Author Malamba is a Nursing and Midwifery student currently enrolled at Mzuzu University. Leticia Kanyinji from the Centre for Youth and Development caught up with Author to ask her a few questions about her experience using donated computers as a beneficiary of The Turing Trust, and how access to computers and the internet has impacted her learning journey.
“Learning becomes easier”
Like many students in Malawi, Author began learning computing by theory, reading books alone on how to use an operating system without any hands-on experience with a computer. Obviously, without access to hardware and computers themselves to learn from, it is much more challenging to learn the ropes. Access to the right computer hardware is still a significant hurdle in many schools, with Author recalling that when she did get to learn hands-on, it would be a single computer shared between 4 students. This has drastically changed since our computer donation charity has installed computers at Euthini Secondary School where Author attended.
She went on to graduate from Euthini and is now enrolled in Mzuzu University where she uses the internet almost daily for academic purposes. Having the necessary skills to use computers and internet access with ease and having these resources at her fingertips has enabled Author to make strides in her academic performance which she believes would not have been possible without them.
“When we started entering classes, searching for information was very easy and it contributed a lot to my academic performance.”
Computing is also helping to bridge the gender divide in Malawi, as more girls are encouraged to pursue their learning and passions by accessing information freely on the internet. Author believes that the idea of computing being ‘for boys’ should be pushed aside, and that if girls are to compete globally then they mustn’t be put off by any such preconceptions.
”We used to believe that it is tough, and only boys can operate (computers)”
Help us enable more students like Author to access a technology-enabled education by donating your old IT equipment to The Turing Trust. You can learn more about recycling your computer via our give computers page, where you’ll find details of how to donate & how and where your donated IT equipment will be used.