This project established a community learning and IT center at a rural school in Sri Lanka. The center was set up to be run by the school with support from a non-profit organization. Several local companies donated computers, furniture, and services to support the project. While renovations faced unanticipated challenges like inadequate wiring, workshops on IT skills, leadership, and design thinking for 100 students were successful. The center will continue to benefit students, teachers, and the community by providing access to technology and opportunities through education.

1. Connectedness, Leadership and Peace Through Technology
Sri Lanka
Occidental College
Ama Peiris, Sri Lanka, Occidental College
This project set up set up a community learning and IT center at Gothamigama Kanishta
Vidyalaya, which is a school in rural Eastern Sri Lanka, by sustainably re-designing an existing classroom
space in the school. The center was set up to be run and managed by the school, empowering students,
teachers and parents to take ownership of the center, with the principal’s guidance, and in partnership
with a non-profit, Sri Lanka Unites.
Although I did not conduct any direct fundraising, I received several in-kind donations and
services free of charge. I was able to form a strong partnership with a local computer manufacturing
company called E-Wis Information Systems Limited, which supported the project by providing a very
generous discount on the computers purchased, and donating five extra laptop computers to the center.
In addition, the company helped with organizing several training programs for the students, and
repaired several broken computers which were at the school, free of charge. Furthermore, I worked with
the company to organize a field trip for the students to visit the E-Wis factory, located a few hours away
from the school, which allowed students to understand the process by which computers are
manufactured. Furthermore, the company hires primarily students from that region, and the trip served
as an incredible opportunity for students to witness firsthand the possibilities available to them through a
career in technology. Another organization that supported the project was the Sri Lanka Chamber of
Commerce, which donated furniture to the computer lab. In addition the non-profit Sri Lanka Unites
supported the center by training the student leaders and teachers at the school, carrying out workshops
on a diverse range of topics including ethnic reconciliation, IT and leadership. Finally, a family friend of
mine, who was also an engineer supported the project by carrying out all the wiring and electrical work
for the sight.
d. Provide details about how your project actually worked. Were there unanticipated difficulties? Budget
constraints? Language or cultural barriers? What worked well? What didn’t work well? How many
people benefited or will benefit from your project? Who are these people? What is the long-term impact
and sustainability of this project? Is there a future for your project?
Gothamigama Kanishta Vidyalaya has a student population of 365 students. I worked primarily
with around 100 of these students, who were in grades 8 to 11. The project was implemented over a seven
week period, out of which I spent five weeks living in the village, near the school premises. During my
first few weeks in the village, I aimed to set up a solid support structure within the school for the project.
I met the principal of the school and the IT teacher who would primarily support me with the project, and
communicated my timeline and plan of action to them. I also worked with the teacher and principal to set
up a ‘leadership team’ of students who took responsibility for coordination of the classes and workshops
that I would conduct. They would be the primary means of communication between me and the students.
During this time, we concurrently began the process of refurbishment and renovation of the
classroom in order for it to be able to accommodate the computers and other equipment. Although I
would have ideally liked to have this process finished sooner so that I could have used the center as a

2. space to carry out my workshops and classes, there were several unanticipated challenges that made the
refurbishment process longer, and even more costly than initially anticipated. For example, after primary
inspections, we discovered that the existing classroom did not have adequate electrical wiring to
effectively house the computers and air conditioning, and also needed to be tiled because the current
floor was extremely dusty and would have proved an issue for the computers. However, I managed to re-
work the schedule, postponing the IT classes and instead focusing on conducting leadership and
workshops on design thinking. Furthermore, the students were encouraged to be involved in the process
of tiling and wiring the classroom, which they were more than excited to do. One of the parents of a
student in the school was hired to do the tiling, and a family friend helped set up the wiring for the
classroom.
Another challenge that I faced during the initial process of setting up the center was establishing
a wifi connection within the lab. Before starting the project, I had reached out to a local cellphone
providing company, who had promised that they would support my project by setting up a wifi
connection in the lab, free of charge. However, when the agents visited the school, we discovered that the
region that the school was in was so remote that it did not get adequate signals to be able to set up a wifi
connection. We made several further attempts with larger antennae and routers, but they all proved
unsuccessful. This was a pretty harsh set back for me, because establishing a wifi network within the
center had been a very important factor for me, and had been a key component of several of the
workshops that I had planned for the students. However, I had to manage with just a few dongles
instead, and re-tailored my classes to accommodate the change. Although the students are managing
with the dongles, I am still attempting to reach out to other service providers to see if there is anything
that can be done to establish a more permanent, stable internet connection for the lab.
One of the elements of the project that worked really well were the classes and workshops that I
conducted over a period of five weeks, in collaboration with the non profit, Sri Lanka Unites. The classes
were divided into three fundamental themes: Hard skills in Information Technology, Leadership and
Communication, and Innovative and Design thinking. The goal of these classes were to empower
students to think differently about technology and how it could be used to explore opportunities
available to them in any field that they were interested in, give them hard skills to be able to understand
and use technology, and encourage them to think creatively about how they could use technology and
innovative thinking to solve the problems that they saw around them. I also worked with the students to
encourage them to think about the long term sustenance and maintenance of the computer center. With
our facilitation, the students came up with guidelines for use, goals, and a vision for the center which we
later displayed in the room. Finally, we carried out a few lectures and workshops for the parents and
teachers at the school to illustrate to them the benefits and importance of technology, with the goal that
they would encourage students to explore the field, and possibly be inspired themselves. These classes
and workshops proved to be one of the key strengths of the project. I anticipate that the computer lab that
was set up will continue to benefit the students at the school, and teachers and parents in the local
community for a long time to come. Apart from the direct benefits of the students being exposed to
computer technology, which greatly broadened their horizons and opportunities for work and education,
the project provided a space for many different groups and communities to come together and unite in a
commitment to the students of the school. For example, the non profit Sri Lanka Unites, and the
computer manufacturing company E-Wis Information Systems Limited continue to be committed to the
school and its students, conducting check in’s and workshops every few months at the school.

3. Section II a. In one or two paragraphs, address each of the following questions: How do you define
peace? How does or will your project contribute to peace? Short-term? Long-term? Has your project
changed the way you think about the world? How has it changed you?
This project defines peace in two ways: as empowerment, and as unity through profound commitment to
a shared cause. On one hand, the students I met and got to know through this experience were
phenomenally intelligent, courageous, determined individuals and I am sincerely convinced that their
empowerment and education will create powerful ripple effects in their community. Similarly, I was
incredibly blown away by the support shown to the project and the willingness of individuals not only
from within the local community, but from around the country to invest their time, money and resources
in ensuring the empowerment of the students of this school. During the weeks of the project, I lived
within and as a member of the community, and was amazed by the incredible hospitality, the sincere
kindness and generosity of the parents, teachers, and other members of the community. For the entirety
of my stay, I did not have to worry about a single meal, since parents took turns to be in charge of my
meals and other needs, and each day, without fail, I would have delicious dishes and local delicacies
brought to my place. (After several attempts at trying to put a stop to it, I gave up and enjoyed the
incredible privilege.) This experience taught me that peace can be found anywhere, it simply requires a
shared vision as a community.
b. Complete this section with a one to two sentence personal statement, suitable for use as a quotation,
addressing how and why this project was valuable and what was the most important thing you learned
as a result. Indicate student’s name for quote attribution.
This experience implementing my Davis Project illustrated to me that the empowerment of the children
and students of our communities is a shared purpose that we can and must rally around- it is a unified
vision from which peace stems.
Ama Peiris