As part of its ongoing sustainability programme, Xperien has partnered with The Wiltons Foundation. Together they will help schools, particularly in rural areas across South Africa, give their learners access to the digital world.
As a start, refurbished computers were recently donated to Masakhane Combined School in Mpumalanga.
The Wiltons Foundation is experienced in managing international partnerships and on-the-ground community and capacity building projects including school upgrades. The Foundation has collaborated with various organisations in rural communities in Gauteng, KZN and Mpumalanga.
The Foundation’s director Katy Wilton Martins is thankful for the generous contribution. "We're grateful for and proud of the invaluable partnership with Xperien and the opportunity to be part of the circular economy.”
“The computers were received by the school management team with such excitement and gratitude and they wasted no time in setting them up. We got to share in the excitement of the kids discovering and exploring an online learning support programme. I was amazed at their agility,” she adds.
Martins says it was their first exposure to laptops and interactive learning. “They were totally captivated and didn’t want to leave school on a Friday afternoon and this is exactly what we are trying to achieve.”
The partnership between Xperien and the Wiltons aims to create spaces where educators and learners feel safe, worthy and valuable. More importantly, they want to create spaces where innovation and creativity can be unleashed and for this, digital access and laptops are essential. This is where businesses can get involved.
Xperien CEO Wale Arewa is proud to be part of this success. “This initiative strives to transform communities by building capacity, encouraging and motivating and ultimately, instilling a sense of hope and purpose. Our refurbished electronics are ideal for schools, learning centres and CSI programmes.”
“We see a growing number of companies entering the circular economy. Annually, Xperien‘s ISO accredited IT refurbishment factory CRS WORX processes more than 30 000 tier 1 laptops, desktops and servers manufactured by Dell, HP and Lenovo. In addition, we distribute CRS equipment to the retail trade with a 12-month warranty,” he explains.
South Africa’s Development Bank points out that poor infrastructure and resources are serious obstacles in the development of communities and economic progress. Furthermore, research shows that healthy and positive school environments are vital and fundamental to learner attendance, concentration and learning, not secondary to it.
Amnesty International highlight in a 2020 report the desperate state of public schools in South Africa, poor infrastructure, sanitation and resources perpetuating the cycle of poverty, inequality and underperformance, more importantly infringing on the rights to education and health and safety of learners and educators alike.
“School environments can help or hinder learning and teaching. The right to quality education includes schools where learners are safe and have adequate infrastructure, facilities and resources,” Martins concludes.
