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Background
SMILES is a rural based project managed. The main objective of SMILES is to introduce and implement the combination of technology and socio-economical interventions that may lead to an increased living standard for the people in the rural villages of Nepal. It is a pleasure to let you know that SMILES has been selected to be featured once again at the Clinton Global Initiative University Annual General Meeting, 2011.
The Pilot Phase I of SMILES was launched in September 2009. Though a small budget, it was a landmark in the field of energy development and sanitation. 40 watts solar panels were installed in two different schools and a toilet was built in the remote village, Kalimati, Sindhuli District, Nepal. It has given us profound results. Specially, the weak students who are residing around the school utilize their leisure evening time (after their day of schooling and household job) for tutoring in the classroom, under the bright light we donated. The adult literacy classes at night will also be using it. The single toilet that we built is assisting three households. The areas that were seen filled with stools some months ago are now turning grassy green and fresh. This change has obviously left other villagers thoughtful, calculating on the difference in having a toilet. Similarly, with the whole lot of possibilities of the development in this rural part of the country because of the project Creating SMILES - building the Nation, people have become more positive toward the new opportunities that can come to their lives in the forms of social, economic and personal development. This can also be seen in the increased number of school enrollment. With this positive and inspiring feedback, we wished to move to next phase. This was called Pilot Phase II and it was launched during June, 2010. In this phase, we have focused on computers, computer education, health and sanitation, school infrastructure development and solar electrification. We wanted to provide the schools with computer labs and computers and then we wanted to increase the number of available toilets.
The computer education program has now been initiated in two different schools, Binayak School of Kalimati and Chilaunekharka School of Chilaunedada. Both of the schools were each supplied with a 40 watt solar panel during the Pilot Phase I. Since the number of students had increased in these schools after we launched our project in this most rural part of the country we had another thing to worry about before we began our second pilot phase and that was the availability of the enough classrooms for the students. Both of these schools were running under bad financial conditions and it was impossible to build the needed classrooms by the school
SMILES’ Computer Labs
administrations themselves. So, before we moved onto establishing the computer labs, we decided to construct a classroom in each of these schools. With the funding provided from our well-wishers in Sweden, we were able to construct two classrooms measuring 5*4 m2, by the end of October, 2010.
Each school room was constructed with Nepali rupees 40,000 (app. $ 550), about one third of the amount government would spend on same work. Monetary funding was matched by the free physical labor and the support that was provided by the excited villagers. People left their household and farm works and participated in this phase. When asked what led them to work so enthusiastically people were telling us that they have already seen enough hardships of illiteracy and so they wanted their children and grandchildren to get the education and that is why they were ready to do anything that was needed for the completion of the pilot phase II and SMILES itself.
A computer lab has now been constructed in each of the schools at a cost of NRs 140,000 (little less than $2000). Each school has two desktop computers with 15.6” LCD monitors consuming less energy, and four 40 watt solar panels to run the computers. With the use of solar power we have been successful to develop these two schools as the mini energy centers with 200 watts of power available in each schools in the area where people have never seen electric lamps
. 
People excited and interested about the new computer labs
One of the most important results of the second pilot phase has been the creation of two jobs as the computer instructors. We have chosen two unemployed local villagers to work as the computer teachers. We have given them the basic computer training and they are assigned to spread the gained knowledge to colleagues, students and villagers. Nominal fees collected from the users will be given to these teachers as their salary and we believe that this has given us an insight on the ways to reduce the poverty in one of the poorest countries.
The school teachers, students and the villagers are now being given the basic computer courses by these two computer teachers. The estimated number of users of the computer facility is estimated to be about 400.
With the enormous positive results that we got from the construction of just a single toilet we were intrigued about the idea of increasing the number of public toilets. With this objective, we have built three toilets in Kalimati village which is currently being used by 12 families. 
Construction of toilets during the second pilot phase
Moreover, we are sponsoring two students from poor background to study in the major cities of Nepal. Madhav Karki is pursuing his higher secondary education in Pokhara and Sujan Chaulagain has been admitted to a private school in Kathmandu for the primary education after the untimely demise of his father in a heart shattering accident.
Pilot Phase II which has been completed by the month of December, 2010 has paved our way for our immediate next phase in which we want to set up a wireless communication infrastructure. Wireless technologies will provide internet, VoIP and telemedicine facility. It will solve problems in the areas of education, health and communication. It will be an effective tool for the social development. Using this technology, the village will be connected to the global communication nexus. The unheard voices will be made heard. Moreover, e- commerce will be used to increase the earning of the local people.
Mini Energy Centers
