New facilities: IT centre set up to update students on global conservation efforts

The project was a result of collaboration between WWF, PFAN and 14 local organizations.

KARACHI: Sindh’s indigenous culture and its rich folklore wisdom would surely help the global environmental conservation movement, but lack of access to information technology in the province’s rural areas has created an invisible barrier to this information transfer.

In an effort to make amends in this area, the Pai Forest Action Network (PFAN) has set up an information technology centre in Sakrand, Nawabshah, in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan’s Indus for all programme.

“There is a lot of local wisdom over here when it comes to conserving forests, effects of natural disasters on wildlife, and the productive use these plants can be put in during these disasters. We want the rest of the world to know this information too,” said the director of Indus Silicon, Ali Hassan.

The newly inaugurated PAFN IT centre is equipped with ten computers, one printer, ten UPS systems and an electric power generator. The project was made possible by contributions from 14 local organisations, in addition to those by the PAFN and WWF.

The centre currently offers training courses in English language, Microsoft Office and typing and charges students a fee of Rs500 per month.

The duration for the computer courses is four months, while that for English is six months.

“We want to ensure that students are able to use globally available information in their studies. Therefore, we intend to make it available in Urdu and Sindhi,” said Hassan. “We have so much talent here that we want to cultivate and then share with the rest of the world.”

WWF’s programme coordinator, Nasir Ali Panhwar, said that this initiative is not only intended to focus on conserving the environment, but to also tackle issues like lack of availability of health care and educational facilities and of adequate livelihood opportunities. Panhwar said that these issues are a result of “poor natural, physical, financial and human capital conditions over here.”

Sakrand Monotechnical College’s principal, Mukhtiar Tunio, PFAN chairman, Ameen Keerio and social worker, Azeem Rind, also spoke on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2012.