Below is a press release about the Boston Office of General Services Administration donating computers to a Hull group working with schools in Kenya with volunteers helping from Melrose, Hull, Boston, and Lexington schools, Peace Corps, and City Year.
World Computer Exchange, Inc. Bridging the global digital divide for youth [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.WorldComputerExchange.org 936 Nantasket Ave., Hull, Massachusetts 02045 USA + 781-925-3078 FAX: + 509-752-9186 Offices: Boston, Burlington, Geneva, Miami, Minneapolis, New Haven, San Francisco, Seattle, Stockholm, Stuttgart & Washington DC Representatives gathering computers in: Atlanta, Bonn, Brussels, Calgary, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dallas, Detroit, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Los Angeles, New York, Oak Island NC, Oslo, Paris, Portland, Sydney, Syracuse, Tokyo & Tulsa 24 Shipments of 7,279 computers valued at US$2,142,450 to connect 829 schools with 319,300 students in 17 countries: Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Lithuania, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. US IRS 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt (non-profit) organization # 04-3529016 and incorporated as an NGO in Sweden and Germany *************************************************** World Computer Exchange Building IT capacity in schools in developing countries PRESS RELEASE: GSA Helps With Computers For Kenya Contact: Paula Santangelo, Director, Customer Services Division, GSA [EMAIL PROTECTED] 617-565-5777 David McBride, Peace Corps Relations Manager [EMAIL PROTECTED] 617-445-7684 The US General Services Administration's (GSA) Boston office is donating 220 Pentium computers to help connect schools in Kenya to the Internet. This surplus equipment is being combined with other donated computers to fill a shipping container that will leave the Port of Boston around August 15. The GSA's staff has been working with college students recruited by the World Computer Exchange, a nonprofit based in Hull, Mass., to test, scrub, and inventory the equipment. On August 12th, volunteers from Boston Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and from City Year will join the GSA staff and students. Together, they will move the computers into a 40-foot container already loaded with 215 computer sets gathered from local individuals and companies and packed by volunteer students from South Shore Charter School in Hull and the Melrose and Lexington High Schools, Asha for Education and Yale Recycling in New Haven. Other assistance for this project has come from Land Air Express and the Vermont recycling program both in Burlington. GSA's Regional Administrator for New England, Dennis R. Smith said, "We're thrilled to make this donation of computers that will enable children in Kenya to connect to the Internet. This is a great opportunity for GSA to help others and provide a communications tool for kids. Our GSA associates take pride in being able to make a difference." Doane Perry, the President of Boston Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, said, "We have been pleased to see that the Exchange is working with Peace Corps Volunteers in many developing countries. It is great that our 600 returned Peace Corps Volunteers have this type of service option available to them. We are beginning to advise the Exchange in how to better work with Peace Corps and to get us involved in more developing countries and in more US cities where our volunteers return after their two years of service." The 435 Pentiums and Power Macs will connect 20 schools with 10,000 students to the Internet. The schools were recruited, trained, and prepared by SchoolWeb (Kenya) Ltd. SchoolWeb was developed by Kiragu Maina while he was with Africa Online. The Exchange and SchoolWeb were brought together when the World Economic Forum's Global Digital Divide Initiative showcased the work of the Exchange after a global education competition in 2001. This container also holds a special gift of high-end network switches and hubs being donated to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology by PAREXEL International, a health research firm based in Waltham. This equipment will allow the university to help local schools with the use of computers and the Internet to improve learning. PAREXEL has donated through the Exchange several times. World Computer Exchange has shipped 7,279 computers donated by individuals and companies in the USA, Scandinavia, and Germany. The Exchange <www.WorldComputerExchange.org>, founded in 1999, works to build IT capacity in schools in developing countries by providing computers, online help-desk volunteers, and sister-schools. This is the Exchange's 12th container to Africa and the 12th container shipped from its Boston Office. The Exchange is now gathering donated computers in 31 cities in 12 countries. It has provided computers to 829 schools with 319,000 students in 17 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Timothy Anderson, president of the Exchange, said GSA was wise to find a suitable use for equipment that the agency's regular beneficiaries were not prepared to accept. "We have worked extensively with U.S. and U.N. agencies to help bridge the digital divide for youth. We look forward to further projects with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and with GSA." Incorporated in Germany, Sweden, and the USA HQ: 936 Nantasket Avenue, Hull, Massachusetts 02045, USA Tel: 781-925-3078 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: www.WorldComputerExchange.org Reps in 31 cities in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, USA ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. 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