Following
is a blog posted by a successful Nenasala (woman) operator to
Serving my community...
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Posted
by Mangalika Kumari Wijesundara on February 28, 2013 at 12:56am
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My name is Mangalika Kumari
Wijesundara, age 26 and I am a resident of Menikhinna village; a rural village
located in Kandy district Sri Lanka. I have successfully completed my advanced
level studies from the St. Anthony’s Girls College, Kandy and followed diplomas
and certificate courses in diverse fields such as English, journalism,
photography, home gardening, beauty culture, agricultural training, vocational
training, and business management. Added to the list I have successfully
completed IT diploma in Computer operation, Computer Graphic designing,
Computer video editing, Computer Hardware, Internet & E mail.
I joined Hurikaduwa Nenasala: (Telecentre in my
village) on 25th June, 2008 and by that time there was no proper IT operator at
the Hurikaduwa Nenasala. I had completed all the required qualifications to
appoint as the Nenasala operator. As a newly appointed Nenasala operator, I
handled all the IT training programs by that time and most of the courses were
only for school students and kids. Gradually started IT courses for the young
individuals who worked as teachers at the Dhamma School located at the temple
premises. I could expand IT courses for a large number of students and Nenasala
users including youth in the area. Among many IT programs, there were courses reserved
for Buddhist monks, government and non-governmental staff members, etc.
Further, I helped the Nenasala community development initiatives and she
cooperated with number of initiatives: self-employment training camp, health
camp, Blood donation campaign, religious activities, vocational training camps
and agricultural workshops organized by the Nenasala. Today, my role as a
Nenasala operator includes multiple tasks and responsibilities. I actively
participate with Nenasala awareness raising campaigns, Nenasala community
development initiatives, Nenasala IT training programs, etc. Also, I assist all
the Nenasala users who daily visit Nenasala for various purposes such as
communication, information search, IT training. Over the last 3 years of
service, I have improved my out-going personality and maintain friendly
attitudes towards the community in helping them out with their requirements.
Talking about
my Contributions to Digital Literacy and Community Development, I can say that
Before the implementation of Nenasala, Hurikaduwa remained as one of the least
connected rural villages of the Central province where Computers and IT was
considered as a luxury. Yet, over the past 3 years of time with Nenasala
services, digital literacy rate of the village has being improved and remains
in a stage of satisfactory. I, as the operator for Hurikaduwa Nenasala have
immensely contributed and cooperated with Nenasala activities. During the early
stage, Hurikaduwa Nenasala commenced their activities in village School level.
Hurikaduwa Nenasala conducted awareness creation workshops in school level with
the support received from the regional education department. I have conducted
awareness creation session on Nenasala services and importance of ICT in day
today life. I have given a great help to these campaigns and assisted the
co-staff to carry out successful events. With the positive outcomes of the
first phase activities, Hurikaduwa Nenasala conducted awareness campaigns for
all the schools in the area and as a result, Nenasala could attract a large
number of school students for Nenasala IT training classes. Most of the
students are keen on participating to the IT training classes at Nenasala and
they are interested in using internet and computers for their studies. I was
able to deliver successful and interesting classes as she could retain the
enthusiasm among the students to use ICT.
Today, Hurikaduwa Nenasala is a recognized IT
institute in the area and I have played a leading role in achieving Nenasala
objectives and delivering the dividends of ICT to every village and every
citizen. I have planned Nenasala activities lined up for the next year include:
1. To form a “Nenasala Sansadaya” (Nenasala Society) to enhance and upgrade
Nenasala services
2. To award IT scholarships to 100 students selected from the poor families in
the village
3. To conduct IT training workshops for the employees in the government sector
4. To conduct Free IT seminars for the students in remote schools in the area
5. To Conduct workshops for the community in agriculture and self-employment
opportunities
6. To conduct an IT exhibition in the end of the year
Nenasala Team Wishing you all the best & Good Luck ... !
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