Network Magazine: To wrap up on a more positive note, what is the single thing you are proudest of when it comes to your work with digital poverty?
Network Magazine: It’s clear that you all feel very passionately about these issues but obviously there is a limit on how much any one business can do. Presumably, you’ve got to think about your own finances as well. Are you ever put in a position where you have to say ‘no’, cannot afford to give a service away, or just wish you could do more? Yetunde: It can be quite painful when you see someone in need staring you right in the face and there’s nothing you can do about it. But you can only do so much for free and will run into barriers if you don’t have sufficient resources. Amelia: Without a shadow of a doubt. Don’t forget, we are in the midst of an economic crisis after all! People can’t even afford to pay their electricity bills and, with us providing these services for free, it can be difficult. There have been so many instances lately where we’ve had to consider changing our strategy, because we too need to survive. We’ve had to do a lot of thinking about how we can make sure we cater to those who need us most. The truth is that we’ll be able to achieve way more if the whole business community pulls together here. Instead of just sustaining what we’re already doing, we could go even further if everyone pitches in. Chris: And just to build on Amelia’s point, that’s why I think organisations like the Chamber are so critical, because through these networks we can build a vibrant and diverse community of perspectives. We can get together as local businesses to discuss these problems, adapt to them, learn from one another, and creatively solve problems. That’s how we overcome our challenges.
Amelia: Being able to make a device available to somebody who otherwise wouldn’t have it is incredibly rewarding. Especially when you get the stories about how it has changed their lives. Yetunde: I’d echo that point. When you enable people to do simple things that the rest of us might take for granted, it can be quite emotional. For instance, through working with Age UK, I met a lady in her 80s. She had lost her husband of 60 years during the COVID pandemic and she was obviously devastated. She came to a digital class that I was running and I showed her how to use a tablet, how to take photos, where they are stored and things like that. I didn’t know that this would make a huge impact for her, until one day she showed me that she had managed to make a picture of her husband the background on her tablet. And she said to me: “I can take him with me, wherever I go now.” I honestly welled up after hearing that.
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Digital Poverty
Digital Poverty
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