Digital divide reduced with laptop giveaway

By Samantha Elley

Deborah Hawkins of Grafton was doing her TAFE studies the hard way, without a laptop and no chance of being able to afford one.

That all changed last week when she headed to Woodburn to receive a special gift.

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One hundred refurbished laptops were packed and stacked, ready and waiting at the Woodburn Hub last week, to be distributed to those who normally couldn’t afford what has become a basic need for every household.

Thanks to the work of Good360, a charity that connects unsold consumer goods with people in need, the consortium of neighbourhood centres on the Northern Rivers and the QANTAS Regional Grant program, many people will be able to ‘go digital’ now.

“We are giving away 100 refurbished laptops, dongles and SIM cards, to provide data, “ said Liz Finlayson of Good360.

“We are a collector of goods with lots of contacts and spread the love all over Australia.”

Jamie Cooper of the Mid Richmond Neighbourhood Centre is the representative of the consortium of Northern Rivers neighbourhood centres and was pleased to be able to hand the laptops to those who needed them most.

“We cover the areas from South Grafton up to Murwillumbah,” she said.

“And we allocated people working in the Recovery Support Services, to nominate those they are working with, to receive a laptop.

“We thought that was the fairest way.”

Deborah was thrilled with her new gift.

“It’s just like Christmas,” she said.

“It will help me with my TAFE studies in early childhood.”

Since February this year, Deborah has had to write up her essays and then head to the TAFE library and type it up using a computer there.

“Now I can do it at home,” she said.

This will make up for the two laptops she lost when her caravan was involved in an accident in Ballina during the floods.

Kerri Mann of East Coraki had only just moved into her Woodburn home two years ago when the flood hit.

“I hadn’t even slept a night there,” she said.

“If I had delayed my move by a week, I would have been ok.”

Now she has a new laptop, which will save her eyes when she is watching movies and will allow her daughter to do some beauty courses online.

Chantelle Ginger, Good360’s Head of Customer Success and Memberships said the digital divide in Australia is a problem.

“It’s a lot greater than people might understand,” she said.

“The digital need is a need, not just a want.”

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