Radhika and Mahavilachchiya students communicate with the friends all over the world from their houses with mesh Internet technology.
Archive for August, 2007
Mahavilachchiya’s mesh Internet project on Sirasa TV
This is a video done by Sirasa on Mahavilachchiya’s mesh Internet project.
Mahavilachchiya on E-Zine Online Magazine
Download the original PDF File here. mahavilachchiya_ezine.pdf
By Hemal Silva
Mahavilachchiya village is located 40 Km’s away from the city of Anuradhapura surrounded on three sides by the Vilpattu national park. Bus is the only public transport service available for the people of Mahavilachchiya. A very few individuals have their own modes transport like vans, threewheelers and motor bikes. Mahavilachchiya will become the first rural village to benefit from mesh technology. Mesh technology will at last give the whole community access to the internet from their homes. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahavilachchiya Featured in ICTA Newsletter – English
ICTA Newsletter – English – Download PDF
In the small jungle village of Mahavilachchiya, children rush home once school has ended for lunch and a rest. The scene is similar to that in villages across the country. However, the seemingly isolated, rural countryside can be misleading. The children in Mahavilachchiya, soon after arriving home, turn on their computers and check email, do research for their homework assignments, and read local news. Mahavilachchiya, a village 40 km from Anuradhapura, has the privilege of being Sri Lanka’s first e-village and boasts the highest computer density of any other village in the country. On November 4, 2006 Sri Lanka’s first outdoor mesh network was launched in the village bringing internet connectivity to 30 households and two schools. The Mahavilachchiya project was made possible through a partnership between a local NGO, the Horizon Lanka Foundation which has been educating the children of Mahavilachchiya in English and ICT for the past 10 years. The ICTA through a partnership with Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd (ETPL) and a grant from the Pan Asia R&D Grants Program was responsible for the implementation of the project. Read the rest of this entry »
Miss Sarasi Jayaratne and her mum Seetha from USA volunteer in Mahavilachchiya
The volunteer, Miss. Nalika Gajaweera arrived on 30th of July 2007 and spent about 10 days at Horizon Lanka Foundation. During her period at Horizon, she became very proximity with the students and some of the parents. She taught the students to converse in English and found that she followed several methods exist in America to teach the students English. It was seen that she followed a very good method in explaining the meaning of some of English words without talking with the students in Sinhala. She went to see Thanthirimale Temple and the parents of one of our students too participated in this trip. Read the rest of this entry »
Miss Nalika Gajaweera’s Expereinces in Mahavilachchiya – 2
I have to admit that before I arrived here I thought I might be bored for most of the time. I assumed the idyllic life of the village would leave me with nothing to do all day, but I have been pleasantly surprised with how busy the day goes by. I suppose the novelty of it all keeps me amused and curious and this may fade in time. But for now I’m enjoying meeting different people and learning new things from them, discovering new places and living out some of my childhood fantasies of experiencing the Sri Lankan gamme life. My hosts both at the home-stay and at Horizon Lanka as well as the friends I have made through them, have been extremely gracious in finding time for in their busy day to take me sight seeing and taking me around the area. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahabir Pun of Nepal wins Magsaysay Award for promoting Wireless Technology in a Nepali Village. A Likely Story to Mahavilachchiya WiFi project
The 2007 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
CITATION for Mahabir Pun
Ramon Magsaysay Award Presentation Ceremonies
31 August 2007, Manila, Philippines
Nangi Village, where Mahabir Pun was born, rests high in the Himalayan foothills of western Nepal. Here and in surrounding Myagdi District live the Pun Magar, whose men have soldiered for generations across the globe as Gurkhas. Yet, their worldly careers have done little to change their sleepy homeland, so far from the traffic patterns that knit together the rest of the world. Indeed, Nangi is seven hours’ hard climb from the nearest road. No telephone lines have ever reached it. Despite this, these days the people of Nangi are definitely connected to the world outside. Wireless Internet technology has made this possible. Mahabir Pun has made it happen. Read the rest of this entry »
An official from the President’s Office and Ministry of Education vist Mahavilachchiya
Mr. Waruna Sri Dhanapala an official from the President’s Office, Mr. Tikiri Jayathilaka from the Secondary Education Modernization (SEMP) project of Ministry of Education visited Mahavilachchiya with 3 others from Concept in Action (www.conceptinaction.com) advertising agency visited Mahavilachchiya on July 30, 2007 to see how ICT is being integrated to improve education in the village and how it has impacted the community. The team talked to the staff, parents, villagers, etc. and also visited a student’s house and Saliyamala Public School which Horizon has provided a PC and an internet connection through mesh internet network.
The experiences gained and lessons learned from Mahavilachchiya is being used for development of 5 more eVillages in 5 more provinces in Sri Lanka. The project is being carried out by the Ministry of Education with the fullest support of the President’s Office.
New Volunteer Miss Nalika Gajaweera’s Expereinces in Mahavilachchiya – 1
It’s been my forth day in Mahavilachchiya and I’m just about getting used to the momentum and rhythm of things. I live with a family here who has graciously welcomed me to their humble home. Their three daughters are 7, 14 and 16 years old. Their father is a home-guard for the village and the mother is a housewife. Their grand parents live in an adjoining lot and they have a small kade built several years ago and it provides them with an added household income. I’ve been enjoying three full meals of delicious Sri Lankan food and also been able to experience traditional meals forgotten in the city. Read the rest of this entry »
Miss Nalika from USA volunteers in Mahavilachchiya
Miss Nalika Gajaweera, a Sri Lankan girl pursuing her Ph.D at University of California, USA visited Horizon Lanka in Mahavilachchiya on the 30th of July to work as a volunteer for a period of one week. She is a friend of our former volunteer Alisha Bhagat from USA.
Miss Nalika stays at Hansi Sumedha’s house and will work at Horizon Lanka Academy. She will also interact with the youth, villagers, etc. in the village to expand her horizons about how ICT is being integrated to develop Mahavilachchiya. We thank her very much for coming to volunteer in Mahavilachchiya.
Providing training in computer skills to rural youth in Sri Lanka
From “ICT in Education” of UNESCO Bangkok. Visit http://www2.unescobkk.org/education/ict/v2_2/detail.asp?id=379593
In rural Sri Lanka, a school is focusing on training students in computer skills – giving youth in a remote area an opportunity to expand their horizons. Read the rest of this entry »
