Used computers getting a second life with students in Ecuador

Local Journalism Initiative
·2 min read

THUNDER BAY — A shipment of used computers is being sent to students thousands of kilometres away so they can use them for their education.

Through Medical Equipment Modernization Opportunity, computers from Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute are being sent to students in Ecuador who will use them to finish their high school level education.

MEMO is based in Thunder Bay and has been sending millions of dollars in used medical and tech equipment to developing countries and communities who would otherwise not have the funds to buy these items.

The Lakehead District School Board donated a selection of laptops, desktops, associated monitors, keyboards, and mice.

Dr. Jerome Harvey, MEMO's associate director, said the students need the devices to finish their education.

"One of the things the Ecuadorian government requires for graduation from high school is knowledge of IT and the use of computers.

"They don't have any money to buy the computers, so up until now they haven't been able to have their graduates recognized."

Harvey said he's grateful for the generosity of the public school board and Canada Border Giant, which will ship these to the U.S. for further processing.

Tom Baxter, the operations manager of MEMO, spoke about the process when they receive devices.

"They give them to us without the enterprise software on them, ready to go with a fresh copy of Windows 10.

"Then we connect them to the internet and find out what missing software there is on the machine . . . download all the various updates, and then we package them up with the label for the appropriate destination."

Baxter noted that volunteers do the bulk of the work to prepare the items for shipping.

MEMO also accepts some personal devices, but they need to be running recent operating software to keep up with internet demands, Baxter said.

"Sometimes they come with passwords that have not been removed that can't be counteracted, and we don't take anything earlier than Windows 7 and preferably Windows 8 or Windows 10.

"Occasionally, we get one we can't deal with. We do take individual computers, and apart from these little qualifications, they're great - we welcome them."

Katie Nicholls, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com

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