I recently purchased a computer under the scheme for my grandson. His parents work on a rural estate some ten miles from the nearest market town. Because they are a large family and rural wages are low they were relieved to be able to purchase a computer suitable for their needs at a very reduced price.
The children attend secondary school in the market town and in order to do their school work they need a computer (both for research and in order to present their work). Furthermore should they be absent from school for any reason they are expected to access the school website in order to ensure that they have the necessary homework and that it is handed in on time.
I believe that this was the fourth computer we have sourced through the scheme. The first was for my wife, a rural Reader, who uses it for preparing church services (and is still using it - in fact is has outlasted my own computer which was bought new and cost six times as much!). The second was for my granddaughter who is now at sixth-form college. Her computer suffered from wear and tear travelling back and forward to school because it was the only one in the house at that time and it became rather over-used. However it saw her through her studies for GCSE and into her first year of college and got her siblings introduced to using a computer. Now she is older she will be sourcing her own replacement as young people like to do. The fourth was for my son-in-law who needed a computer to plan his work and for normal everyday transactions on the internet. Being in the country he has found it particularly useful for sourcing parts for mowers and other machinery.
So, you can see that as a family, we have every reason to be grateful for the existence of the Computers for Rural People Scheme. Thank you so much!
Keith Ewen
