Objective  Silicon Village Computer Centre Nepal

Silicon Village Computer Centre is a non-profit organisation which provides computer and multimedia training to rural Nepali communities. We are based in based in Bachhauli, in the Terai region of Nepal, a village near the beautiful Chitwan National Park. About 130 km South of Kathmandu. Our goal is to provide affordable quality training in ICT to local people, especially members of disadvantaged groups who wouldn't otherwise have access to technology. We also want to build up easily accessible, affordable communication services. So far, we have trained with great success more than 300 young - and less young - Nepali. There is much emerging talent among our students!

 

Now, we plan to set up a dedicated small computer learning and service centre, where our students gradually build further their skills and offering the ICT services like website building, Internet access, fax and flyer production service for the local businesses. Besides the income chances thus created for the local people, we also plan to auto-finance our centre with these services over time.

Perspectives are excellent. There is growing demand for people in that region who are skilled in ICT. This goes especially also for women who can find decent work in ICT, but also for school kids.  Computer skills provide them far better chances than child labour.

Our training takes place with both Free  & Open Source software and proprietary applications. and is done following a method called 'train the trainers', meaning: Students are trained in such a way that some of them, once completed their own training, are prepared to give training at their turn to the following groups. That way, knowledge is transferred and constantly further developed within the community. And the training is given in the local languages Nepali and Tharu.

The project managed to get - and stay - on its feet through an extremely challenging time.  Nepal has seen a devastating civil war and our community has been very much afflicted by it, too. So we have done our training with very little resources and manpower. The more than encouraging results, however, have convinced us to keep up our work. Now the political situation has calmed down sufficiently to start up fundraising once again - and to extend our computer lessons. Our students of course are eager to build further their skills!

Any support we can get will be a great help. As officially registered non profit organization, we are able to issue donation receipts. We seek funding for setting up a modest little building, to serve as aforementioned training and service centre. That building shall be equipped accordingly and also host volunteer teachers. Also, since we plan to organise the project in a much more structured way, we need funding for a project secretary to run the daily business of our little centre.