International charity Camara ships 500 computers to schools in Tanzania

29 Sep 2014

Photo by David M Baker

The London outpost of international charity Camara has shipped 500 computers to Tanzania, marking the first container of machines to be sent by the organisation’s UK-based outpost.

Camara’s new headquarters in central London’s Elephant and Castle Centre opened last October to allow the charity to accept donations in the city.

The 500 computers were acquired from numerous donors, ranging from individuals to large companies. Having been refurbished and equipped with educational software, the machines will arrive in the city of Dar es Salaam before being distributed to a number of school across Tanzania.

Founded nine years ago in Dublin by Cormac Lynch, Camara works to improve digital literacy skills in the disadvantaged areas of East Africa, Jamaica and Ireland in the hope of breaking the poverty cycle.

Earlier this year, the charity announced aims to bring digital literacy to 2m children worldwide by the end of 2016, via a new three-year strategy that ramps up the dispatch of refurbished computers and increases the use of existing technology.

According to Camara, 500,000 computers are discarded each year in Ireland, with half suitable for reuse. 

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

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