President unveils 500^th Nenasala in Samanthurai   

[Friday, January 04, 2008 - 8.40 GMT]     

President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened 500^th Nenasala center in Samanthurai via satellite at a function held at the Presidential Secretariat today (January 04). 

“Internet is a wealth of information and I am happy to see that our rural children who otherwise cannot afford such facilities can have access to a wider world of knowledge today through Nenasala centers”, said President Rajapaksa addressing the gathering. 

When we were young we had only books to develop our knowledge. But today's youth have the opportunity to expand their horizons using modern technologies.  

President also said that the ultimate target of this project is to set up 1000 Nenasala centers island-wide with 3 centers at least in each Divisional Secretariat.

Nenasala centers provide access to Internet, telephones and other information services to the public in rural communities. Nanasalas give the rural community quick methods of transferring documents through fax or email. The centers also help improve IT literacy in the country and bridge the digital divide by providing IT training for rural communities at a minimal cost. 

The Nenasala program was launched in 2005 with the first centre being set up at the Kirivehera Temple in Kataragama.