What IT can do to a village

Visualise this. Six-year-old students who visited BangaloreIT.com last year, surprised visitors by showcasing their skill at operating computers. Nothing unusual, except that these children hailed from the Ittamadu village on the outskirts of Bangalore. The village, situated 40 km from Bangalore in Bidadi Taluk of Ramanagaram district, has undergone a transformation of sorts since the Bangalore chapter of the IIT Bombay Alumni Association stepped in.

Three years ago, the IITians invested Rs 2.5 lakh to convert a ramshackle cottage in the village, offered by the Ittamadu Panchayat, into a Knowledge Centre. They installed two PCs, a printer and scanner. For the first few days, the IITians left the children to themselves, allowing them to explore the world of computers. Within two hours, the six-year-olds had figured out how to use Microsoft’s Paint and Word software, said Rao. “Once they became familiar with keyboard commands, the children began to browse, chat and surf the Net.”

The Village Knowledge Centre is now seen as a model for the rest of the state. It has already been replicated in three villages in the same panchayat. The goal, the IITians say, is to develop a self-sustaining model through a private-public partnership. The impact is slowly but surely being felt. As a child’s parent explained, “I do not know how to read or write. But I know when my child comes here, something good is happening to him.”

... more.