Helping Sri Lankan schools (From Stroud News and Journal)

Helping Sri Lankan schools

1:04pm Thursday 19th July 2007

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COMPUTERS donated by Stroud families and businesses have been winging their way across the globe for use by underprivileged Sri Lankan communities.

In April, Stroud businessman Lakshman Gallage launched an ambitious campaign with the Rotary Club of Stroud to gather 100 unwanted computers from around the Five Valleys and send them to rural schools for use by children and villagers.

The first consignment of 11 refurbished machines are now up and running in three schools and a second batch of 20 are to be shipped to four schools this week.

And now Mr Gallage, 39, a father-of-two from Uplands, has extended the campaign and is appealing for unwanted digital cameras too.

"We were hoping for some nice pictures of happy children using the computers and it suddenly occurred to us to look around for unwanted digital cameras to send so we could be sure of getting our pictures," said Mr Gallage, who owns the Snax 24 shop at the BP garage in Stroud's London Road.

"The first computers were enough to set up two schools with a useful computer network which will transform the prospects for the children, many of whom would have had little chance of ever using a computer during their school career."

Anyone who wishes to donate a computer, which should be Pentium III or better, or a digital camera should contact Lakshman Gallage on 07879 040102.

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