The Project
Volunteer to Teach English in Sri Lanka

As a developing country, Sri Lanka faces many challenges. There are hundreds of small villages throughout the island that are virtually isolated from the outside world due to a lack of phone and internet facilities. The project feels that every young person should be equipped with adequate ICT (Information and Communication Technology) knowledge to survive in this fast changing world.

The Foundation was established in 1998 because of the determination of a group of children from the rural village of Mahavilachchiya. Their thirst for knowledge and educational advancement led them to the door of their former English teacher who was living in the village. The whole project started as an after-school club, which provided children with further education in English language and computing, and became a popular place in the village. Since then, the project has branched out. As well as providing an all-round education to the village children, they have expanded into the information age and now service the entire community with their computer laboratory, which has 24-hour internet access.

This project is now teaching over 160 students from the village – giving each of these students the opportunity to improve their education and specialising in ICT and English. Mahavilachchiya has the highest density of computers in any village in the whole of Sri Lanka and is the only village with 24-hour unlimited internet access.

The programme is involved in a wide variety of projects, aimed at servicing the entire community. Some of these projects are detailed below:

E-Mentoring - This project pairs each child with an English speaking adult around the world. The children are encouraged to send stories and essays to their eMentors, who in turn will correct the English for them.

Digital Butterflies - So far, more than 30 homes in the village have been furnished with a computer. Having a computer of their own is a dream and a rare luxury for most children in Sri Lanka. Even in the city, only a limited number of students have computers in their homes. Digital Butterflies is another project aimed at providing PCs to the village children. The children have to save a certain amount of their own money, and these savings are then topped up by international sponsors to raise the full amount to buy the computer.

Micro-scholarships - Many capable students in rural Sri Lanka are forced to interrupt their schooling because of financial difficulties. Micro-scholarships ensure that every child covered under the scheme gets a quality education and a happy childhood. Under it, volunteers offer financial assistance that gives the child a small amount of money every month to go towards paying for school fees, text books etc.

Work Experience Placements - Opportunities for young people are pretty much the same, whether they have excelled academically, or done badly. The lack of vocational training is one of the main reasons for this. The Institute of Applied Arts and Technology hopes to provide these young people with vocational opportunities through work experience placements.

Farmers - Having easy access to water is an invaluable commodity in Mahavilachchiya. As well as providing clean drinking water within close proximity to the homes, it means that families can now utilize the water for growing their own vegetables and fruit. One of the goals is to ensure that each home has its own well. The well at the Foundation was dug and built by the community themselves. The idea is to encourage similar community input to assist village families in building their wells. Many properties have no boundary walls, which mean that growing crops is difficult as cattle and other animals can easily damage the crops. Providing durable fencing for all vegetable/fruit gardens is a necessity.

E-Village - With the work achieved by this project, the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lankan has awarded Mahavilachchiya the status of a model village. Mahavilachchiya has become the first rural village in Sri Lanka to embrace the Information Age. The project's work and use of technology will be used as a model to bring ICT to all other rural villages around the country.