School sends 190 recycled PCs to Dominica

AN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL in the West Midlands has donated 190 recycled PCs to a group of schools in the Caribbean island of Dominica.

The project, entitled Mission Dominica, has seen ten disadvantaged schools across the island receiving PC equipment and internet access.

It might give a nudge to the likes of AMD and Microsoft who say they want to wire up half the world by 2015, as long as it doesn't cost them anything.

The idea started last year when Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire decided to donate its old PCs following an upgrade at its computer labs.

The machines, which had previously been used as network nodes, were based on four to six-year old Intel motherboards, had Intel processors, 256MB RAM, 40GB hard drives and ran on a Windows 2000 operating system.

Leamington-based IT supplier NS Optimum stripped the kit for spare parts, then repaired and upgraded it.

Following a site inspection in January, the rebuffed PCs along with new cables, wireless networking equipment and other bits donated by a range of UK manufacturers, were shipped out to the island in a banana container.

Installation took two weeks in March and both staff and students were shown best practices for cabling, maintaining, repairing and expanding computer networks. Since then, all schools have been supported remotely from the UK over a secure internet connection.

The PCs, which are expected to serve the schools for at least another three years, will also be made available to some of the island's 71,000 inhabitants through evening classes in IT.

Jem Winston, head of Dominica's Sustainable Living Initiative Centre, said IT was increasingly important in efforts to save the environment and said the project would help pupils learn more about sustainable ways of living.

"Dominica has an education-for-all policy and very little budget is assigned for spending on ICT. Students need ICT skills to source equipment for implementing renewable energy in Dominica."

Gavin Rose, MD of NS Optimum said Mission Dominica was not just about recycling PCs, it was about giving students in Dominica access to ICT they did not have previously.

He said Optimum was expecting send out another batch of more than 100 reconditioned machines to different schools in Dominica during the summer.

"Bromsgrove school has got another batch of machines coming up for renewal so we're looking to do the same thing, so we're hoping to go and beat up some more of our suppliers to get some more kit to add to that," he told The INQUIRER.

Rose, whose personal acquaintance with Jem Winston kick started the project, said one of the drivers behind the idea was to enable students to source equipment for implementing sustainable living .

"Jem runs a sustainable living course and students who have been on it can get a grant to fund sustainable living projects," he said. "They have never been taught how to use computers or the internet at school so this will help them source things like wind turbines and solar panels."

Work on the £30,000 project was funded by NS Optimum, combined with an extra £40,000 worth of equipment and services that was also donated. µ