Transformation from a local village girl to an ICT expert

Laxmi Dhitang is a resident of Jahada rural municipality of Nawalparasi district. She is from a marginalized community living in a village far off from the town market. She was unconfident and introverted with little hope for her future.

In 2014, Jahada CLRC was established and the vacancy was announced for various staff positions including an ICT Administrator. Laxmi tried her luck with basic level computer skills for the post of ICT Administrator and to her surprise, got selected. She attained a series of capacity-building training for the position organized by READ Nepal. During her first session, the technical terms and troubleshooting procedures got her so nervous that she cried. She experienced so much self-doubt that she decided to quit, thinking she wouldn't be able to handle the responsibilities. Facilitators from READ offered her moral support and she endured. The training and the position of ICT Administrator at the center enabled her to become an independent, confident and respectable individual in her community. She is now a knowledgeable local ICT expert and people visit the library seeking solutions to any problems related to digital technology and computers. She has also trained scores of people in her community in basic computer skills including teachers, students, women, and children.

Laxmi feels proud that she has been able to teach digital skills to the deprived people in her community. The people in the community now have easy and free access to computers and digital technology. She is grateful that she received an opportunity to build a career in her own community and groom herself from a village girl to a local ICT expert.