Did you know that we can enable African students to learn vital IT skills in addition to offsetting tonnes of CO2 emissions – just by reusing our computer? The Turing Trust is an organisation that has been working in sub-Saharan Africa since 2009 to support education, by reusing computers and improving teacher training using Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

It was set up by Alan Turing’s closest family to enable IT supported learning across Africa. CEO James Turing is the great nephew of the computer visionary and codebreaker whose ideas led to early versions of modern computing.

If you have any old machines lying around, this is a brilliant way to give them new life and to help bring digital education opportunities to African schools. The registered charity collects equipment from businesses and organisations and refurbishes tablets, phones and computers. Don’t worry, it also provides a completely secure asset disposal service.

The Turing Trust’s impact on the region has been significant: providing over 5,700 computers in classrooms to hundreds of schools in Ghana, Liberia and Malawi; directly supporting more than 55,000 students in Ghana and Malawi to become IT literate; training over 590 teachers on basic computer maintenance and using computers to support their teaching; and generating environmental benefits with a lifetime total of waste diverted and reused of 89 tonnes, and carbon savings of 3,021 tonnes.

Teachers working in schools supported by The Turing Trust reported that the supplied ICT equipment and software have had a positive impact and made their job easier, but reusing IT equipment also has significant environmental benefits. Even before a computer is switched on for the first time, 50% of its life cycle fossil fuels have already been consumed in manufacturing it. Therefore, through reusing computers they are reducing unnecessary production and the associated carbon emissions.

AtlasAction: Reuse your computer! The Turing Trust welcomes any donations of computers and laptops which are able to run Windows 7, Mac OS 10.5 Leopard, or newer.

Journalist and blogger, he has worked as an editor for several travel, nature and science magazines for the last 20 years.