Vision Statement:
Kay Electronics Recycling seeks to end the digital divide in K-12 public schools in Sierra Leone, West Africa, by providing students with recycled and refurbished electronics, helping to end the educational disparity between students who do or do not have access to technology.
Mission Statement:
Kay Electronics Recycling aims to empower students and teachers to learn, innovate and connect with the global community through the use of recycled electronics. KER works to foster the growth and development of young minds in Sierra Leone by giving them access to the technology they need in order to develop a more highly educated student body in the K-12 public education system.
Kay Electronics Recycling is a committed, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping K-12 students in Sierra Leone through the donation of recycled and reused electronics. The main problem for these students is access to technology. The lack of electronic tools and resources leads to a greater educational disparity versus those with access to technology. This leads to a much lower graduation rate, a lack of economic opportunity and mobility. This can result in higher poverty rates, lower graduation rates, increased health risks and lowered economic productivity, and creates systemic economic, social, health, and justice inequities.
KER addresses the digital divide in K-12 public schools in Sierra Leone through a comprehensive process of securing, repairing/refurbishing, shipping, and delivering refurbished electronics to a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Sierra Leone, which is in charge of distributing the donated electronics to K-12 public schools .
KER begins the process by working with donors in Colorado to collect and receive used electronic goods (such as Laptops, Tablets, Cell Phones, Monitors, Desktops, etc). KER then examines, repairs and refurbishes the donated used electronic goods. Once the used electronics are repaired, KER packages and prepares refurbished electronics shipments to Sierra Leone. KER then contracts with an international shipment firm to deliver the load to Sierra Leone. They are then received in Sierra Leone by a contact partner non-governmental organization (NGO). The NGO then takes and distributes the recycled electronic goods to K-12 public schools across Sierra Leone.
By working with both local and international partners to fulfill its mission, KER seeks to address the digital divide negatively impacting K-12 public school students across Sierra Leone.