Narrabri Computers Help Tsunami Orphans

Narrabri Computers Help Tsunami Orphans

When Narrabri businesses and individuals upgrade their computers they can now be helping orphans in India as well as local people.

For the last 18 months, Narrabri church New Life Christian Fellowship has been partnering with Canberra-based Charity Computers to provide refurbished computers to low income people at a price they can afford. This has allowed scores of students, pensioners, and even homeless people to gain skills and connect to the internet.

Over time, an increasing number of local community organisations, businesses and individuals have been donating their older computers to New Life when upgrading to newer, more powerful computers. These computers could not be resold due to restrictions in the Windows licensing conditions and were previously dismantled for spare parts or simply stored.

Now, donated computers will help to support an orphanage for tsunami victims in India. New Life Pastor, Keith Bates explained: “New Life has recently been approved as a Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher, part of a world-wide programme by Microsoft to help make computers more accessible to poorer communities and to educational institutions. This means that we can now pass on these computers, with Windows and other software installed, to people in our region. We have decided to pass on the profits from these donated computers to an orphanage in India which was established following the 2004 tsunami. The orphanage, in the village of Cheyyur, south of Chennai is home to 40 children who lost one or both parents. The staff there are dedicated and run things on a shoe-string budget, and it is wonderful to be able to help them out through this programme.”

The computers from New Life Christian Fellowship range in price from $50 to $240 and all come with Windows operating systems and all the software necessary to get working straight away. The most popular models sell for $120 and allow user to do word processing and connect to the internet.

Pastor Bates said, “We are grateful to all of our donors who have provided computers, monitors and other parts rather than sending them to the tip. Their support means that we can provide opportunities both to local people and to children in India.”



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