2004-2-8
This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development
Report.
Thirteen villages in northern Cambodia now have e-mail through a
project that organizers hope other countries will copy. A group
called American Assistance for Cambodia organized the project. It
says the idea could serve as a way to help reduce economic
differences between rich and poor nations.
A group of schools and a medical center in Ratanakiri Province
have been equipped with solar panels. These devices capture energy
from the sun to power computers in the schools. Students use
electronic mail to write messages to villages nearby. The messages
are sent over the Internet, but with the help of what are called
"motomen."
Every day, five people ride motorcycles into the villages to
collect outgoing messages and bring incoming mail. The motorcycles
are equipped with a computer to store the data. At the end of the
day, each "motoman" returns to a computer center in the local
capital, Ban Lung. The information is sent from there by satellite
to the Internet.
All this work is not just so students can write to nearby
villages. Currently, a person in Ratanakiri Province earns about
forty dollars a year. Organizers say they hope the project will help
farmers and villagers sell their products on the world market over
the Internet.
In addition, the computers serve as a learning tool for hundreds
of students. Local citizens can use the computers to communicate
with the government. And newspapers can send their stories
electronically to the villages.
Local health care workers also use the computers. They
communicate with doctors in other parts of Cambodia and in the
United States. This means they are able to send medical pictures and
discuss possible treatments for patients.
A company in the United States
developed the technology for the "motoman" project. The company is
called First Mile Solutions. Organizers say a team of thee people
put the project into action in one month. The technology cost about
five-hundred dollars per village.
You can learn more about the project on the company Web site. The
address is firstmilesolutions.com. The postal address is First Mile
Solutions, four-three-two Columbia Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
zero-two-one-four-one, U-S-A.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill
Moss. This is Robert Cohen.