A noted social entrepreneur and development worker, Mahabir Pun, has said Nepal must exploit information technology (IT) to transform the society and build ‘New Nepal.’
Pun giving his presentation.
Addressing a talk programme organised by London Chhalphal—a Nepal-facing discussion forum—last Wednesday, Pun said rather than sitting idle and waiting for political issues to settle, Nepalese should work towards bringing about socio-economic changes in the villages. “Expanding the reach of information technology should be the starting point,” he insisted.
Making a power-point presentation at the Limkokwing University (www.limkokwing.co.uk) at Piccadilly Circus, London, Pun – who was awarded Ramon Magsaysay award last year under the community development category— showed how the Nepal Wireless Networking Project (www.nepalwireless.net), which he is leading, has helped connect more than 20,000 people in 12 remote villages in western Nepal.
‘As I used to work in the field of community development and income generation programmes, I found that lack of communication was creating problems for those projects. It was necessary to bring in something that helped us communicate from one village to the other. This did not start because we had money to spend or out of interest. It was a necessity,” said Pun, who was awarded honorary doctorate degree by University of Nebraska, USA, in December 2007.
The Nepal Wirless Networking Project—that was launched in 2003, when the country was in the middle of a deadly conflict– has been replicated on smaller scale by some other organisations in Makawanpur, Dolakha, Lalitpur, Palpa, Bajhang, Achham, Ilam and Solukhumbu districts.
“Even if it is progressing at much slower pace than we would like it to go, we are moving ahead with a definite goal to provide the benefits of wireless technology to 80% of people living in the rural areas in the mountains and Terai regions of Nepal,” said Dr Pun.
‘One Dollar a Month campaign’
Mr Pun appealed all the Non-resident Nepalese, who are living in developed societies to donate one dollar a month (one pound a month, in case of UK) to help bring about revolution using Information and Communication technology (ICT) in rural Nepal in the field of education, heath care, e-commerce and communication to help people there.
“This campaign is not only about raising money, it is about showing the unity of Nepalese for good cause no matter where we live, no matter what ethnic background we have, no matter what political affiliation or religious faith we have. It is about establishing that there exists special “humane connection” between Nepal and its friends living abroad. Think about this seriously,” he added.
Responding to a query, Dr Pun quoted Non-resident Nepali Association (NRNA) saying that around two million Nepalese were living in different parts of the world other than India. “If we get just 5% of these Nepalese population sign up for this campaign, we will have 100,000 supporters. With this number of people supporting for the information highway project, we can easily connect most of the rural Nepal in five years.
Mr Pun told the audience you may become poorer by $1 or £1 a month but Nepal will get richer by hundreds of thousands and eventually by millions of dollar a year. He also urged various organisations of Nepalese in UK and abroad to help this campaign in whatever way possible.
Referring to Nepal’s recent political transition, Mr Pun said there were multiple examples of such political revolutions in the world history that have not worked well. “Therefore, I would like to ask for your strong support for building one of the basic development infrastructure to bring economic revolution,” said Pun adding “Your support can make this happen.”
During his stay in UK, Pun took part in various programmes organised by a number of Nepali organisation within and outside London. nepalnews.com Nov 12 08