by Nandasiri Wanninayaka

The teacher selected to run the e-Village project in Damahana was Mr. K. M. W.  Bandara, who is very diplomatic and loved by his students and respected by the community.

Around 180 children have been selected to be trained as the first team of e-village students. They are given training in ICTs and English language improvement with the support of the staff and volunteers. Some of the students have the luxury of communicating with overseas online volunteers who help the students in improving their English. Damahana eVillage has expanded its services to around 250 youth in the area to familiar themselves with computers and the Net. Around 100 parents also are given occasional training in the use of computers and surfing the Net. Catering to such a big audience is not easy and Bandara uses both school hours and after school hours, to serve those who seek knowledge. Sometimes the training sessions are held at night because the parents are free at night after work during the day. Surfing the Net has given a new experience to the community and now they are getting accustomed to its overwhelming usage in day today life. 

Damahana eVillage pays more attention to English education and already most of the students have started their own blogs to express themselves in English. Staff in the school helps students by correcting the students’ English essays.

The lab is being used to facilitate teaching other subjects in the school curricular as well. The teachers can get Bandara’s help in that.

The Secondary Education Modernization Project (SEMP) provided Bandara some valuable training on ICTs before the project began and still keeps on training Bandara and the others involved. The SEMP took Bandara (and other 4 teachers from other 4 eVillages) on an exposure visit to India in 2008. Bandara started his teaching career as an Assistant Teacher and later he was trained as the Computer Learning Center ( CLC) Manager of Damahana Maha Vidyalaya. Bandara has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Ruhuna and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Peradeniya. He is trained to conduct lessons for General Information Technology and ICT training by the Ministry of Education.

Bandara formed the Oasis Damahana Foundation, a community based organization in the area that was created to take eVillage activities beyond the walls of the school. With the establishment of the Foundation some of its members like Mr Siripala, the Administrative Officer, Divisional Secretary’s Office, Dr. Sanjeeva Kodippili intend to play active roles together with the community for the betterment of the eVillage.

The school computer lab that was provided by the SEMP is equipped with 23 PCs, 20 ClassMate PCs donated by Intel, a laptop, and a multimedia projector. The computer lab has broadband access.

Damahana village consists of 409 families and populated by Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim communities who live peacefully. Beautiful waterfalls, Detanagala Mountain range, Mahawelatenna Plateau, Mahawelatenna Waluwa, Sinharaja rainforest, Adams Peak, Horton Plains, World’ End, Walawe River, etc. add scenic beauty to Damahana.

The economy of the village is based on mainly tea industry, gem industry and agricultural crops.

David Morgan, a freelance community development consultant and a member of the community has been involved with the project from its inception and instrumental in initiating some of the eVillage related programmes.

When it comes to the sustainability, the project is yet to go a long way to achieve self-sustainability and Bandara needs more training and exposure to learn the skills in business, fundraising and project management in addition to the ICT training.

Bandara is grooming a group of teachers, students and members of the community to take the project forward in future.

Bandara wants to thank Mr Anura Dissanayake, the Project Director of SEMP, Mr K. D. Wijayapala, the Provincial Manager of SEMP and the Principal, Mr Somasiri who has been by Bandara’s side throughout. Bandara also wants to thank the staff of the school for their assistance.

Bandara’s future plans include increasing the no of PCs in the village, increasing internet usage among community members, to provide services for outsourcing, to seek assistance from other organizations with focus to overall development of the community.