Mahabir Pun

Mahabir Pun ( ne, महावीर पुन, ) is a Nepali researcher, teacher, social entrepreneur and an activist known for his work in applying wireless technologies to develop remote areas of the Himalayas, also known as the Nepal Wireless Networking Project. He is a widely known figure in Nepal, and his work has been recognized by the Ashoka Foundation, the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation, University of Nebraska, and Global Ideas Bank. He is a humanitarian whose work is inspiring many youths to return their own country and serve it for its development.

Early life and education

Mahabir Pun was born on January 22 1955 in Nangi, a remote village in the mountainous Myagdi District of western Nepal. He spent his childhood grazing cattle and sheep and attending a village school without paper, pencils, textbooks or qualified teachers. Traditionally, the local people had no education, and most men joined the British urkhaarmy. Mahabir Pun's life changed dramatically when his father, a retired Gurkha, took the remarkable step of moving the family to the southern plains of Nepal and investing their entire savings in his son's education. After finishing high school, Pun worked as a teacher for about 12 years in four schools, while supporting his brothers' and sisters' education. In 1989, after numerous applications to UK and US universities, he succeeded in gaining a partial scholarship to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, from which he graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in Science Education. After graduation, he returned to his native village, twenty-four years after having left there as a child. It was in Nangi that he recognized the critical need for sustainable education and began to formulate his goal of creating a high school to serve as a model for local educational and economic development. Pun founded the Himanchal High School with a special focus on computer education and other programs with income-generating capacity. He then returned to the University of Nebraska for a master's degree in Educational Administration, which he completed in 2001.In 2002 the aim of the project is to build a local communications network using wireless technology. The Project helps connect people in remote Himalayan communities with one another as well as the outside world. By 2006, through the Project, Pun was able to establish a Wi-Fi network to connect 13 mountainous villages to the Internet. The Project has now expanded to include over 175 remote villages in 15 districts of Nepal.

Educational and economic development

While in the United States of America, Pun had recognized that information technology had the potential to transform the education system and the economy of his village, and he had taken courses to acquire the skills needed to assemble, refurbish and use computers. On his return to Nepal, he successfully campaigned for the donation of used computers from Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, and the US, and powered them with two small hydro generators (donated by Singaporean climbers on their way to Mount Everest) installed in a nearby stream. Pun began teaching computer classes to students and fellow teachers, but it proved impossible to establish a telephone connection to the nearest city, Pokhara, and the Internet. Pun e-mailed the BBC
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