Dhaka, Jan 2 (BDNEWS) – Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangshtha (SSS), an innovative organisation, is imparting education on information technology to the deprived and poor people in North Bengal over 12 boats equipped with computers with Internet service, mobile phones and libraries.

The organisation has been carrying out such activities in North Bengal for the last two years.

SSS recently won the Access to Learning Award-2005 of Gates Foundation as recognition of their innovative work. They got prize money worth about US$ 1 million from the Gates Foundation.

Sources said the organisation provided education on information and technology to 86,500 families in North Bengal in 2004. They also expanded their activities in an area of 240 kilometres on waterways.

When contacted, Abul Hasanat Mohammad Rezwan, executive director of the organisation, said if the students in the remote areas fail to go to school, the school would go to their doorstep. The projects taken up by the organisation are playing a key role in serving that purpose.

The organisation is providing Internet facilities to the deprived people who live on the banks of the river.

Abdul Azad, an inhabitant of Kalinagar villager, said that he could not even imagine having a glance at a computer.

“But now I can operate computer and use Internet”, he said with joy. He also said that he managed to collect necessary information including the price of crops and different ways of killing the insects through Internet.

Electricity is not available in the areas where SSS is implementing its projects. Even electricity is unavailable on the boats as they are using solar energy and fuel-saving generators.

It can be mentioned that the Gates Foundation is run by the richest man in the world and chairman of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates. The oganisation provides economic aid in the development sector in different countries across the globe.