E-magine's work has so far seen it help communities in rural Sri Lanka and Cape York, Australia.
Read here about how E-magine made this happen.

The long road to Hathalawa

This is a picture of the road to the Hathalawa province. It stretched 12 kilometres from the main road and proved to be one of the roughest journeys of the trip. It was long and winding, it stopped at times and continued on again in an incomprehensible manner. Often the journey was delayed by buffalos, elephants and all manners of exotic wildlife. It was hard to believe that the kids belonging to the Hathalawa province would make this journey everyday with bare feet, we were having enough trouble in a car!

Lotus ponds

I couldn't begin to emagine how hard it was for the kids to traverse this road every day, on foot! There were some perks to the long and winding road though, we passed many ponds full of brilliant lotus'

Building the Hathalawa Centre

Due to the remoteness of the centres we were limited in the tools, machinery and specialized labour we could employ, many tradesman were not prepared to make the long journey to the remoter areas of Sri Lanka as their transit time and costs would simply not allow for it. I remember standing in front of the land that we were about to build upon and gathered around me were mothers, fathers, children, teachers and well wishers, it wasn’t exactly an elite team of qualified tradesman, and me as their leader, I was a medic not a structural engineer!

We did not have large cranes and jack hammers, instead in front of us lay basic tools, bricks, concrete, stone and wood for the main structure, and plaster, paint, nails, and a lot of hard work for the finish. We used student desks piled on top of each other one by one as make shift ladders and empty coconut shells as paint palates.

'Sandy' the sander

I must admit that my time with 'Sandy' the sander was not at all unpleasant.
Time to rethink my career path?

I never sensed any scepticism, but our well wishers were afraid that our meagre tools would not stretch far enough to build a working IT centre. I was also afraid, perhaps my enthusiasm had bitten off a little more than it could chew. From the beginning I was told by a chorus of people that 'it could not be done' that the areas we had ear marked just did not have the infrastructure to build let alone sustain an IT centre.

But as my mothers would say, "how do you eat an elephant... one bite at a time," as the days went by we chipped away at the work until it was approachable. I knew that if our team was going to entertain that this just might be achievable, that we just might be able to pull this off, I had to work like it was a certainty. With growing momentum on our side the monumental task was whittled away from 'impossible' to 'approachable' and finally to 'do-able'. Apart from the electrical work and some carpentry we were able to do everything else ourselves,
I was very proud of everyone involved in the Hathalawa IT centre.

Finishing up construction

We had to make sure there was pretty hefty security, hence the bars. But we wanted everything to be pretty, hence the paint. We were lucky to have the overwhelming support of the locals, who gave their time and smiles for free.

Celebrating the new centre

When all the hard work was completed, and the IT centre was up and running, we were warmly welcomed to the Hathalawa school with a procession and dancing for the centres inauguration.

Bullatha

During our exceptionally warm welcome at the school, we were presented with Bullatha, a traditional offering as a mark of respect.

The inauguration assembly

After watching the entire student body pile into the dilapidated main hall I couldn't help thinking how much adversity these young people have faced to even attend school. They had travelled from miles around often with bare feet to attend this small building, their teachers had educational manuals printed in the 70's, they had no running water and the school didn’t even have proper walls to shelter its students. One of the amazing things about this tiny school was the work ethic and focus of the children and the staff. I was told that an inordinately high percentage of the students at this school went on to University, beating its inner city affluent counter parts which I found extraordinary! During their classes all the kids stared intently at their teachers, the teachers too were focused and clearly commanded respect from their pupils. I think that education still serves as a ‘ticket out’ from such adversity, this is why all the students and teachers take their education so seriously.

I have myself been very conscious of being as productive as possible. I believe that as well as being systematic and efficient (or at least trying to be!) there are also external psychological factors that greatly influence productivity (as is the case at the Hathalawa school). If you are proactive, it is simply not enough to break up your day into smaller 30 minute or 15 minute blocks assigning tasks to each block, there are other forces at play that may be ‘tinkered with’ in order to become more productive. For instance, when considering the Hathalawa School it is indeed their adversity or struggle that is boosting their productivity or progress (essentially what Frederick Douglas once said in a famous quote). I think the relationship is something like the graph below;

When we arrived in Sri Lanka I purposely chose to live in the villages, no air conditioning, humble Hessian sacks as make shift beds and interesting toilet facilities to say the least! I felt that if we embraced adversity then we too would be forced to be more productive and more focused. I called this 'my synthetic struggle', if we had stayed in hotels I think we may have lost our focus and work would not have been completed at such a blinding pace. It seemed that the kids at these schools were teaching me about life in exchange for the IT facilities we were giving them!

The new IT teacher

This is the teacher who would be teaching IT to the students of the new centre.
I thought he looked a lot like a guy who used to host a television program called The Curiosity Show.

Inspiring!

In the inauguration of the IT centre a young boy called Suresh stood up in front of his school and delivered a speech that moved and inspired me (The full speech can be viewed on the video page of this site). We were all tired after completing the laborious work of building but his speech reenergized me with a new intensity in which I brought to the next project. Suresh had never touched a computer in his life and was grateful that he may have the opportunity now to have a better education.

In a previous entry I talked about external factors that influence productivity. My theory is that inspiration is also intimately linked with productivity, graph below. I was amazed how one little boys speech and a schools gratitude could energize and invigorate our efforts. The Kottapitiya school seemed like a piece of cake compared to the Hathalawa school. We had done it all before, we knew more about the wiring, we knew what and where to buy raw materials and I think we also knew that the job was doable from the start.

With this is mind I often wondered what my, or indeed anyone else’s life would be like if we made the effort to be constantly inspired. What if were to put into our routines on a daily basis the act of seeking inspiration. Brush your teeth in the morning, have a shower and read or watch something really inspiring. I think that people would attend work/life with a greater burning intensity and productivity. I think in time the effects would be remarkable, I think the limiting step in all of this is to find something genuinely inspiring each day but I think it would make for a great social experiment!

Dream no small dreams

A good friend of mine once told me, "dream no small dreams, for small dreams do not have the power to move the hearts of men". This famous quote was very timely as the foundation was still very much in its infancy. I became aware of the lack of IT infrastructure leading to a lack of opportunity for citizens of many different developing nations. I had seen how our small efforts in regional Sri Lanka would go a long way in changing the lives of thousands of people. It became apparent that there was a desperate need for Emagine on a global level. As soon as I realised the truth and importance of this great need, I felt like the scales had dropped from my eyes and I saw the purpose of the foundation and my role in it more clearly. I was excited and inpatient for work to be completed on a faster and more widespread scale. However, only days after having this realisation and being full of excitement and energy I stumbled over the sign attached to a beam in the main hall of the Kottapitiya school. It read 'Rome was not built in a day' which served as a great reminder that in order to make an impact on a global scale we must not forget the fundamentals and systematic approach which made the initial centres sustainable and successful. I look forward to the future and the change we may make.

Emagine wins global award!

Chosen by a distinguished jury in the category of "Humanitarian and/or voluntary leadership," Dr. Sam Prince and the Emagine foundation was honored at The Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) Ceremony during the Junior Chambers International World Congress in New Delhi, India, on November 5, 2008.

"The Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) Program serves to formally recognize young people who excel in their chosen fields and exemplify the best attributes of the world's young people. By recognizing these young people, JCI encourages them and others to seek excellence and serve others. Thus, JCI contributes to prepare better leaders, who will create better societies.

"Honorees selected in past years (e.g H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah II of Jordan, Anthony 'Tony' Robbins, Mr Hugh Evans (Young Australian of the year) have represented the heights of progress in numerous human endeavours. Many have gone on to even greater achievements. All have continued to serve humanity in a great variety of ways" - Junior Chambers website

For Ceremony footage click on video tab of Emagine website, For further information please visit; http://www.jci.cc/news/en/12466/%3Cb%3EDr-Sam-Prince-Received-2008-JCI-TOYP-Trophy-in-New-Delhi%3C/b%3E

Emagine in Vietnam

Today's meeting with the Ambassador for Vietnam, His Excellency Mr Nguyen Thanh Tan, was a great stride forward in the quest to improve the education of the children of a rural & remote community in Vietnam. His Excellency was very complimentary of the work being pioneered by Dr Sam Prince and the E-Magine Foundation. Commenting that 'IT is rapidly becoming very important in the education of the children of Vietnam', the Ambassador applauded the altruistic goals of E-Magine, and offered to aid the Foundation in selecting eligible schools to benefit from this great cause. His Excellency also offered to make the necessary governmental communications to expediate the development of the Vietnam branch of what is now an established global education initiative. Led by its Director to Vietnam, Mr Peter Truong, E-Magine now begins the task of making arrangements to complete the IT centre in a school yet to be selected in early 2009 - Adrian.

Welcome Stuart Cook, Emagine's new 'Emagineer'!

Stuart dedicates himself to assisting anyone who is in need of help. Intent on developing his charity work, Stuart is a member of both Rotary and Junior Chamber International. At Sydney District level he contributes in these organisations to long-term strategy for membership growth and succession planning. In doing so Stuart interacts with the mature and youthful of every profession.

Stuart has a strong background in the management of projects and events and is looking forward to this new challenge of working with the amazing individuals already working with the Emagine Foundation.

He joins the Emagine Foundation at an exciting time, where he will be heading up the next project in Sri Lanka. The goal is an ambitious one – to fit out 10 schools in 20 days with computer labs. The project is already in its planning stages with both Sam Prince and Stuart landing in Sri Lanka on the 7th June this year.

Dr Sam Prince wins the prestigious Sir Edward Dunlop fellowship to complete aid work in Sri Lanka in 2009.

Dr Sam Prince wins the prestigious Sir Edward Dunlop fellowship to complete aid work in Sri Lanka in 2009. Through a national selection criteria one fellowship is awarded annually to strengthen Australia – Asia relations annually.

"The Dunlop Asia Fellowships provide opportunities for young Australians who are committed to making a lasting contribution to Australia-Asia relations." – Dunlop Fellowship website.

For further information please visit; http://www.asialink.unimelb.edu.au/our_work/corporate__and__public/dunlop_fellowships/current_and_past_fellows

7th June 2009

Another journey begins...

As we embark upon our journey to open up ten It centres in the regional areas surrounding the Kandy district in Sri Lanka we have more than our fair share of ‘thankyou’s’ to the amazing people who made this trip possible special thanks go to Dr Nihal Premeratna and Dr Jayantha Weeresekera as well as a very warm thankyou to Kusum and Mahindra Wijeratne for their gracious support and advice.

Sri Lanka Trip: Wednesday 10th June

Dr Sam Prince and Stuart Cook have had a busy first two days after arriving in Sri Lanka. Stuart was fortunate enough to meet with the private secretary to the Hon. Minister of Education, Premassara Epasinghe, who expressed a great desire to work with the Emagine Foundation's new goal to fit out 100 schools in Sri Lanka with computers within the next three years.

Another great outcome of meeting another amazing individual, Dr Dayan Rajapakse, a doctor, turned businessman who runs an IT training company and kindly agreed to provide free training to one teacher in every school which the Emagine Foundation works with.

Today, a local businessman in Kandy, Hearth Bandula, drove Sam and Stuart to Madulakalle School in the village of Arathana.

Here Sam and Stuart could see the amazing work the Emagine's team had already completed, as all that was left to be done was the electrical fixtures, painting and installation of computers. Currently these school children have to learn IT literacy as part of their schooling, without the use of computers. Both Sam and Stuart can see that the foundation's work here will have an immediate impact on the education of the children of Madulakalle School.

Sri Lanka Trip: Thursday 11th June

Dr Sam Prince and Stuart Cook today were taken by the IT Officer for the Kandy region, Sanjeowa Bandasa, to view not only computers bought by the foundation but also four of the ten schools that are to receive the support of the E-magine Foundation.

The schools of Eragama, Dharmapala, Bosella and Hungampola ranged between 150-300 students, sometimes catering from kinder garden all the way through to Year 13. Sam and Stuart along with the help from their wonderful hosts, Mahendra and Kusum Wijeratne, spoke to each of the principals of the schools as well as some of the children. They are very grateful to the Emagine Foundation for the computers they are to receive and explained how this would help them to succeed throughout their schooling.

The Foundation have decided to profile some of the children and over the next few years to continue to stay in touch and follow them through their education and how IT has impacted their lives.

From left: The narrow road had some interesting obstacles to hurdle; New computer room, without the computers; Children from Bosella School; Sam speaking with the children of Eragma School.

The evening brought two doctors, Dr Udeni Rajapakse and Dr Jayantha Weerasekera, to the accommodation where Sam and Stuart are staying. These doctors, led by Dr Jayantha, have been instrumental in sourcing and liaising with the schools and organising wholesalers of computers and equipment. Discussions took place about exciting new ventures, which are now in the pipeline to help improve the education of children throughout Sri Lanka and other schools around the world who fall within the reach of the Emagine Foundation.

Sri Lanka Trip: Friday 12th June

Dr Sam Prince, Stuart Cook and our new Director for Sri Lanka, Dr Jayantha, today officially handed over the computers to the principals of 9 of the 10 schools within the Kandy region. The ceremony was held at the regional office of the education department, where the local director for education headed up proceedings.

The principals were very grateful to the E-magine foundation and encouraged us to continue helping the other schools in the region as the work would change the lives of so many children. The E-magine foundation has the full support of the principals and education department for the region which will help to decrease the time it will take to achieve our the Foundation's dream of fitting out 100 schools with computers over the next 3 years.

The afternoon saw Sam and Stuart return to the school of Dharmapala and give the room to be fitted with computers, a fresh coat of paint.

From left: Dr Sam Prince addressing the audience of school principals; The equipment; Painting ourselves into a corner; The school kids having a go.

One unlikely turn of events came during the packing up and cleaning stage after painting had finished – due to a miscommunication through the language barrier, both Stuart and Sam washed their hands in what they were told was turps but in fact paint thinner! This caused several hours of discomfort due to minor chemical burns on their hands and arms. Not to worry they are both okay and laughing about the event, but are expecting to lose most of their skin on their hands in the coming days.

As Stuart is a Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Sydney Cove, both he, Sam and Jayantha visited the Rotary Club of Kandy Heritage, where they were warmly welcomed and through talking with the members about some potential joint projects on the horizon. The E-magine Foundation thanks the Rotary Club of Kandy Heritage for their hospitality and look forward to working with them in the Future.

Sri Lanka Trip: Monday 15th June – the start of something new

Dr Sam Prince, Stuart Cook along with the help of others have decided that their work in Sri Lanka will take a slightly different path than first intended. They have also decided to use the computers as a medium to also educate and train the children on first aid for dengue fever (which is currently killing hundred's of Sri Lankans) and snake bites (Sri Lanka has the highest mortality rate from snake bites in the world).

It was through the story from the family we were staying with and how their last caretaker had died from a snake bite. The sad part of the story was that the villagers, instead of taking him to the hospital, were running around looking for the snake! Upon hearing this story, we realised that the energy that the kids had for learning about technology would be best served by also giving them information that could save their life.

With this in mind, Sam and Stuart worked long into the night, researching snake bites and with Sam's medical knowledge, they constructed a presentation for the children for the following day's trip.

This day we believe, at the emagine foundation, will be an important one in our history, as it may very well expand and magnitude of their projects

Sri Lanka Trip: Tuesday 16th - Thursday 18th June

The next three days were but a blur to the two young Australians, Dr Sam Prince and Stuart Cook, visiting 9 out of the 10 schools fit out with IT centres. There they implemented their new approach and taught and trained approximately 1,000 students, teachers and parents on basic first aid of dengue fever and snake bites.

They both were overwhelmed with some schools gratitude towards the foundation's contribution of computers – at a couple of schools, the children, parents and teachers all stood in two lines, forming a guanlet of applause as Sam and Stuart walked through.

It was moments such as these that both Sam and Stuart truly understood how needed and appreciated these computers were for not only the children but also the parents and teachers in retaining the school's number of children, as some children's parents move the children to schools with a greater amount of facilities.

From left: Children eager to help, but as have never ever seen a computer can be seen here putting in back to front; All the kids ready to hear Sam and Stuart's presentation

Stuart's Reflection on the Trip

Wow! What can I say, but what an amazing, memorable, truly worthwhile trip to be involved with.

This trip was my first time to Sri Lanka and although a 26 year long civil war, ending the month before, the fear of swine flu and dengue fever, was some of the warmest, most appreciative people I have ever met in my travels.

Sri Lanka itself is an amazing beautiful place where crazy driving through rolling hills, scattered with farmers and women picking tea is the norm, a place that in the coming years will become a tourist hub.

The environment in which the children studied in these rural schools placed them at an immediate disadvantage to their counterparts in the developed areas. Hearing this from the children, teachers and parents that made me realize how important technology is for these children and how I take it so much for granted. One particular remark from a parent "thank you so much for these computers, I now won’t have to have my child change schools" left me particularly touched.

Another area which really took me by surprise was the misunderstanding about the correct first aid for snake bites, especially as Sri Lanka has some of the deadliest snakes in the world (behind Australia). It was this addition to the trip that has really made the future of my work with the E-magine Foundation even more exciting.

But lastly as with every speech or report, one thanks the people who made this possible, and this is no exception. Firstly Sam Prince and his company whom I work for – Zambrero need to be thanked. It was through Sam's generosity and true passion for the cause, did he fully fund this entire trip with his own money. To the doctors on the ground who had selected the schools and prepared them so well for our arrival that we finished with a week to spare, it gives me great delight to honestly say that we will be able to in the next two years to reaching our goal of 100 schools.

Til next time,

Stuart Cook