Technology For Development Nepal

Nepal joined the world of the Internet during the mid ’90s, using it initially for e-mail only. At that time the cost of the e-mail was NRs. 20 (FIM 2) per KB, which was too high by Nepalese standards. Initially, there were about 150 e-mail users. Over the years the costs of Internet usage have fallen dramatically to NRs. 2 (FIM 0.20) per KB and consequently, the number of e-mail users has sharply increased. There are no official figures available for the present number of users but according to Computer Association Nepal (CAN), there are about 5000 Internet users in Nepal, of whom about 3000 are strictly e-mail users. As postal services have remained unreliable and extremely slow in Nepal, e-mail has become a perfect solution for those with family members living abroad or working in the private sector. Usage of the Internet has been limited mainly to the very rich and elite of the country. Slow connections and high telephone costs keep most people from using the Internet.

In the education sector also IT subject have been introduced from the primary level to higher

secondary level. These days, there are many colleges running graduate-level academic IT courses.

Personal Computer is fast becoming an essential household item in the affluent families of the

country.

Access to digital tools was limited and access to the Internet and the information it held was even low in the country. It was with this understanding and realization that T4DNepal was registered as a not-for-profit organization under The Social Welfare Act, 2049, to carry out this mission of empowering people digitally.

Kathmandu based T4DNepal was founded by Toya Raj Joshi and Bhaskar Datt Bhatt in 2074 out of the deep understanding that marginalized communities living in socio-economic backwardness and information poverty can be empowered to improve their lives on their own, simply by providing them access to information and knowledge on using digital tools. T4DNepal aims to connect unreached and underserved communities of Nepal in an effort to bring them out of digital darkness and equip them with access to information. With the belief ‘Inform, Communicate and Empower,’ T4DNepal finds sustainable digital interventions to overcome information poverty in rural and remote locations of Nepal, and empower communities with digital literacy, digital tools, and last mile connectivity.

Through all its diverse programmes, projects and activities, T4DNepal seeks to help people living in information darkness overcome the information barrier, learn how to use digital tools and the Internet to achieve greater socio-economic equality by uplifting themselves almost on their own using the power of digital devices to access information and knowledge.

It has been 2 years since T4DNepal took an oath to work with the poorest of the poor in rural Nepal to fight information poverty. A lot of its beliefs and efforts have turned into national movements. T4DNepal is glad that what it envisioned a decade and a half ago is replicated in the government’s vision — a vindication of the ethos that the organization holds. “Digital empowerment” is a phrase that is extensively used in the national agenda because the Internet is an empowering tool. It has the power to bring inequality, equity, transparency, and account­ability. It can create a world where the powerless and the powerful enjoy equal opportunities to be online and equal chances to access information.

As an organization, we are almost 14-strong people; we have marked our presence in more than 15 locations across 4 districts of state-7 and union territories. What keeps going is the growing belief that people have put in us — be it our beneficiaries or those who fund us. T4DNepal is not driven by the passion of just one or a handful but the passion, values, and ethos that each one of us holds.