This page’s real content is fully built in page-laptop-program.php (cost table, both forms) — this editor content is just a fallback excerpt/body for search and feeds.
The SREF Laptop Program
A laptop alone doesn't graduate a student. We pair every device with digital-literacy support, tuition assistance, and one-on-one mentorship, so the gift becomes a completed education and a career.
Give a laptop
Equip a student with everything they need to finish
Your gift — new, refurbished, or the funds to provide one — equips a student with internet access, digital-literacy support, and everything needed to complete BYU Pathway Worldwide.
- $300 funds one laptop for a student in Ghana
- Every laptop comes with mentoring and tuition support
- Ship a device, or fund one — we handle delivery and setup
Apply
Request a laptop for your studies
If you are a prospective or enrolled student in Ghana or Tanzania who lacks a device to continue your education, SREF may be able to help through our Laptop Program.
- Open to BYU Pathway Worldwide students and prospective students
- Includes a mentorship interview and a documented plan
- Priority given to those with a demonstrated financial need
Our impact, in numbers
We report on more than boxes shipped
What a laptop actually produces in a student's life — retention, completion and self-reliance — not only how many units left our hands.
Input
128
Laptops received to date
Donated by individuals, offices and giving campaigns since the programme launched.
Output
96
Laptops refurbished & placed
Data-wiped, tested, and delivered to a BYU Pathway student in Ghana.
Current need
41
Students waiting for a device
Accepted into BYU Pathway but not yet matched with a laptop.
Outcome
84%
3-month retention rate
Share of equipped students still actively enrolled three months after placement.
Outcome
22
Credentials completed
BYU Pathway credentials completed by students equipped through this programme.
Figures maintained by SREF’s Programme Coordination & M&E team. Last updated: September 2026.
What we accept
Will your laptop work for a student?
One thing matters above all: a laptop that can reliably run Word and Excel for online coursework. New or gently used, both welcome.
- MacBook Air
- MacBook Pro
- Dell Inspiron
- Acer Aspire
- HP Pavilion / EliteBook
- Lenovo ThinkPad
We’re glad to take it if…
- It powers on, holds a charge, and its screen and keyboard both work.
- It can run Microsoft Word and Excel at a usable speed.
- It’s a Windows or macOS laptop — new or several years old.
- Its charger is included, though we can still accept it without one.
Not a fit right now
- Chromebooks, or devices that cannot run desktop Office apps offline.
- Laptops with a cracked screen or a battery that won’t hold charge.
- Tablets, phones, and desktop towers.
Not sure if yours qualifies? Email a quick description to info@help4selfreliance.org and we’ll check for you.
Your data, protected
Nothing from a laptop’s previous life reaches its next user
A used laptop can still carry a working life of information — client records, financial files, saved passwords. Before any donated device reaches a student it goes through a documented data-sanitization protocol. This is a written procedure every device follows, without exception.
- For healthcare, legal and office donors. If you are retiring laptops used to access electronic health records or other HIPAA-protected information, we treat the donation with the rigour a compliance officer expects of a certified IT asset-disposition process.
- Storage sanitization follows practices consistent with the U.S. NIST SP 800-88 media-sanitization guidelines — the benchmark HIPAA-covered entities reference.
- Written confirmation of the procedure is available for your compliance file before you ship a single device.
What it costs
The true cost of one student
Published in full, per student, per year — so a donor can see exactly what a gift covers and what the following years still need.
$627Year 1 — startup
Laptop (avg. $300), internet ($21/month), school supplies ($19), debit card setup ($5), transportation ($15).
$270Years 2 & 3, per year
Ongoing internet, supplies and transportation once the device is in hand.
$1,167Full three-year journey
One student, start to credential — the figure an impact-based gift underwrites.
Prefer to sponsor a whole journey rather than a single year? Our donor relations team will set that up with you.
Ways to giveDonate a laptop
Offer a device or fund one
Tell us what you would like to give and our team will confirm the next steps, including shipping details if you are sending a device.
- What happens next A member of the SREF team replies within a few working days to confirm specifications and arrange delivery or payment.
- Shipping We handle customs, delivery and setup in Ghana — you do not need to arrange anything internationally.
Request a laptop
Apply to the Laptop Program
Share your situation and study plans. Applications are reviewed alongside a mentorship interview and a documented plan.
- Eligibility Prospective or enrolled students in Ghana or Tanzania, with a demonstrated financial need.
- The process Application, then a mentorship interview, then a written plan with milestones before a device is issued.
Pillar three
A device is where it starts, not where it ends
Every laptop is paired with tuition support, digital-literacy training and a mentor who stays engaged until the credential is finished.