Computers For The Disabled
Registered Charity No.1069626
We work 7 days a week
Hours 9 'til 9
Hello! I’m Paul Harris the Chairman of Computers for the disabled. Sit back and enjoy my short story, I am sure you will enjoy it as others have.
I was born in the Commercial Road, Stepney, East London in 1950 and we moved a few miles to Forest Gate E.7 when I was young. I was brought up in a very poor deprived background and mum and dad had nothing, just like most of the east end people back in the 50s. I went to Forest Gate school from 1961 to 1965 when you could get me there. I was a right tearaway in those school days and in my teens I was a ‘didn’t care, couldn’t care less’ lad and never wanted what most kids wanted and that was to be a film star or pop star or a footballer, no not me, I wanted to be a bloody gangster. What a pathetic sad lad I must have been to think this way. Mum & dad divorced in my early teens and mum kicked me out as she couldn’t cope with me with the police always on my tail, which I now make her 100% right to kick me out, as I was a right pain in the ar8e…I learnt how to survive the streets and got involved in all sorts of crime and made many friends that were well known villains as this was the only way I could survive as I did not want to go to work or adapt to the correct way of life.
In my younger days I got up to many things I now regret and I am ashamed of. When I look back now at my life now I see a complete waste of many younger years. When I was a teenager in the 60s and well into my twenties, living around Forest Gate, Stratford & Canning Town, you had to be strong and tough to survive and I got easily involved in different crimes and with many well known east end villains who I ended up being associated with as great friends. Yes I had some straight mates but they were more acquaintances more than friends. Life was great for me in those days having so much money to burn in my pocket, flash cars, top 3 piece suits, shoes, shirts from the west end and all this at 17 years old, drinking in private clubs to the early hours, playing cards in clubs, in betting shops all afternoon yes life was a dream in those days or so I thought then, but how wrong I was as I can look back now and I can see how I wasted so many years and I was an absolute disgrace and disappointment to my mum and dad. .
When I met Karen I stopped what I called my glamorous lifestyle. I still kept my friends but the villainous life was over for me for ever, enough was enough, it was time to turn it all in and settle down and be a decent man. I married in 1982 in Stratford.
As years went by a surprise in life was in store for me at 40 years old and it was a big unexpected surprise.
In 1990 when I was just 40 years old I suffered a stroke that left me with hardly any use of my left hand and leg and my speech was impaired. I needed a long stay in Orsett Stroke unit Essex and I was in a wheelchair for a long while and was unable to enjoy life as it was with my family. I had three beautiful small children at that time, 6 years, 4 years and a baby of only 9 Months old.
I thought my life was over. We moved house and area because our house was not manageable in Stratford E.15 any more for me in my position and as my way of life was changed forever. We moved to a village called Noak Bridge in Essex which is on the border of Billericay. I spent a long while making a recovery and have now recovered about 80%. When I first suffered my Stroke my moods were moods of anger, my temper was of frustration, my marriage was in a disaster zone and my thoughts of suicide were very high and real. All I kept saying was "Why Me", was this a punishment for my younger life style? Was this the end of Paul?
After Months I contacted D.I.A.L a disabled UK help group who help and advise the disabled and they convinced me to find something to occupy my days. It was suggested that I try my hand at Computers. I laughed under my breath at the thought. After some months of persuading, D.I.A.L got me a place at a learning centre and I took up the challenge. Since the day I first enrolled in the Centre my life changed. I found an outlet for my aggression and depression and I started to enjoy what I was doing. I couldn't believe that from an active streetwise villainous rogue, I was learning computers and meeting lovely people in the same disabled position as I was in. After some time I built some small low spec PCs for disabled friends I had met. I then built for local Disabled groups free from any profit. Was this really me I thought ? Was I doing something nice for once in my life?
I went on to further courses to get more knowledge, passing different exams and gaining huge amounts of Pc know how. As time went by I contacted the Voluntary services sector and they suggested I should apply for Charity Status as they felt I was doing a wonderful job and offering a wonderful service. Jill Martin and Chris Watson of the CVS and me had a meeting to get thing started. Mr Peter Woods a retired Bank Manager offered to do the accounts and books. We had many people wanting to enjoy the challenge and to help us get started. We filled in the Charity paper work for Charity Status and we were told it would be around 5/6 Months before we got a reply. In only 6 weeks we had the good news and became a Government Registered Charity. My friends and the many people who know me shook my hand and congratulated me as I had completely changed my life and dramatically turned my lifestyle around. My friends now treat me with a lot more respect than they did before when we were all together back in the East End of London. It's a different type of respect now, and I love it! They are not saying well done Paul out of pity because of my stroke, they are saying well done as I have turned my life around in doing ‘good’ for unfortunate people. I often bump into old pals that I haven't seen for years and they wish me luck and say things like “ We cant believe you are doing this for people, that’s wonderful Paul”.
In 2004 I was rushed into Basildon hospital Essex as my Intestines pushed through my stomach wall. I was then transferred to Homerton Hospital Hackney where I under went major stomach surgery. When I got home I had district nurses in daily to attend to my massive stomach wounds that for some unknown reason were not healing up. After many swab and blood tests I was diagnosed with the wonderful disease known as MRSA.. For 10 Months I suffered my wounds not healing, having a drain bottle inserted through my stomach draining of the disease. I had to sleep eat and live with this bottle strapped to my body for 10 Months having district nurses in twice a day. This disease wasn’t going to finish me. After 10 months the MRSA subsided and the stomach tube and draining bottle taken out and I was free of this terrible disease.
It's a truly fantastic feeling being the Chairman of a Charity. I have a great team around me helping people across the UK. We all pull together to help keep our fantastic organisation running smoothly. I have met some fantastic people in the last 10 years from film and TV soap stars from people from the sporting world but the most fantastic and brave people I meet are the disabled people themselves and its these great people I respect the most and I give to them well over 90 hours of my time to every week and I love every minute of it. I can’t explain in words the pleasure it gives me.
My wife Karen is the ‘fetch and carry lady’; she is the backbone of our Charity. There's 5 of us here and besides doing the washing, cleaning, cooking and caring and a million other jobs but she still finds many hours a week for our Charity. My wife also finds 3 evenings a week as she is the secretary of Berry Boys amateur boxing club as this we hope will keep the boys from roaming the streets and it might just stop most of the boys turning out like I was. She works harder than I and when I'm struggling to find parts, she also takes everything on her shoulders and just gets on with life. We do PCs together for free to all disabled people and into the late nights sometimes until 2 and 3 in the morning and this gives us both great pleasure in making other disabled people happy. We work from our hearts, not for our pockets. If you wish to talk to me to find out more, or you have any questions, give myself or my wife a call, we will be happy to answer any queries. If you would like to write to me the address to write to is on the website…..
'It’s now for me a completely different way of life to the life I lead in my early days. I thought being a villain was fantastic, but helping disabled people is far more rewarding and I can sleep at night knowing what a fabulous job I am doing and I am now so proud of myself !
Paul Harris
- Single donations of Multimedia Systems (1.2ghz Minimum)
- Hard drives (20Gb & up)
- DVD Drives (any speed)
- CD re-writers (any speed)
- TFT Monitors any size
- modern CRT's (BULK donations only, free collection)
- Printers (No longer required)
- Urgently required Working Laptops, with CD-ROMs (700mhz minimum)
WE HAVE THE FACILITIES TO COLLECT LOWER SPEC COMPUTERS AND CRT MONITORS FROM ANYWHERE IN THE UK IN BULK/QUANTITY NO MATTER HOW MANY WE ARE OFFERED.
PLEASE PHONE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
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WE ALSO REQUIRE THE SOFTWARE LISTED BELOW:
- Windows XP & Home (unregistered)
- Windows XP & Home upgrades.(unregistered)
Other items wanted
Mobile phones with charger, with/without sim card (not over 2 years old).
Digital Cameras