Old laptops transform the lives of Africa's blind

Johnson Riungu is a student at Kenya's Kenyatta University on the outskirts of Nairobi and is totally blind. Until recently, many of the everyday tasks of student life were impossible without a student assistant. Just keeping up with the reading elements of the curriculum meant having to have the material read out by an assistant or classmates, who are not always available or willing to take time out from their own studies.

However, thanks to a second-hand IBM ThinkPad, supplied by IT charity Computer Aid in co-operation with the UK's Department for International Development (DIFD) and Sightsavers International, Johnson and other students, such as Terry Twirimugambi, now have access to information previously only available in scarce and bulky Braille books.

Photo credit: Glenn Edwards