‘I felt I had no choice’: why Deborah did her schoolwork using the shopping centre wifi

One in four Australians don’t have access to essential technology. The Smith Family says a national device bank could help close the gap

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A Westfield shopping centre isn’t an obvious place to get homework done. But for Deborah Botende, it was one of her only options.

Botende grew up in foster care in Brisbane and had no internet access at home. Throughout high school, she’d stay back after her retail shift to use the shopping centre’s wifi – completing her schoolwork on a secondhand laptop.

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