Developments, News and Information
Dear club members and interested parties,
The Executive Board and the office wish you all a Happy Easter and a peaceful holiday season!
Having reported a great deal on our activities with our partners in Ghana in recent months, we would like to take the opportunity today to focus on our activities in general and on planned campaigns.
The main focus this spring was on deepening our partnership with the Carlo Mierendorff School (CMS) in Frankfurt am Main. This partnership is of great importance to us, as it is the first school with which we have initiated a partnership with a school in Ghana(https://hita-ev.org/project/schulpartnerschaft-mawuko-cms/).
Secondly, we have a project/course with CMS called “students4students”(https://hita-ev.org/spendenaufruf-projekt-students4student/ ). HITA members instruct students to refurbish donated PCs and laptops so that we can send them to Ghana in the summer/early fall. At least 450 computers are urgently needed there for 9 new HITA PC labs.
We have been able to recruit expert members for the extensive activities, who not only support us in refurbishing the donated computers, but also take on teaching units at the CMS. Supporting activities and campaigns in and with the school have been planned for weeks – and thanks to the commitment of some of the teachers, they are very varied and imaginative. We will announce the exciting and fantastic activities here and report on them in detail. Preparations are in full swing.
Administrative tasks
What happens behind the scenes at HITA e.V.?
Travel restrictions, contact restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, staff changes at partner institutions in Germany and Ghana and staff shortages, including at HITA, are making it increasingly difficult and time-consuming for the remaining or new helpers to implement and manage the almost 50 projects in Ghana.
We always have to use our limited time effectively and decide what has priority at any given time. Some administrative tasks could only be carried out inadequately in recent months. Due to a change in the office, we have been working on this and reorganizing it for some time. We will be writing to members, donors and sponsors personally in the next few days to provide information.
What helps us?
In any case, many new members and, whether new or longstanding, members who can imagine getting involved and providing support in one of the following areas:
- manage existing or new projects
- Experience in the field of hardware and software
- Administrative tasks of the office
- Website – knowledge of WordPress
- Publish social media posts (Insta, Facebook, LinkeDin)
- Willingness to travel to support the installation of devices on site in Ghana
Who is interested? Who would like to use their knowledge and skills to support the great projects in Ghana and for our partners in Ghana?
We look forward to hearing from you at geschaeftsstelle@hita-ev.org.
Donate
We are very pleased and grateful that our measures are bearing fruit and that we are receiving numerous donations of computers and equipment from various companies, organizations and private individuals throughout Germany, including through personal contacts, our posts on social media and our website. We would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to our donors, many of whom do not wish to be named.
With the donations, we are gradually approaching our overall goal of 1,600 computers (laptops/desktops), which we urgently need to modify our existing PC labs and equip new ones in Ghana. In addition to the computers, other equipment will be needed and donated, such as printers, monitors, computer mice, keyboards, scanners, multifunctional devices, cables, USB sticks, etc..
Here, too, we have a lot of work to do:
- Collection nationwide, mostly by club members in person or receipt of the devices
- Hiring a van for large donations and transportation to the CMS
- Function tests, cleaning the devices
- Conversion of devices, hard disks, drives, etc.
- Deletion of existing data according to certified security standards with proof of certification for the companies
- Inventory and temporary storage
- Assembly, packaging and shipping
The devices are to be transported to their destination in Ghana this year, see Ghana trip. We still need €30,000 for the transportation and installation on site. We are working together with CMS to raise the costs through fundraising campaigns. We are also dependent on financial donations, without which we will not be able to reach our goal.
Please contact us at spenden@hita-ev.org, further information can be found on our website at https://hita-ev.org/unterstuetzen/.
Ghana trips and installation of devices on site
The trip to Ghana at the beginning of the year – led by our board members Thomas and Daniel and “our” cameraman Sven, who created the fantastic videos on YouTube – renewed “old” partnerships and forged new ones.
A lot has to be processed and organized. The next trip to Ghana is already planned for October 2025. Up to 9 PC labs are to be installed at 4 different facilities.
Until then, in addition to the many activities already announced, there will be many joint appointments with the pupils and teachers of the CMS and members of the association in order to refurbish, assemble and pack computers in numerous additional hours and finally send them by container to Ghana so that they can be installed at their destination.
So we still have a lot of work ahead of us and are happy to receive any help, whether in the form of donations in kind or money, new members and especially anyone who is willing to invest their skills, knowledge and time in the projects and the “good cause”.
Many thanks to everyone who is or has been involved with the association, all members, all donors, all sponsors and everyone who has read this far.
The following e-mail addresses can be used to contact us spenden@hita-ev.org, geschaeftsstelle@hita-ev.org and info@hita-ev.org.
But now we wish everyone a relaxing and peaceful Easter holiday and hope to see you soon!