This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.
Thirteen villages in northern Cambodia now have e-mail through aproject that organizers hope other countries will copy. A groupcalled American Assistance for Cambodia organized the project. Itsays the idea could serve as a way to help reduce economicdifferences between rich and poor nations.
A group of schools and a medical center in Ratanakiri Provincehave been equipped with solar panels. These devices capture energyfrom the sun to power computers in the schools. Students useelectronic mail to write messages to villages nearby. The messagesare sent over the Internet, but with the help of what are called”motomen.”
Every day, five people ride motorcycles into the villages tocollect outgoing messages and bring incoming mail. The motorcyclesare equipped with a computer to store the data. At the end of theday, each “motoman” returns to a computer center in the localcapital, Ban Lung. The information is sent from there by satelliteto the Internet.
All this work is not just so students can write to nearbyvillages. Currently, a person in Ratanakiri Province earns aboutforty dollars a year. Organizers say they hope the project will helpfarmers and villagers sell their products on the world market overthe Internet.
In addition, the computers serve as a learning tool for hundredsof students. Local citizens can use the computers to communicatewith the government. And newspapers can send their storieselectronically to the villages.
Local health care workers also use the computers. Theycommunicate with doctors in other parts of Cambodia and in theUnited States. This means they are able to send medical pictures anddiscuss possible treatments for patients.
A company in the United Statesdeveloped the technology for the “motoman” project. The company iscalled First Mile Solutions. Organizers say a team of thee peopleput the project into action in one month. The technology cost aboutfive-hundred dollars per village.
You can learn more about the project on the company Web site. Theaddress is firstmilesolutions.com. The postal address is First MileSolutions, four-three-two Columbia Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts,zero-two-one-four-one, U-S-A.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss. This is Robert Cohen.