I come from a rural village in India where electricity is often scarce, school education is very elementary, and the main source of livelihood is farming. Without a shadow of the doubt, it is one of the poorest areas in my province. 

 

Growing up, as far as I remember, math was the only subject properly taught to us. I had not physically seen a computer until my Senior High School (2003-2004). Since then more than a decade has passed, yet not much has changed. Looking at the potential of computing in pulling masses out of poverty, I am determined to not let the coming generations be undermined by a lack of infrastructure. Luckily, technical developments have made it possible to address these gaps in a very cost-effective manner. So, I am working on a personally funded project to provide Raspberry Pi based computers in some of the most resource-limited villages/areas in India.

 

Using Raspberry Pi has several advantages. It just costs $35 to get a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B which is ideal for developing low-cost computers. After carefully sourcing monitor, keyboard, mouse and connectors, each computer can be assembled with in 110$, which is 1/3rd the cost of a typical laptop or desktop in the market But above all, Raspberry Pi requires operating power equivalent to charging a mobile phone which makes these devices extremely lucrative for these villages where electricity is intermittent and unreliable. Electricity is generally provided for less than 4 to 5 hours on a few days each week. Schools often have an inverter and battery combination to provide power when there is no electricity. Low power usage means that 3 to 4 Raspberry Pi powered devices can be used for 10-20 hours per week with the existing resources. 

 

Vision is grand but the beginning is small.

 

• I have established 3 computers at a primary school in Thangaon village in Uttar Pradesh in December 2015

 

• None of the schools in an area of more than 72 villages (~500 KMxKM) had computers

 

• Working on phase 1 of training teachers at the school to use these computers

 

• In future, trained teachers would educate children about basic coding and LibreOffice