OneWorld.net (U.S.)

It may be too small a village to find a place for itself on a map. However Andaragasyaya, a small village off Kirinda (southern region of Sri Lanka) with a population of about 2000 families has been the focus of global attention for sometime now. The only school that the village boasted of, has resurfaced again after being damaged by the tsunami, and this time with a far greater standing. In addition to having its buildings upgraded, the Andaragasyaya Vidyalaya is now the proud owner of a brand new ICT lab. While visiting the camp last month, the Prime Minister, Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged to rebuild the school. He also promised to set up an e-library under the ‘One thousand e-libraries project’ within the school. Since then, many well-wishers across the world have collected funds for this purpose. Under the directive of the Prime Minister, the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) has been making arrangements for the setting up of the e-library and has already handed over computers and a television set to the centre. The goal of setting up these e-libraries is to enable rural communities to have full access to the benefits of ICTs. It is hoped that school children and the youth of the surrounding areas will use the knowledge resources available at these centres to enhance their lives. Funding for the restoration of Andaragasyaya Vidyalaya was coordinated through an exemplary effort by the LankaPage news website and non resident Sri Lankans based in USA were the major contributors to the project.