From Bullock Cart to the Airport!
In early 1996, we did not know how to combine PC into the social-web of rural community in Sri Lanka. It took 3 years and 9 months for us to learn that it was possible, and to recognize the appropriate model. In those long hard lessons we had learned PCs can work in the dusty – dirty – warm environments sometimes infested by flies & mosquitoes. Also lessons proved us, it doesn’t always need high-end technical support to manage these operations in extreme rural landscapes.
I don’t know whether it was our optimism made us blind, because we could not run surveys to check the heart beat of the community. Yet, we always felt that they were ready to accept ICT, provided we package them properly. It was true – always adults, more specially women took the back seat, while youth were impatient to jump into the band wagon. We thought … ‘why only adult paves the way – this time it can be youth paving the way to adults’; the revolution of ICT. (It works now).
All such instincts had worked…and from one Telecentre at Kahawatta (Rathnapura of Sri Lanka), the network had grown upto 31 telecenters in 17 Districts, connecting 172 Village Information Centres. Well…as it expands we came to realize the problems of infrastructure; the barriers of internet backbones, insufficient software solutions, lack of support services. On the up side, community never demanded Internet. That was because they did not know about the wonderful power of the tool….! They were happy with computers – the magic box arrived at their door steps.
By 2003 the gods came to help us – eSriLanka – 88million US$ investment landed in Sri Lanka to furnish the national ICT infrastructure. All of a sudden we see telecentres mushrooming (with diverse brand names and models)…bandwidth and local content becoming centre stage,….private – state and academia all join to dream together – to see a vibrant e-Citizen in a functional e-Society.
At the Heathrow Airport ….listening to BBC World News
I am in front of a 50” LCD panel displaying visuals of Terror plots in London, Battles over Lebanon, Floods in Ethiopia….(fortunately I can see only the pictures without the sounds). Suddenly I notice the ‘red button’ at top right of the screen - the Interactive TV option! I remember that I had a dream about connecting Interactive TV options – through broad band Internet connections to Rural Wireless Hot spots (rural virtual villages). We believed those are the magical shortcuts to empower the poor…connect bottom with the top – amplify voices of the poor in the global media screens, connect them with the flourishing outside markets…!
My goodness me ...it doesn’t happen, today….instead… the system seemingly replicate frustration, provoke anguish…, spread the fear..?? downloading global evil spirits in to the rural optimism. (Am I too pessimistic..?
I am at WSIS…Tunis….Glittering Carnival of ICT4D
Among the human ocean, and blossoming optimism parading all over thousands of ICT platforms, I met few academics who were working hard to build intellectual scepticism into the sphere of ICT4D..? Why Rural Knowledge Centres of Pondichery, Telecentres of Kahawatta, Pallitathya Kendra of Bangladesh cannot become a common place in macro development picture…? The fact is World Poverty figures are going up..? Child malnutrition is still a mega issue.., and telecenters could not excite poor women to sit in front of computers.., www couldn’t do much to improve human rights…, so tell me where is ICT4D reducing poverty (of scale)..!
All of a sudden I am awaken to a new reality..? Are we throwing bullock carts in to runaway tracks…expecting them to take off to the sky?
In a transit launch to….!
I returned to my own traditional gurus – who opted to plough the land with the farmers to empower them, instead of taking quick techno-savvy journeys to development. One fellow – who had spent 38 years sitting with poor community – shared a sarcastic smile, when I walked towards him.
‘I knew you are coming back, my son. Well….we know ICT is important. But if that to be ICT4D, you must connect with the ground – the dust, the heat, the flies, the hearts and minds of the people….just plug the interface into the correct slot..!’
‘….. Fuse the technology with culture and nature…!’
Here born the Fusion of Sarvodaya
Fusion is the latest ICT4D engagement of Sarvodaya (integrating into 50 year long well-tested community development platform). It envisions to engage ICT with multiple disciplines; the nature, the culture, the spirituality & wisdom. The holistic approach to ICT4D..!
How it happens:
It continues working in 5 programmatic areas: Technology, Knowledge, Entrepreneurship, Research and Partnership building. Technology Unit concentrates on delivery aspects to the rural landscape (telecentres, connectivity options, web platforms etc.). Knowledge Unit works around up & down streaming of knowledge across communities promoting participation (Knowledge gathering & processing, Information transfer etc.), Entrepreneurship Unit infuses the skills of Social Enterprising into the overall system, Research Unit concentrates on connecting Academic wisdom into Applied needs, Partnership Building unit concentrates on networking and sharing beyond the rural landscape to the global hemisphere.
How this connects to the Culture, Nature and Spirituality…?
(Oh…I am sorry, here comes the final call for boarding. I must leave now..!!!!)
