You must have been hearing and reading a lot about Mahabir Pun lately; but do you know who exactly he is, what has he done so far, what does he want to do now and why does he always seem to be so dissatisfied with the government? Well, let’s find out.
Who is Mahabir Pun and what has he done so far?
Born in Nangi Village in Myagdi, the son of a British Gurkha spent his childhood attending a village school which lacked all the basic infrastructures required for students; and grazing cattle and sheep that he never actually enjoyed. He always wanted to pursue better education which was an impossible thing in his remote village. It was after his father retired from the British Army and moved to Chitwan when his dream of studying in a better school came true. After finishing high school, he started teaching in schools and continued in the profession for a decade until he got admission to study Bachelor’s level at the University of Nebraska in United States.
After staying away for quite some years, Pun returned home in 1992. He arrived in his village with a zeal to do something innovative. His first step towards his dream of making his village as developed and modern as the cities was establishing a school where he began teaching as well. To make his students be able to compete with the world, he initiated computer education in the school for which he had hard working days and sleepless nights for months. He had to communicate with his friends and some organizations abroad to have them donate some computers required at the school. In order to communicate with them, he had to take a journey of two days to Pokhara to send them an email. But all his hardships and efforts bore fruits and he did receive some computers for the school. The next challenge was lack of electricity for which he had to set up two small hydro generators, donated by Singaporean climbers on their way to Mt. Everest, in a nearby steam. And hence, the school children were able to study computers, which was a dream turn into reality in such a remote village. But that was not it for Pun who had something else too in his mind. He now wanted to connect the village with telephone and the internet as well.
Pun had a journey full of hurdles in front of him but he was determined to take it. He communicated with BBC and asked for ideas and their assistance. Once BBC ran his story, volunteers and donors from various parts of United States and Europe responded and helped him to rig a wireless connection between Nangi and the neighboring village of Ramche, using a handmade TV dish antennae mounted in trees as there were no polls available there.
After all the efforts, the villages were now online. Soon, some more help began to pour in and that’s when Pun took the opportunity and expanded wireless network in various other villages in Myagdi. He even donated various computers to many of the schools in these villages that he received from abroad. Now, it’s not only the local people and the students who are benefited but also the health workers, foreign visitors and tourists who all have the access to the internet.
Pun’s works have not only given the opportunity of distance learning and online educational services when there’s such a scarcity of qualified teachers in these remote villages but has also developed communication links for yak farmers and the people involved in trekking and tour in the area. He has not only succeeded in creating a self-sustaining educational system, but also a range of new economic and social enterprises to support these remote communities.
Awards and International Recognition
Mahabir Pun has received a number of international awards so far, the major ones being Ashoka Fellow by the Ashoka Foundation in 2002; Overall Social Innovations Award from the Global Ideas Bank in 2004; also known as the Noble Prize of Asia, the Magsaysay Award in 2007; honorary degree as Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nebraska in 2007; and the Jonathan B. Postel Service Award by the Internet Society in 2014.
What does he want to do now?
Just like many of us, he wants to see a developed Nepal where the people can receive an international level of education and don’t need to move abroad in search of ‘better’ opportunities. Just like us, he wants to see a Nepal that is free of load-shedding and many of other such problems. But while the most of us just ‘think’ about it, he is determined to make this dream a reality and that is why he wants to establish ‘National Innovation Center’ with the vision of making Nepal a developed nation within 30 years with the development in information and technology. The first step towards this dream project is establishing a hydro power project that would cost NPR 500 Million and would produce 10 to 15 megawatt of electricity, that will help run the National Innovation Center in the long term.
Why is he upset with the government?
Pun has been doing everything that he can for the betterment and development of the country that actually the government should be doing. But still, he has not received any support from the government in any form for any of his projects so far and the same is happening with the National Innovation Center as well.
How can you help him turn this dream into a reality?
After receiving no support from the government, Pun is now seeking the support of the fellow citizens in turning this dream of making Nepal a developed country into a reality. You can donate any amount that you wish to in the following bank account to help in starting the hydro power project:
Bank Account Holder: National Innovation Center
Bank Account: 00100105201853
Bank: Everest Bank, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu
SWIFT Code: EVBLNPKA
The Center is expecting an amount of Rs. 50-100 from students, USD 50 from students studying abroad, Rs. 1000 from employees, Rs. 5000 from small and medium business persons, Rs. 1,00,000 from banks and other big business houses; and USD 100 from Nepalese working abroad. If you wish to make a commitment, you can fill up a form on the official website of National Innovation Center HERE.
If you have any queries, you can visit the office at Shiva Bhakta Marga – 304, Lazimpat in Kathmandu or make a call to any of these numbers: +977-1-4428090 or +977-9841592361. Or you can directly email Mahabir Pun at [email protected].
Can you trust Mahabir Pun?
After reading everything about him and everything he has been doing for the development of the nation, if you still have this question in mind; let us just tell you something about him. He had won about USD 50,000 prize money along with the Magsaysay Award which he could have used for his personal needs but instead, he used the entire amount for the projects in the remote villages. It might be hard to believe but Pun lives in a rented house with his family. He could have collected a lot of wealth for himself but unlike most of us, that’s not what he wants to do in his life. What he wants is a developed Nepal and for that, he has been working day and night.
Apart from that, he recently donated his own 28 ropanee (153328 sq. feet approx) land to the center. He announced the same from his Facebook handle. Read the description here.
If this incredible story of a village boy who spent his childhood grazing cattle and grew up to change the fate of the rural Nepal and got honored with the most prestigious award in Asia, doesn’t make you believe in the dream of a prosperous and developed Nepal and doesn’t make you want to be a part of this process; nothing else will.
