Charity helps lift technology 'darkness'

Mohammad Saleem Nezami was an IT specialist in Afghanistan

An Afghan refugee has described how a charity that refurbishes old phones and computers helped him "out of the darkness".

Oxfordshire-based Sofea was recently awarded a £100,000 grant to expand its work providing technology devices to those in need.

Now living in Southampton, Mohammad Saleem Nezami was given a reconditioned laptop which he has used to continue his training as an IT specialist, as well as teach his family English.

He said the charity had been a "key player" in their life since the family arrived in the UK 10 months ago.

Sofea set up a project during the pandemic to help provide technology devices for those who needed them most and reduce Oxfordshire's e-waste.

The aim was to tackle the "digital divide" while reducing electronics sent to landfill by refurbishing and rehoming donated devices.

Mr Nezami has a master's degree in computer science and was a network computer engineer in Afghanistan, where he is from.

He was working for the country's ministry of transport when the Taliban seized control in 2022.

Shortly after his arrival in the UK as an asylum seeker, he was told about Sofea and given a laptop by the charity.

"This is a digital world .. without technology we cant do anything," he said.

As an asylum seeker he has not been allowed to work but has been able to advance his computer training and is pursuing his Cisco certified internetwork expert (CCIE) certification.

SOFEA has refurbished hundreds of laptops and other devices

His family also use the laptop to learn English, connect with friends and family in Afghanistan and elsewhere, as well as managing their lives and obtaining official information in the UK.

"If I didn't have it, it would be darkness for me - I'd have lost my hopes. The charity helped me to come out from the darkness.

"If I don't have it, I'd have lost the connections with other worlds, with other people - it enables me to connect with other communities in Southampton."

A grant of £100,000, awarded by the Time After Time fund created by Virgin Media O2 and environmental charity Hubbub, is set to help Sofea refurbish more than 1,500 devices for people across the community.

Sofea project manager Ben Tuppen said: "We've had some fantastic stories coming back - people who have been able to complete training and get jobs, some wonderful stories of reduced isolation.

"There's enrichment of people's lives in different ways - education outcomes in particular has been a big one."