Skip to content 
Decommissioned company hardware can help where digital education is urgently needed.
Digital education rarely fails due to a lack of will - it often fails due to a lack of devices. This is currently the reality for many children and young people in Ukraine: some lessons are only taking place on site to a limited extent, learning opportunities are shifting to the digital space and reliable end devices are not a given in many families.
This is precisely why we at Second IT donated 49 laptops. The devices were prepared for use and transported to the north-east of Ukraine. Once there, they went to students, schools, orphanages and community organizations - to places where they can be used immediately.
Why a laptop is more than just hardware
A laptop provides access to lessons, learning platforms, tasks, communication and self-organization. For young people, this means staying connected, reducing learning gaps and developing prospects. And for schools and institutions, it means making teaching possible at all - even when attendance cannot be reliably planned.
As a company that deals with the life cycle of IT on a daily basis, we see very clearly what a functioning device can achieve if it does not disappear into storage unused.
How decommissioned IT was turned into a ready-to-use learning tool
When donating equipment, it is not just the number of devices that counts, but above all whether they can actually be used in practice. That's why we prepared the 49 laptops so that they can be used quickly on site. This includes a clean technical test and a setup that runs stably - but also the small, crucial things in everyday life. For example, the devices were provided with keyboard sticker sets for the Ukrainian layout so that they can be used straight away without having to improvise.
The transport then went to the north-east of Ukraine, including the necessary shipping and customs documents. The distribution was coordinated locally to ensure that the laptops ended up exactly where they were needed - with pupils, in schools, orphanages and local community structures.
The initiative was implemented together with the NGOs Solidarité Ukraine - Saint Omer and Vilna Ukraini, who accompanied and organized the transport and distribution on site.
How you can help together with us
In many organizations, hardware refresh is a standard process. The crucial question is: What happens afterwards?
Functional devices can - with the right process - continue to be used. Sometimes internally, for example as a pool device or for less critical applications. Sometimes via structured remarketing. And sometimes as targeted support for social projects. The key is that the process is secure, traceable and plannable.
Data security is always the top priority. As soon as devices leave the company, clear rules and clean evidence are required - not „somehow deleted“, but professionally and documented. Just as important is a structured view of condition and usability: what can realistically be refurbished, what still has a useful purpose, and where is documented, professional handling the right way to go? And finally, you need logistics that work in day-to-day business - reliably, on time and organized in such a way that IT and purchasing don't have to start from scratch every time.
Our conclusion
The 49 laptops are not a „big“ project compared to the challenges on the ground - but they are concrete. And that's what counts: Devices that work, arrive where they are needed and can be used immediately.
For us, this is also a reminder: IT does not end when it is decommissioned. With the right processes, it can continue to create value - economically, organizationally and socially.
Contact & next step
If you have hardware in refresh and would like to know which options for purchase, ITAD, certified data erasure, refurbishment or documented disposal make sense for your company, please contact us.
If you are interested in donating equipment for a good cause, please contact us.
