Laptops on one-way trek to Nepal | Fraser Coast News | Local News in Fraser Coast

Nepalese USQ Fraser Coast student Swechha Rai, far right, with Lars Olsen and Michelle Hay, has worked as a volunteer nurse in an orphanage in her homeland of Nepal.

DAILY power restrictions will no longer stop the children at Nepal’s Forget Me Not orphanage from practising their computer skills.

The home is about to receive 10 laptop computers donated by the University of Southern Queensland Fraser Coast in conjunction with Dell.

The children’s home, which was founded by Hervey Bay man Lars Olsen, has only one desktop computer at the moment.

Quite often it has access to power for only two to three hours a day.

“It will be wonderful to have laptops because they will be able to be charged during the day when they have power and use them at night,” Mr Olsen said.

“It is very important for the children to improve their computer skills. Once they get better results it will open up more opportunities for the future.

“The level of literacy among Nepalese people in rural areas is astonishingly low.”

There are 21 girls at the Forget Me Not Children’s Home now but this will increase to 60 boys and girls once Forget Me Not opens its new Eco Village home next year.

USQ Fraser Coast international officer Michelle Hay arranged the donation of the laptops.

“Over the past 18 months I have heard many inspirational stories from our Nepalese students and have learnt about the hardships they and their families endure,” Ms Hay said.

These light-weight portable units will be ideal for the students to learn basic key board and word processing skills, which are an essential part of the education process.”