Featured photo: Ben, our previous Laptops and Digital Inclusion Volunteer Coordinator, and Saeed, our Office Manager, delighted to receive nearly 30 donated laptops and desktops from BlackRock last year.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated computers and/or their time, allowing us to provide more than 180 laptops to refugees and asylum seekers through our laptops project.
These devices have been life-changing for clients. In particular, for the 60 Afghan families we provided devices to when they first arrived in hotels in Oxfordshire. These have provided a lifeline to the outside world. And for all our clients, these devices have helped them to move forward with their lives, including processing their asylum applications through government systems, supporting both adult and children’s education, letting people join online courses, or working with Asylum Welcome staff to develop their CVs and apply for jobs. As waves of COVID have come and gone, the devices have helped clients to stay connected and helped Asylum Welcome deliver support in new and innovative ways.
We would like to share one testimonial with you from a very happy client of ours:

So, a big thank you to everyone who has supported us so far in making such a difference, and with so many more people in need of support, we look forward to continuing this work in the future. If you have a laptop in a good condition that is no longer in use, please do consider donating it to us by writing to: laptops@asylum-welcome.org or visiting our website for more info here.
If people are further afield in the county, they are welcome to donate to SOFEA in Didcot or Bicester Green in Bicester, who work together with us supplying laptops for our programme. Click here for more information.
These donated devices are making such a big difference to our clients and you can hear more about them by watching the video below. Here you can hear from Ben, a volunteer who enabled Asylum Welcome to set up this important project.