We are delighted to announce the safe arrival of our latest 40-foot container containing 1533 computers and accessories at the Centre for Youth and Development (CYD) in Mzuzu, Malawi. This is the second shipment sent from the UK in 2020 and is a tribute to the continued generosity of our IT donors and to the hard work of our team of staff and volunteers in Edinburgh.
The container started its journey in late October 2020 with a socially distanced shipping day. We were helped by a fantastic team of volunteers from Edinburgh University and good weather with bright blue sky and sunshine. There is always a great sense of achievement at the end of the day with a container fully loaded and ready to go.
Unfortunately, the weather in Malawi on the day they unloaded the container was not so kind. Check out the video to see the dedicated team of CYD staff and volunteers working hard to get all the kit unloaded and stored safely. And all with a smile despite the conditions!
Improving Access to E-learning Content
This shipment will also help us to revolutionise the way our classrooms are providing access to e-learning content. Over the last few years, we have been experimenting with a few ways in which we can best provide access to a wide variety of information in our computer labs. The 109 switches that have now arrived will enable us to provide networks in all of our computer laboratories. This means that not only will students and teachers have access to our extensive e-library delivered through RACHEL, but they will also be able to access resources specifically aligned to the Malawi curriculum through Kolibri, our learning management system. Kolibri also allows teachers to develop new ways of teaching that allow more student directed learning, whilst still allowing them to closely monitor and support their students. Our work to align resources to the Malawi curriculum continues and our remote volunteering days have proved to be a great success, with volunteers managing to cover a huge number of topics and find many more quality resources.
Expanding into the Central Region in Malawi
This shipment will also provide the resources essential to the expansion of our activities into the Central Region of Malawi. We now have an office in Lilongwe as well as our main hub in Mzuzu to support this and have recently welcomed Virginia, Malumbo and Wonganie to the team. They are already up and running and proving pivotal in reaching out to schools in the Central Region.
Working with the Central West Education Division
Collaboration and partnership with stakeholders is key to the success of our projects and the Central West Education Division is providing fantastic support for our projects. We have been working with them since the original approval meeting last year and look forward to being able to achieve so much more with their support. There is no doubt that the team in Lilongwe have made a great start and the arrival of this shipment will no doubt lead to a significant flurry of activity!
James Gondwe meets with the manager of the Central West Education Division 
Our ICT Officer in Lilongwe visiting schools with officers from the Central West Education Division 
Delivering computers to a school in the Central Region 
Setting up another computer lab in the Central Region, Malawi
None of this would have been possible without the support of our generous donors or the hard work and dedication of our staff and volunteers. However, there is still plenty to do and many more schools in Malawi who need computer labs. If you have any IT equipment you no longer need, then we can always find a good home for it, so please do get in touch.
