REGIONAL MS Altaf Hussain has backed a campaign to give computers, Ipads and other devices to children and families in Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot who have been unable to buy them.
Welsh Conservative Dr Hussain was at the launch of the pilot scheme at Curry’s Bridgend. The event was organised by the Digital Poverty Alliance which hopes to roll out the scheme across the whole country eventually.
The group, which is part of the Learning Foundation, has teamed up with Curry’s nationally which is providing some of the sponsorship money. Under the scheme, families and individuals can apply for a device to connect them to the internet. They will be a combination of some new items as well as some which have been donated by companies and organisations when they upgrade but are still serviceable and which have been refurbished..
Elizabeth Anderson, chief operating officer for the Alliance, said that five areas of digital deprivation, including Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend, were chosen for the first phase of the scheme.
She said that the Covid pandemic had shone a light on digital deprivation when suddenly schools were sending out work on-line to be done at home but one child in five did not have access to an appropriate device. More than 40 per cent of young people lack either a home broadband connection or a computer.
She said: “Children were disadvantaged during the lockdowns if they did not have the means to do schoolwork at home and many parents were struggling to get hold of devices sometimes for several children. That’s why this scheme is so important.”
Also present at the launch was David Rees, who is the MS for Aberavon. The first child to get a chrome book was seven year old Reagan Hornsey of Port Talbot. The device was presented by Paul Copham, store manager who said that Curry’s was making the Digital Poverty Alliance its charity this year. Last year, the company raised £250,000 for Age UK.
The charity also provides pre-paid sim cards with six months of data for some families via a scheme with Vodafone.
Speaking afterwards, Dr Hussain said that the pandemic had made everyone realise the importance of having computers and broadband connectivity.
“It’s not just the children in families who will benefit,” he said. “But their parents will also be able to use the devices to go online for shopping and to access many different websites. We now live in an inter-connected world and those who are not connected will lose out big time which is why this initiative is so important.”