Once a week, Shantha embarks on a journey; a journey that takes him across rivers, paddy fields, mountains and over 20 kilometers away from his home to a place where he can use a computer, surf the internet and check his Hotmail account.
Shantha is only one in a thousand other Sri Lankan youths confined to a rural corner of Sri Lanka, with little access to computers and communication infrastructure. rn
rnThe ICT Agency cleared six firms, allowing them to set up multi-service community information centres which provide access to Internet, telephones and other information services along with training to the public in rural communities as pilot projects. rn
rnThis is the first step in the governments ambitious e-Sri Lanka initiative that seeks to take modern communication to backwater Sri Lanka and test the programme before taking it across the island. rn
rnThe selection of the six firms will be supported by selecting a handful of other firms to provide support services to the telecentre proj