e-libraries in Udaypur and Lamjung

11 January '09 was a great Sunday. On this day, we set out to establish e-libraries in Udaypur and Lamjung districts. And with those setups, we are a couple of steps closer to perceiving the dream "1 e-library per district" envisioned by Help Nepal Network (HeNN). As of now, HeNN e-library project has been deployed in 8 districts and 9 sites.

While the Lamjung project was solely carried out by HeNN, Udaypur project was financed by Save the Children-Norway and HeNN looked after the implementation. FOSS Nepal provided the technical assistance in the projects.

I have been associated with HeNN since the days I volunteered for establishment of e-library in Sudal, Bhaktapur and it has been more than a year now. But working this time was a different experience all together. With Roshendra Dai and Shishir Dai gone for further studies, I was transferred the responsibility of technical co-ordinator for the projects. So, this time, I was in charge of affairs right from purchasing hardware, co-ordinating with volunteers to communicating with Save the Children-Norway. Of course, I also had to deal with technical issues in the setup and content for the e-library. Handling all these responsibilities parallely was tough but a good learning experience.

In the Udaypur deployment, we had a team of 4. Me, Suraj, Mitra Rai and Khem Rai. The project was accomplished in Shree Rauta Higher Secondary School, Murkuchi. In Lamjung, Sushil Shilpakar led the team, with Sanjeev KC, Dipesh Shakya and Kailash Budhathoki as other team members.

There were lovely moments as well as tough moments during the project. But the accomplishment of the projects is definitely a thing we feel proud of since this has created an opportunity of learning Information Technology for at least 1000s of students who will be helping hands in the nation-building tomorrow.

And the beauty of these projects is that they are solely based on Open source and implemented using LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) which greatly reduces the cost which is a key concern in nation like ours. Moreover, we have tried to ensure that the setup is more than just a computer lab. With contents like gCompris, Student Wikipedia, e-Paath developed by OLE (Open Learning Exchange), eBarnamala, Kalzium, etc. the setup is a supplement to the traditional library. Hence, we call it an e-library.

I am pretty sure that this mission of "1 e-library per district" will give several young minds an opportunity to be aware of the power of Information Technology and connect them to the global phenominon. This definitely is a reason for me to smile and feel good about these deployments.

LTSP Training of Trainers conducted

LTSP (Linux Training of Trainers) technology is gaining momentum in Nepal considering the impact that it can cause at very low cost. Organizations like Help Nepal Network and FOSS Nepal have set up a vision of establishing 1 e-library per district. I am proud to be associated with this vision and was one of the deployers of the e-library project in Bhaktapur district.

The vision itself is very innovative since it not merely empowers rural Nepal but also students of technical institutions who are given opportunity to go to different parts of Nepal to set up the e-library. Since, not much students are familiar with the use of this technology, a training was conducted. This was the second training on LTSP being conducted, last one being conducted on 15-16 December '07. I was part of the instructing team for both the training events.

I have made a blog post of the training @ http://elibrary-ltsp.blogspot.com/2008/12/2nd-ltsp-training-of-trainers-conducted.html

FOSS Nepal wins best SFD '08 event for consecutive year

Today, it was a day of wonderful surprise for the FOSSians here.

The results of the best SFD (Software Freedom Day) events was announced and guess what we have managed to stand one of the best SFD events team for the second time in a row!

Thanks to the effort put by together by the collective effort of volunteers. Bibek Paudel ensured that our effort were properly logged in a report to be submitted. And here we are!!!

SFD announces three best SFD events team every year (in no particular order). The other two teams who managed to tell precisely how they managed the event were: SFD Nicaragua and DabaweGNU. The information is available at :

http://softwarefreedomday.org/Competition2008

FOSS Nepal was declared one of the best events even last year ('07) along with SFD Nicaragua and Beijing SFD.

SFD was celebrated throughout the world on September 20 this year. You can find a post about activities in this year's event in Nepal on Pravin Gautam's weblog

Everyone is enthralled and we will soon be having party to celebrate this victory!!! And, now that we have tasted the fruit of success, we are looking at making a hattrick. :)