made contact with Camara in Dublin to see if there was a possibility that Camara might be able to assist with providing computers for the school in Metcha Borrodo. The TWP were delighted to find that Camara had a Hub nearby in Nazareth. In September, prior to the visit by a group of Volunteers from the TWP to Ethiopia, Fr Mulugeta, the Parish Priest in Metcha Borroddo made contact with Hamara ( a Camara partner) in Nazareth and arranged for the TWP group to visit the Hamara Hub. Hamara, get equipment from Ireland and prepare it for deployment to the schools.
Noel McHugh, Norah Gallagher & Elizabeth McHugh, three TWP volunteers together with Fr Mulugeta & Fr Amanuel, met with Camara/Hamara’s CEO -, Gashaye Teferra, Vice Chair – Feyissa Ararssa and Teka Guta – Technical Co-ordinator. The group discussed the options available, high level costs and actions required to obtain 20 computes for St Mary’s school in Metch Boroddo, which caters for Grades 1-8 , ranging in age from 7 – 17 years.

Pre-requisites
One of the pre-requisites for a school to be considered is that the school must be able to provide a secure room for the computers with electricity, furniture and ventilation. The computers will be provided at a cost of approx €100 each. Hamara will send a representative to the school to view the dedicated room, identify what is required to get the computer room up and running and agree a schedule with the school. Hamara will provide training for 2 teachers at their Hub and will provide maintenance and support once the computers are installed. The school will require cables , tables & chairs for their new computer room.

The Students and teachers in the School are delighted and very excited to be getting their first computers. This initiative is made possible by the Castleknock TWP partnering with Hamara to provide computers for St.Mary’s School in Metcha Boroddo.

A €10 Donation Covers the Cost of Transporting One Computer

Camara has launched a Christmas appeal to help fund the transportation of thousands of computers to learning centres across Africa this Christmas. The charity, which provides educational tools to some of the poorest people in the world, has launched the campaign to fund the shipping costs, which work out at €10 per computer, to deliver the technology that will affect the lives of over 150,000 children in Africa.

Camara is asking people to donate €10 for which they will receive a Christmas card with a unique tracking number which can be used to track the journey of the computer to its final destination. It’s the perfect gift for children who can use their education and knowledge of technology to make a difference to a disadvantaged child’s life in Africa.

Camara collects redundant computers from Irish organisations and individuals and refurbishes them before being shipping to Africa where they are reused in ‘Learning Centres’ in schools and colleges. This year Camara has collected and refurbished 7,000 computers and each school or college in Africa will receive 25 computers per learning centre meaning 280 schools and colleges will benefit from Irish organisations provided – Camara get the vital transport donations they need to fund the transport.

Speaking on the need for donations for shipping costs, the charity’s CEO Cormac Lynch said, “We have 7,000 fully functional computers ready to be distributed across Africa and we urgently need funds to make sure that the final piece of the jigsaw happens. It’s just €10 per computer and this is something kids could do themselves this Christmas in line with our kids helping kids campaign. Education is the key to solving Africa’s problems and harnessing the world of technology in education will really fast track change and make a difference to people in Africa.”

In the past three years Camara have shipped computers to Ethiopia, Uganda, Lesotho, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, and Rwanda. By 2012, Camara will have installed a fully functional Learning Centre in 1,000 African schools and provide support to these centres with a fully certified teacher training program incorporating educational content into the national school curriculum where they operate.

Camara sources computers from a wide spectrum of Irish organisations, ranging from large government departments and multinational companies to SME’s. In 2009, the charity’s average recycle order size was approximately 40 computers per customer. Camara also signed an agreement with a large multinational to handle electronic waste from all their sites across Europe.

Make a €10 Donation now

For More Information Contact:

Astrid Brennan, Fleishman-Hillard, 01 6188 475 / 086 215 4883

For photos, visit our flickr

The world’s installed base of PCs remains heavily concentrated in mature markets. However, Gartner project per capita PC penetration in emerging markets to double by 2013. Rapid penetration in emerging markets is being driven by the explosive expansion of broadband and wireless connectivity in these markets, the continuing fall in PC average selling prices (ASPs), and the general realization that PCs are an indispensable tool for advancement. Gartner expect emerging markets to account for approximately 70% of the next billion installed PCs.

Startlingly, the research company also report that just over 180 million PCs (16% of the existing installed base) will be replaced by the end of 2008. 35 million of these will end up discarded in landfill with little or no regard for their toxic content or their potential for re-use.

The carbon footprint of creating 180 million new PCs is a staggering 117 million tonnes of Co2. The 35 million that will be discarded into landfill represents a carbon footprint of 22 ½ million tonnes. This represents half of Ireland’s total amount of Co2 emissions in 2005 alone.

Camara’s experience suggests that over 90% of discarded PC’s are re-usable, with the remaining 10% providing useful parts for the refurbishment process. Based on this figure it is clear that in 2009 alone over 31 million PCs that could have been re-used have ended up in landfill.

Challenging this travesty starts with you and with your business.

Contact Camara and stop the waste.

As revealed by a 2004 UN report, the environmental cost of manufacturing a computer is extensive. This process uses 6,400 megajoules of electricity (enough to power a CFL light bulb constantly for over 6 years) and produces a carbon footprint that is the equivalent of driving a new Fiat 500 from Dublin to Moscow…..and back!

Despite weighing on average only 20kg, over 1.8 tons of raw materials are necessary to construct a computer. This breaks down to include a quarter of a ton of fossil fuels; 1.5 tons of water (enough drinking water for you for 2 years); and over 20kg of chemicals including lead and cadmium.

Re-use of computers, as recommended by the UN, is ‘some 20 times more effective at saving life cycle energy use than recycling’. Most of the energy and resource investment is lost during recycling.

Although the Smart Schools Report (page 24) advises that, ‘affordability and sustainability be considered as important criteria in any technology procurement decisions’, re-used computers are not specifically recommended.

Schools should be steered toward purchasing re-used computers rather than new ones. There are over 200,000 computers disposed of every year in Ireland. Most of these have not reached the end of their useful life and, with low cost refurbishment, can be re-used for up to five years – an ideal smart solution for schools.

It makes both financial and environmental sense.