Teachers at a remote high school in Nanji village in Pokhara, Nepal, are learning how to use a wireless network, thanks to financial assistance from Mason’s International Center for Applied Studies in Information Technology (ICASIT). Nepal is one of the least Internet-connected countries in the world.

The Humanchal Foundation, which received a $30,000 grant through funds provided to ICASIT from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is directing the project, and volunteer instructors from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Nebraska, Kearney are training Nepalese teachers to use the network.

Volunteers are helping the high school in Nanji village to get connected.

“It's exactly the kind of help we need to stimulate appropriate use of Internet in this poor region,” said Humanchal’s Dr. Leonard Skov, former dean of the School of Education at the University of Nebraska, Kearney. The Humanchal Foundation supports IT and telemedicine activity in difficult-to-reach regions of Nepal.

Professor Steve Ruth, ICASIT manager, said that the project is not far from the Annapurna range where rough mountainous terrain makes deployment of cables difficult and costly. Thus, wireless is the most viable option for Internet connections.

“I'm amazed by the excellence of their program. When suitable electricity isn't available, they use power generated from streams and waterfalls,” said Ruth, referring to the school’s use of alternate power when Maoist guerrillas attacked its electric transformer. After this pilot project is tested and validated, ICASIT may support other projects in the region. The center has assisted with projects in dozens of developing nations.