Computer centres
Children's Aid Direct identified a place that needed a new computer and language school - Mingechevier - and worked with the local government to find a building we could work with. Mingechevier is on the far western border of Azerbaijan, on the opposite side of the country to Baku, making for some long drives. It borders Armenia, with whom Azerbaijan does not enjoy the best of relations. In fact, the two countries are at war over a strip of land, with hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced. The school was needed to provide the younger of these refugees with a place to gain basic computer and language skills to give them a chance at finding work in Baku.
The building is in the local university, which through lack of funds had fallen into substantial disrepair. The local government agreed to repair the roof and we paid for the interior to be refurbished using local labour. We then arrived, decorated, laid carpets, installed the computers and set out the furniture we had brought with us.
We used office furniture and computer equipment (donated by HSBC, augmented by hardware from Kingston Technology and software from Microsoft), all air-freighted from the UK (sponsored by British Airways) to create a sixteen-station, NT server-based network and classroom. We even installed generators and a UPS - there are frequent power cuts in Mingechevier and the power supply has a tendency to 'spike', blowing up computers.
The centre was opened on completion by the local deputy mayor, filmed by local television MTV (Mingechevier TV). There was a big party and loads of speeches. Our interpreter and local guru Karim was simply the Greatest Interpreter In The Whole of Azerbaijan.
A similar centre was also created in Birmingham in a local city-centre school, attended primarily by under-privileged local children. We hoped that the two centres would communicate using internet technologies, with the children sharing experiences and engaging in joint projects.
