October- so far

Another month nearly past and another lot of computers coming through our doors and some very exciting progress made. The last week has been mainly spent talking and thinking about the marketing budget and discussing vitally important issues like- what makes us keep a pen, who looks at their mouse mat and whether pictures of children picking their noses are amusing, cute or just wrong.We got a new stand for exhibitions which has already been put into use as Faith and I travelled up to London. We had a lots of fun, met some interesting peopel and took some lovely photos. We also called the office to check in a few times which lead to some hi jinks but that is a tale for another time...
Have you all booked for Christmas meals yet? I have picked my work meal, its one of the nicest traditions along with secret santa, but somehow I always feel that thinking about it prior to December is premature but post October is too late.. Oh well

Desk wrestling

This week in the office we have been desk wrestling, mainly Ida and myself, but also a certain amount with Lydia. Lots of this is caused by the appalling musical taste of my colleagues. Each member of our team has varied tastes and is given a couple of hours a day to play music on last FM. Despite initially aiming to be fair, we have moved away from this with people hogging the radio, with some people taking over for the full 20hrs that they are in the office, naming no names, obviously (it's Ida). Desk wresting involve general irritation & pushing but also a little sabotage (pressing esc is a favourite move).
We are also saying goodbye to Lydia (aka Tarka the otter) who is deserting us for more exotic climbs (11,000 miles away in New Zealand). During this week from her planning alone we have learnt about US visas, where to get good strappy tops in September and what sport sandals are (essentially trainers with holes in) and why anyone would want to buy them.
We have also trying to get Faith married off. Faith herself is not adverse to the idea. We spent 15minutes on Thursday teasing her about it, then burst into giggles as we realised that someone had overheard some of our conversation.

Faith’s Hair

We have achieved that Friday feeling but unfortunately without the accompaniment of a crunchie bar. Today’s hot topic has been Faiths hair. Anyone who has someone fabulous in their office can understand the great fun as we comment on said persons changes in outfit and hair. Faith on Monday said “I’ve only changed my hair once this week” and I am proud to announce that she has managed to change her hair twice since then. She has also wowed us all by coordinating her shoes, hair, clothes and shoes. We will have to get some photo’s of the fabulousness.
We have also decided on having a penny box. Sharon apologises for everything, Faith uses the word thinga and I have an appetite for office biscuits. I’m not sure what we will do with the kitty maybe it’ll be enough for our staff Christmas lunch. We are keeping our ears open for Lydia and Ida's habits but except for Lydia very politely harassing her GP I’ve got nothing.
This afternoon has been spent in a meeting looking at strap lines and exhibition boards, Faith and I are off to London, Beware! We will spending time with people from the warehouse industry so we are very excited to see if and where we can get new sites. The more sites the more computers.

September fun

September, the season of new starts, shiny shoes, the end of summer. Well, for some of us. In C4A we have lots of new starts, Sharon has joined our team and brought her own style of fun to the office. We are also going to be moving into the main office as we have expanded into the offices next door. So lots of people new people and new horizons. On the subject of schools we have been supported by local schools we have received over 100 computers in the last month from a variety of schools go have a look at our news.

Smashing computers

I have always fancied connecting and sledgehammer and a computer, they seem like much less work than a wall and that the ensuing sound effects would be both satisfying and loud. This week I have been reading articles about what happens with old computers when you dispose of it and especially what happens to the hard disk. One of the options was, yes you guessed it, smashing it up with a hammer- which perhaps does not have the dramatic element of smashing it up with a sledgehammer but I am sure satisfaction would be great but is it really the best way to destroy the data?
One of the best tools available for wiping the data off hard drives is called "Darik's Boot and Nuke" or DBAN for short. You can download DBAN for free from http://dban.sourceforge.net/. Run this tool properly and give it the time it needs to go through the hard drive and the data is gone forever. We use a similar tool in our workshops called EBAN- according to our expert it “overwrites the entire hard drive with a pseudo-random pattern of numbers that makes it impossible for data to be recovered”. I’m not entirely sure what this means but for those who do understand these kinds of things I’m sure it makes sense.
So my plans for a sledgehammer will have to be shelved, instead Ida suggests I take up line dancing, Lydia suggests crochet, Faith suggests to wait for another opportunity to smash things. You will have to wait and see what happens....

Walruses

The topic for this afternoon in the office has been what would you do if you found a walrus on your bed? Your answer would clearly depend on personal sensibilities and level of silliness. I initially thought of selling it on Gumtree which would be both amusing and earn a little cash, another clear option is tickling it or even getting some kind of animal rescue to come and collect it. This question brought many thoughts to my head including; how would one get a walrus up stairs, what would be the point and the inevitability of someone purchasing said walrus on gumtree/eBay and it then being put onto the 6'o clock news. It is somewhat disgruntling to think that this kind of silliness raises more awareness about issues than all of our work. The BBC magazine recently commented on the prevalence of people giving up/taking up a year of something (credit cards, sex, saying no, ethical living) to make a point. I did briefly consider giving up computers but then realised 90% of my job is based on using my computer. After having my mobile mown over (by a lawn mower -seriously) I realised how much of my life is reliant on technology. I'm not sure I would be willing to live without it. One of our colleagues has returned from Tanzania with some amazing tales of the impact we are having but everywhere he visited there was a request for more computers. Very excitingly Llyods Pharmacys have donated 700 PC's which will no doubt go some way to fufilling the requests however there is such a hunger for learning in Africa that there will always be more schools to send to.

Landfill

Well its been a brilliant start to the week, the weird and the wonderful continues to be the norm in the media team. I have come to the slightly concerning realisation that people actually read what is written here. No matter I will continue in the same vein any way.
Today's highlight has been calling the local waste management to try to find out if a statement I made for the front page is correct. Now for me the idea that once you throw something away it is not possible to go find it again was both clear and obvious. However, other elements in our team felt this could be erroneous. Thus Ida and I called around the local landfills, what fun for a Tuesday afternoon, we discovered that people who work at landfills are very straight talking and that there is no chance of getting something back once you've chucked it. One point Lowri.

Strawberry fields forever

by : Ida Gaye

A beautiful summer sunset, friends and family, and fresh picked strawberries led to a memorable evening for the C4A Crew. The event was hosted by Stonepitt Farm in Sevenoaks which turned out to be a perfect setting for chillin’ out; and chill out we did! Once we arrived we were given baskets for strawberry and raspberry picking. For some of us this was a first-time experience, and therefore, some thought the bigger the strawberry the sweeter it will taste. This belief caused the strawberry picking to take longer than normal for some (not naming names: Avril Mhunduru).
When our baskets were full, we sat down for a picnic that was (if I do say so myself) delicious and full of variety (Thanks George ), and as the sun came down over the Kentish countryside we were graced by the charming sound of Dan Clews in concert (http://www.danclews.co.uk/). We also got to see our very own Martin Clews jam on the guitar, and his compadre the ‘Coconut Man from Goa’ singing songs that gave us joy and the desire to travel to GoaJ All in all...it was a great time and we’ve got the pictures to prove it!
Until next time...

Fremlins Walk

Well we had an awesome time on Friday and Saturday trying to get Maidstone locals excited about Computers 4 Africa. We learnt how to operate helium canisters, about manual handling (which sounds more amusing than it is) and how to put up a gazebo.

We had competitions based on how many leaflets we could give out, which I won but looking at this photograph its' small wonder.

We spent the day hearing the cries of small children as they released the helium balloons which had been given to them. I'm never sure that giving them away is a kind thing. If they don't let them go, then their siblings are jealous when they get home, if their siblings don't pop them then there is always the opportunity to cry when the balloon finally deflates as it inevitably does. Fortunately for us we were the bringers of joy not the fortellers of doom.
The sun was bright and wearing black was not a brilliant plan but we had a lot of fun. Watch this space for the video of Ida and Faith dancing (if they let me use it). We also had lots of fun decorating a computer for "Pimp my computer" competition. Lydia and I covered ourselves in gold paint and looked a little special (Lydia spent the day trying to hide the gold paint that covered her, I changed my top before we left). Check out our creation below, I'm not sure the picture does it justice.

Introductions

Well we have had a hectic week already. We have planned a day in our local shopping centre to raise awareness, the level of preparation is intense and the amount of concern there is about helium balloons slightly amusing. I know that we have to risk assess everything but sometimes I wonder about this country's sanity.

On a lighter note I have been asked to introduce us all (PR team). We will provide photos but no one was looking their best today so couldn't possibly enjoy taking them (some of the team enjoy posing but I will wait until we have the photos to comment on that, some things have to be seen to be believed).

Ida- Pure American and pure African and can switch accents so easily that she can confuse. (Ida has lived in the Gambia and America).

Faith- You can hear Faith coming from 2 houses away.

Lowri- that's me. I'm very sensible and calm, honest!

Lydia- Actually is calm although can think sideways and has Pimp'd a computer very creatively.

Jessica- Has fabulously curly hair and a very dry sense of humor. Leads us into the forays of theme song writing with both panache and silliness. During period of intense concentration often breaks into song, relieving tension and making us giggle

Sam- Gives us her sage opinion on matters of the heart. Sam joins us on Wednesdays and wrestles with the laptop in the corner.

Avril- Has tried to sell other members of the team for Zimbabwean money. Best to leave it there I think.

Friday Madness- African dramas

Today we have been educated in African soap operas. Faith and I entertained the office with a song of such amazing quality it wasn't so much shocking as appalling. This was then completely blown out of the water by Faith and Ida doing a sketch, with overacting and Nigerian accents. We need a video camera to capture the fun.

We are trying to think of Ghetto names for everyone in the office.
Jessica ->Jessca
Lowri->La (Is that even slightly ghetto?)
I'm stuck on Lydia Jessca calls her Lyds, but once again its not very Ghetto. To be honest the idea of any of us being ghetto is mildly ridiculous, we will have to have a dress up day (why do only kids and drunk people get to do it?).

Perhaps we should have a Scottish day, with Haggis and kilts. We are launching 5 new sites in Scotland (you can see all of our sites on www.computers4africa.org.uk). We got working on informing the local media etc about our arrival. The Scottish are fantastic, have such great phone accents, and Scotland is a gorgeous country.

Sunglasses day

We have been inspired today to take up the cause of Sunglasses wearers everywhere. After a serious mornings work the caffeine has clearly hit us and we introduced to the world "Sunglasses day". Jess and Lydia are already sporting an exciting look with sunglasses planted firmly onto their noses.

This mornings highlight has been hearing that the Deputy Lord Mayor of Exeter is going to be supporting our campaign in Exeter. This is awesome although due to the timing we will have to road trip it to and from Exeter in 1 day. In each community we look for leaders and celebrity's willing to spend some time with us supporting the work we do and encouraging locals and businesses to donate.

We are also trying out a variety of tunes for our theme tune, the list so far;

• Last night a PC saved my life. (to the tune oflast night a DJ saved my life)



• Like a PC (Like a virgin)



• PC user (Womanizer)

• We will Connect you (We will rock you)



• Yesterday (Yesterday all my computers here to stay, Now they have gone to Africa today, I believe in C4A)

OK we spent 5 minutes developing some of these. Hopefully soon you will be able to see our collective amazingness on video. These are pretty special.

We have also been contacting schools in Tanzania, which is very exciting. I really hope we hear back from some of the young people who get to use the computers which we send out. I am old enough to remember using the single computer in the corner (bring out the violins) so I can appreciate what it is like to live without computers to some degree. We had one really cute letter from a head girl. The bit about being able to touch the computers was really super heart squeezingly cute.

As I am doing this in work time I do feel I need to point out that you personally should look around you and check you have no spare working IT equipment and if you do you should be looking to do something good with it- like give it to us.

http://www.computers4africa.org.uk//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=52

Welcome to the PR department of Computers 4 Africaaaaaaaa!

Well we have created our first blog.
Computers 4 Africa is a charity that sends computers to Africa (it's all in the name of the charity, someone clearly thought about that). Just to let you know Ida has removed a fly from the office, which really caps off an afternoon of concentration busting activities, which have included seeing how many people have our exact names, finding people doing Beyonce dances on Youtube our favorite was the Saturday night live one with Justin Timberlake (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBC7pilGoPc), the Jonas brothers doing the same is entertaining but after a minute you realise he only has one move and its boring from there.
Back to the more serious part of work... We are plotting a video blog which is going to be amazing!!! The collective creative juices led to a meeting which no ones mascara survived and a lot of people came to check we were actually working. All of this is in a good cause, trying to raise the profile and get people to give us their computers that they no longer use but are in good condition. I, (this is Lowri by the way), have been calling businesses asking for their computers, which has lead to a couple of confusing moments when I get nervous and say something silly which inevitably leads to them thinking I want ALL of their computers. I'm not saying people should give us the ones they are currently using, just ones which are old but working we can't send our junk to Africa. Its not right!