In a small, brightly lit workshop, Sujan Selven and his group are busy restoring undesirable computer systems for donation to native households.
Selven is the founding father of Upcycled Tech, a social enterprise that goals to assist get extra faculty college students on-line, particularly these from deprived households.
“In Australia, regardless that we’re a developed nation, there are lots of households with no entry to gadgets,” says Selven, 38.
“When college students do not have entry exterior the classroom, they typically fall behind in school. So, a second-hand pc helps with their homework, analysis and assignments.”
A volunteer restoring a used pc on the workshop. Supply: SBS / Spencer Austad
It is a view backed up by analysis. A current KPMG report discovered that 84 per cent of scholars with insufficient entry to a pc (exterior the classroom) struggled to complete class work and assignments.
Selven’s group upgrades discarded expertise. Many gadgets are donated by small companies or charities.
Tamil neighborhood volunteer Viji Dhayanathan says for refugee and asylum seeker households, the present of expertise could be life-changing.
Viji Dhayanathan is a Tamil neighborhood volunteer. Supply: SBS / Spencer Austad
“Most youngsters at the moment are utilizing laptops to do their research. However in lots of households, mother and father simply cannot afford to purchase three or 4 laptops if they’ve three or 4 children.
“With out a machine, they can not sustain with their research or do their homework like different youngsters.”
Selven additionally grew up with restricted expertise, in a distant space of northern Sri Lanka.
He was born right into a Tamil household in 1985 in Vanni district, throughout that nation’s bitter civil warfare.
Sujan Selven at his Sydney workplace. Supply: SBS / Spencer Austad
“We didn’t have entry to electrical energy, not to mention a pc. For a lot of my childhood, we have been hiding in bunkers.
“The air power would bomb the Vanni space, and a variety of colleges have been [hit]. Lots of my faculty buddies have been killed throughout the warfare,” he says.
Selven arrived in Australia together with his household in 2000, and later labored carefully with different refugees. It was then he started on the lookout for a method to give again.
“I am alive and I survived, and I feel I’ve a accountability to do one thing.
“So, once I realized in regards to the [digital divide] I made a decision to concentrate on that, to assist remedy that downside.”
Saif Al-Yousuf and Sujan Selven (standing) restoring a pc. Supply: SBS / Spencer Austad
His enterprise now helps native households in Australia and can be making a distinction in his homeland, Sri Lanka.
“In distant areas of Sri Lanka, lower than 20 per cent of the inhabitants has entry to gadgets. Web connectivity is even decrease,” he says.
“College students in Sri Lanka typically share one to 2 computer systems between round 30 college students. We have now given some colleges 15 computer systems per classroom,” he says.
“And that is in three provinces – north, east and south. Thus far, we now have donated multiple thousand gadgets.”
Sri Lanka is regularly rising from a extreme monetary disaster throughout which inflation peaked at 70 per cent.
That led to mass protests, with hundreds of thousands affected by meals, medical and gas shortages.
Amongst Sri Lankans to learn from Upcycled Tech donations is Lathukshan, a robotics and pc science pupil.
“Studying was powerful earlier as we had solely two computer systems. For the reason that laptops have been donated, studying has grow to be a lot simpler,” he says. “So, thanks for these gadgets.”
Digital waste able to be upcycled. Supply: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
However Selven is doing greater than donating expertise to Australians and Sri Lankans.
Recycling is an efficient method to scale back the 200-thousand tonnes of computer systems and different digital or ‘e-waste’ despatched to landfill every year.
CEO of PlanetArk, Rebecca Gilling, Australia generates 531,000 tons of e-waste yearly.
“E-waste is likely one of the quickest rising areas of waste globally, and Australia cuts properly above its weight,” she says.
“In line with the Nationwide Waste Report of 2022, which is the latest information all of us have, the common Australian produced in extra of 20 kilograms of e-waste.
“That’s far in extra of the worldwide common, which is round seven kilos per individual per yr,” she says.
Restoring a discarded pc. Supply: SBS / Spencer Austad
“In 2020-21, about 54 per cent of the e-waste that we generated was despatched for recycling, and of that, about 35 per cent of supplies have been recovered. So the remaining sadly went into landfill.
Australians purchase virtually 5 million new computer systems yearly, and hundreds of thousands of outdated, undesirable computer systems are despatched to landfill every year.
In line with Gilling, dumping used expertise is each harmful and a missed alternative.
“We’re shedding very helpful supplies like treasured metals. And we’re additionally placing probably poisonous supplies into landfill,” she says.
Donated computer systems prepared for upcylcing. Supply: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
“So, we actually want to gather these gadgets, preserve them in circulation wherever potential.”
For technician Saif Al-Yousef, who volunteers at Upcycled Tech, repairing used gadgets is a win-win for the setting and struggling households.
“We clear the gadgets, improve them with new components, after which we be sure that they’re working completely,” he says.
“That manner, computer systems and laptops will preserve going for maybe one other 5 – 6 years with out households spending an excessive amount of cash.
Saif Al-Yousuf volunteers restoring computer systems in Sydney. Supply: SBS / Spencer Austad
“It makes me very completely happy, realizing a toddler who has no pc will get a tool that helps with their training.”
Founder Sujan Selven nonetheless works full-time as an operations supervisor at a civil electrical firm, and says his undertaking will give 5 restored laptops to an anti-slavery charity in Australia this week.
He additionally goals to extend the supply of gadgets to his homeland.
“It’s a variety of crimson tape in the intervening time to take the gadgets into Sri Lanka. However we’re slowly discussing with the federal government to make issues smoother,” he says.
“In future, we wish to broaden the variety of gadgets that we obtain, and the variety of folks that profit from our service.”
Sujan Selven at his Sydney workshop. Supply: SBS / Spencer Austad
“My purpose is to attach every faculty with a pc. And I feel we’re progressing on that in Sri Lanka,” he says.
“However ultimately, I hope to get a pc and connectivity into every family.
“That may be my final purpose.”
This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Tamil.
