Your old phone can help those in need to learn

Combined efforts of resident associations in Ferndale have come to the aid of a learner struggling to cope with online learning, and the possibility of an even greater project to help learners in need.

“Our food drive has been tremendously successful, and engaging in it has let us see where there are needs for bigger things,” said the BryanFern Residents Association’s Bronweyn Craig.

During the food drive, Craig met a young girl named Isabel Nyathi who is a Grade 11 learner at North Riding Secondary School.

“She lives in a home with minimal electricity and running water, and what was hindering her was that she had a very old cellphone. This meant that when her school started online learning practices, she couldn’t use the learning materials.”

Working with fellow KenBrink Residents Association member Andrew Shaw, Craig appealed to members of the community to ask if they had a spare cellphone that could be donated.

Within 24 hours, Craig had received the generous donation of two cellphones and a tablet that had been donated for the learner.”She promptly burst into tears when I presented the phone to her. Isabel is so lovely and motivated and I know she will put the phone to good use in her learning.”

Craig noted that after this occasion, she has seen a need for more situations like this to be solved, as many learners have old cellphones not capable of running modern learning apps.

“Very often, residents will get new cellphones after an upgrade and put their old one, which is still in good working condition, in a box in the cupboard somewhere. We think that during this crisis and beyond, cellphones are an important education utensil, and we are working on a project that can help supply disadvantaged learners with these disused cellphones.”

Craig would like to appeal to schools in the area who have taken their learning online and have learners who need cellphones and tablets for education purposes to contact her. She further encouraged members of the Randburg community to contact her if they have spare cellphones or tables they may wish to donate to the cause.

“I would also like to at some stage get a data provider on board with this project to perhaps donate data or a Wi-Fi hotspot to the students. This project is still in the planning stages, but we can see that there is an urgent need,” concluded Craig.

Details: Bronweyn Craig 083 294 4443.