When I left my previous job, I was able to see the role of IT in a broader sense, especially when I accompanied Chinthi in her work with disadvantaged communities. During that short period of time I was taught to look at things differently. This helped me understand my role in applying my knowledge in IT to address the needs of community and their development. I saw many opportunities to use IT for improving efficiency and effectiveness of development programmes. I was able to develop a comprehensive database based on the information available with five development organisations working with people with disabilities, having no such database in function at present. There are many gaps that can be supported by IT when disadvantaged communities are concerned. Of course, there is a huge interest among youth in the villages to enter this field. I do have many innovative ideas in bridging this gap. Taken into consideration the limitations in the organisations working in the fields of IT and development in the present context, being a member of pioneering team of laymen'sden I have the freedom to develop and test interventions with laypersons with interest and commitment to work with me.

Sarada Lanka Jayalath
Director – Soft Solutions