Why Malawi?
In 2016 only 3% of Malawian students were able to access a computer at school. When we started working in Malawi this was one of the lowest rates in the world, and somewhere we felt we could make a significant impact.
Given that The Turing Trust is based in Scotland, there are also substantial Malawian links and significant synergies in supporting our Malawian partners Computers for Enhanced Education (CEE). Scotland and Malawi have developed close ties over their 159 year relationship and The Turing Trust started working in Malawi in 2015. With support from local communities in Malawi we are committed to bringing equal digital opportunity to students and young people across the country.
We refurbish IT equipment, install a range of educational software and provide it to those who need it most.
why it skills
the fight for digital literacy
Without basic digital literacy, students cannot make the most of the online world and the transformative technologies many of us take for granted. Imagine bookkeeping for your business without being able to do a quick spreadsheet, or trying to access information without the ability to search online for what you’re looking for.
Critically for young people IT skills open up career opportunities and make university more accessible. Since some of our partner schools have started teaching IT they’ve seen 20% more of their students attending university.
IT skills can also have an important economic impact too. On average those with IT skills are able to increase their incomes by 39%.
the Where
where we have helped
Our work began in Malawi’s Northern Region where we felt our work would make the greatest impact. Over the last few years we have made significant progress, bringing IT resources to an equivalent of 81% of all the secondary schools in the Northern Region. Therefore, we have begun to expand our work into the Central and Southern Regions.
the how
How we help change lives
We have a three-fold approach to how we are working in Malawi:
Creating IT labs in schools with donated IT equipment. Each school receives around 20 PCs which are loaded with our offline e-library software.
Supplying IT maintenance services to schools. Once a school has signed up to participate in our programme we continually monitor and support schools to ensure their IT equipment is fully functioning. This means that we repair or replace any non-working equipment for many years after we first install computers at a school.
Providing training for teachers on how to use e-learning resources in lessons, PC maintenance and troubleshooting, and how to get the most from the offline resources we provide through our e-library.
our progress
Our impact
We have now been working in Malawi since 2015 and we are beginning to see some positive longer term educational outcomes including:
- improved exam results
- increased female participation in IT
- increased numbers of students from our partner schools achieving a place at one of the public universities in Malawi
Our other work
Discover how your support is helping us to bridge the digital divide through the power of accessible education.
UK
Our activities stem from our base in Edinburgh where we teach trainees how to refurbish IT equipment.
rest of world
Since 2009 we have installed computers across the globe with several partner organisations.
How you can help
Every donation we receive is pivotal to enabling our work, making the digital world accessible to those who need it most.
give computers
Help us to reuse your computer and give students access to a wealth of IT resources.
donate
Support our fundraising by sponsoring teacher training or a school’s computer laboratory.
volunteer
Volunteer with us and help us to refurbish computers or join us to pack a container and much more…
