A working example of how the digital divide can be bridged for development is found in the relationship between the Digital Alliance Foundation and the Rising Star Outreach orgnisation (www.risingstaroutreach.org). The Rising Star Outreach provides valuable humanitarian care to the Leprosy-affected in India. Its noble efforts were recently showcased on the US Public Broadcasting System (PBS) programme “Breaking the Curse” hosted by Daryn Kagan. (www.breakingthecurse.tv). What is most poignant about this story is the impact on the children of the Leprosy-affected. Sadly, for many people, Leprosy is not seen as a disease but a curse for some wrong doing. Therefore, if any member of the family contracts the completely curable disease, the entire family is stigmatised. In India, the children of the Leprosy-affected are often left with only three options to survive: 1) begging, 2) stealing or 3) both.

Through the valiant efforts of the Rising Star Outreach,over 45 Leper Colonies have been established with a central boarding school for their children near Chennai. At this school, these children have access to a quality education and an opportunity to change their lives and the lives of their families in the process. The Digital Alliance is providing computers, internet connectivity and ultimately training that geared to prepare these children for internships and jobs in the growing Indian ICT Outsource sector. Once this occurs, these beggars without hope will be catapulted to the top of the earning pyramid. Digital education in this context will not be measured in the number lines of code they will produce but in the dramatic transformation in the quality of their lives. In one generation, the significant affects of Leprosy that has plagued communities for thousands of years will be dramatically altered.

In conclusion, the digital divide is a significant issue and barrier to development but it should not be contemplated from a perspective of merely being able to use a computer, the internet or a cell phone. The ramifications of the digital divide have a direct correlation to the elimination of human suffering around the world.

For more information please visit: www.ictefa.org