MobileMuster and Able Australia are asking people to donate their unwanted smartphone to help the deafblind community get connected.
Able Australia will use the phones with deafblind people to educate them on how to use mobile technology to communicate and stay in touch with friends and family.
The campaign will run throughout September, when MobileMuster will collect eligible smartphones. Able Australia will then share the phones with their deafblind service users to improve their digital literacy, such as being able to use speech recognition and Braille readers via mobile technology.
Currently, an estimated 288,000 Australians live with no hearing and sight and this number is predicted to rise to over one million by 2050.
Australia has more than 31 million mobile phone subscribers who replace their handsets, on average, every 18 to 24 months.
“We know there are approximately 25.5 million unused mobiles sitting in homes and business around Australia, some of these may be smartphones that could help the deafblind community,” said Spyro Kalos from MobileMuster. “Now is the perfect time to donate your unwanted mobile phone to a great cause.”
Any phones and accessories that cannot be used for this project will be recycled by MobileMuster.
“Deafblindness is very much Australia’s forgotten disability. The smartphones donated will help deafblind people stay connected, which is something most of us take for granted,”
Able Australia’s Scott Darkin. “These donated smartphones will also increase their mobility, independence and help them navigate their way around their community.
“Nine out of ten deafblind people will experience depression and anxiety and the simple act of donating an unwanted phone is an easy way to show your support to Australia’s deafblind community. Your old phone could be the vital link that transforms a socially isolated person with deafblindness into an active member of their local community,” he continued.
People and companies wishing to hand over their unwanted smartphones can use one of MobileMuster’s 3,500 drop off points around the country, or use the postal service set up for the project.