British and Foreign School Society

Support from the British and Foreign School Society has enabled Project Sri Lanka to enter a significant development phase as from 2008.

Without doubt, a great deal remains to be done in the tsunami-devastated Southern Province of the country.

We have, however, identified two critical community ‘divides' which exist in Sri Lanka, and which are in urgent need of being addressed.

The first of these divisions is between poor coastal communities, many of which were decimated by the tsunami, and poverty-stricken inland villages which are just as much in need of support. These lie in the ‘forgotten lands' of Sri Lanka's interior. Many of these inland villages have no pre-school, no community meeting place, no central facilities and have received none of the widespread international publicity that highlighted the plight of coastal regions.

The second division may be termed the ‘digital divide'. Rural communities throughout Sri Lanka are isolated in the absence of a proper information communication system such as is found in the island's towns and cities. Rural communities, whose people are generally unemployed or engaged in agricultural and small-scale self-employment pursuits, comprise 80% of the island's population. Yet they remain marginalised and at serious disadvantage compared to city dwellers as a result of having no access to information and communication technology (ICT).

Hence the aim of the British and Foreign School Society's (BFSS) partnership with Project Sri Lanka to address these two society divides.

We plan to establish 6 community learning centres (2 to be constructed each year for three years from 2008/2009) which incorporate ICT opportunities as well as basic educational facilities for the young and other community leaning facilities. These, we term ‘commune-e-learning' centres. They will be constructed in 6 new villages in need, 3 on the south coast of Sri Lanka, and 3 in the inland hill-country tea growing areas.

There will be an official 'twinning link' established between a coastal village and an interior one each year, thus promoting regular dialogue and communication, the sharing of information, and common understandings.

Our BFSS Project incorporates:

• The provision of a building in each adopted community which will serve as a community learning centre. It will incorporate a pre-school, village meeting and training room, library, computer(s) with internet access, email facility, and digital camera. The building will be a hub providing education, information and e-services at 'grassroots' level.
• The ongoing education and training of villagers of all ages through the new learning centre. Sarvodaya will provide a pre-school teacher and a trained 'local operator' to teach ICT skills and facilitate the provision of information. Durham University students will spend two to three months each year developing and supporting e-learning programmes in each centre, teaching English and organising inter-cultural events and experiences.
• The linking of coastal and inland rural communities; promoting dialogue and understanding among people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds through ICT and exchange visits facilitated by Sarvodaya and Durham students and staff.
• Within each adopted community, the much closer integration of all community members. They will be brought together through the common ownership of the commune-e-learning hub and events and activities designed for whole village participation.

In a nutshell, the project proposed is intended to be all-inclusive, focused on education and communication, and long term in nature.

It is anticipated that the first pair of community learning centres will open in the summer of 2009, the second pair in the summer of 2010 and the third pair in the summer of 2011.

In each of these summers, a team of students will go to both locations, coastal and inland, to engage in ICT support, teaching and a range of learning and community development activities.

The first village to be supported by the Project Sri Lanka/BFSS partnership was Ihalagalagama. The second was Puwakgahawela and the third will be Pambahinna - all in the Sabaragamuwa Province. Details of these villages will be found on the 'Student Involvement' pages of the website.