Revamped first Nenasala turns 9 today

Wednesday, 1 January 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

With the dawn of 2014, the country’s first Nenasala inaugurated by the then Premier, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the Kataragama Kirivehera sacred precincts on 1 January 2005, has been revamped. The first of the 741 wisdom outlets spread throughout the country, the Kirivehera Nenasala has been modernised to fulfil the requirements of pilgrims to the historical sacred city as well.

The Nenasala Telecentres (wisdom outlets) set up island-wide including the North and East provinces have yielded remarkable positive results, despite high failure of telecentres in the international arena. ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) CEO Reshan Dewapura says that Sri Lanka’s telecentre model ‘Nenasala’ is a live example of the successful implementation of the telecentre concept. The success of most of the telecentres set up in developing countries is only around 25%. But in Sri Lanka the success of the Nenasala project is more than 68%. A brainchild of President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a measure for making the benefits of ICT reach all, the Nenasala project has shown its positive impact on the Sri Lankan society very tangibly. The ICT literacy has leapfrogged from a mere 4% in 2004 to nearly 40% today. Farmers, vegetable vendors, fishermen, students, teachers, to name a few, have made it their habit to check the Nenasala close to their residence to taste the benefits of ICT and follow a comfortable lifestyle. The regional and international community, realising the place the Nenasala telecentre project occupies in Sri Lanka as a flagship project, has welcomed it as a model for many other countries. According to a survey, monthly more than 200,000 persons benefit from the Nenasalas set up island-wide.