In the distant 1997, Alpha and Valter get to know each other at the school Luini of Rozzano in Milan. Friendship was formed immediately thanks to the shared passion for politics and world events. The time during high school at I.P.S.C.L.V. Bertarelli bring them even closer together, they study tourism and once graduated they dream of a work within that field or something social together.
In 2002, Alpha gets to know Elena and Josef while then studying in Italy. Their friendship continues after their return to Sweden and they stay in touch visiting each other frequently. In the conversations between these four friends an idea of a project begins to take shape.
In spring 2008, Gerlinde came to the group while being an Erasmus student in Stockholm. She collaborated for the benefit party “Africa Beat” in May 2008 and
decided to continue supporting the group after returning to Germany thus extending the AfricaBit network to yet another country.
In Sweden, they search for computers and computer equipment to send to Africa together with the knowledge of how to use it in order to give the young people of Guinea Conakry access to the kind of communication and creativity that this technology provides.
The project has been given the name AFRICABIT since Africa is the destination and bit being the smallest information carrying unit that data consists of. But bit is also intended to be understood as the small but important piece that our initiative is for a continent in its desire to learn, rise, realize itself. A continent that continues to fight against poverty and misery despite the fact that it is one of the richest continents of the world in raw materials such as gold and diamonds.
Today, students in public schools and universities of Guinea Conakry completely lack computers and are far away from the internet and thus also from the means to realize their aspirations and their creativity. We want to change this situation in practice and multiply our project by circulating information about it.
We have observed the rapid technological advancements in Europe and the impossibility for the African continent to keep up with the pace. This is due to the huge debts and the pressure from the multinationals but especially because of insufficient funding in the field of education.
This is why we try to collect any kind of computer equipment that in our part of the world may be considered obsolete but equipped with new Linux systems will regain a new and long life.
Our dream is, beginning with Aviation in Guinea Conakry, to equip as many schools as possible with systems that can serve as a basis for learning.
In our time, access to information and public life is determined by one’s skills. Education is the foundation for the growth of a person and determines the future of a human being and therefore the future of a society. We want to be there to encourage progress with all our strength.
Would you like to help? Do you have any computers or computer equipment to give or possibly sell for a low price in order to support our project? A computer that in the Northern hemisphere is regarded as obsolete is a great asset to the pupils of Guinea Conakry.
