Two weeks ago Campbell Live brought you a story on two Mangere primary
schools that had lost many thousands of dollars worth of technology in
burglaries.
The schools found it heart-breaking, and did
not have the means to replace the stolen computers.
But
tonight we bring you a happy ending.
In Wellington last
week a charitable trust called Computers in Schools sent out an SOS for
companies to help the two schools in our story.
Computers
originally from the IRD and BNZ have been donated for children from Mangere to
use them to study and learn.
Since hearing about the
school burglaries last month, technicians took on the challenge to update and
convert 80 computer hard drives, making then near new for the schools.
"What brings the kids to school and keeps them interested
is the computers," says Graham McCreedy, Computers for Schools programme
president. "You never see the bad behaviour in a computer
class."
Mr McCreedy loaded up his van in Wellington and
hit the road for Auckland.
For Mangere Bridge Primary,
Philips New Zealand supplied flood lights, 50 eco-lighting bulbs and four
computers.
"It's just so lovely to have people doing
really positive things for us," says principal Judy Hanna. "I'm actually
speechless."
Renaissance Brands donated an MI5
high-quality security camera to help catch any future
burglars.
Mangere Central has a bigger roll, and its
students study here until year eight. One class Campbell Live visited will
receive two of the donated computers.
Forty hard drives
from Computers for Schools has almost doubled the number of computers this
school originally had.
Philips New Zealand donated five
more.
Rennaissance Brands supplied another wireless camera
here, one that stores 65,000 photos at a time.
There have
been 55 burglaries at Mangere Schools since November. Mangere Central is one of
the more recent, and just today police made an arrest.