A Day in the Life Shaneel Pathak June 2002

Closing in on the digital divide

Growing up in the west side of Ottawa my parents encouraged me to explore the world - but now they say they have gave me too much freedom! In July I will be leaving for Papua New Guinea to volunteer with the World Wildlife Federation.

I invite you to take a peak at the challenges faced by people and the ecology of developing countries and what Canadians are doing to close the gap.

My first journal entry will be coming soon….

From Ottawa to Australia and back….

Growing up in Ottawa my curiosity of the world started early. Travelling was party of our family, first with road trips then longer road trips and finally travels to Asia and Europe.

During school, I spent 6 years in Air Cadets. After my first flight in a glider, I was hooked on flying and earned my wings. That has led me to taking up aerobatic flying, and recently competed at the Australian National Aerobatic championships.

After high school, I got itchy feet and decided to take a semester off and solo backpack through India, an incredible experience at 17! My travels took me north to Kullu-Manali, through Rajasthan, Ajanta and Ellora caves down through the backwaters of Kerala and to the southern most tip of India, Kanya Kumari.

During University, I had an opportunity to work in Salzburg, Austria through the IAESTA program. Salzburg is a very beautiful city, and job was exciting too - testing flight simulators.

In 1998 I graduated from Queen's University in Computer engineering and new the travel bug never left. I decided to travel before starting in the corporate world. My 6-month backpacking tour took me to the ruins of Ankor Wat in Cambodia, the temples in Laos and Thailand, scuba diving in Indonesia and rafting in Nepal.

After working as an IT Consultant with Accenture in Toronto, I was given the opportunity to work in Sydney Australia - how can I refuse! Working in Sydney, I got to experience the laid back culture of Aussies, lots of sun and surf and travel through the outback. I also had the chance to try something new, Ceroc dancing. Ceroc is similar to Modern Jive.

Finishing my work in Australia, I was not ready to head back to Canada.

It has been a personnel aspiration of mine to volunteer overseas, and after my many travels the urge grew more. The need for volunteers in the IT and Communications area is growing as non-government organizations (NGO's) realise the benefit of IT for enabling development but also the concern of the gap between the have's and have not of technology - commonly referred to as the "digital divide".

Canada is leading in closing the gap, Industry Canada and a coalition of 8 Canadian international developing agencies annually recruit IT volunteer for a 6 month posting through the Netcorps program (www.netcorps-cyberjeunes.org).

CUSO (www.cuso.org) has sponsored my position in Papua New Guinea (PNG) where I will be helping the World Wildlife Federation (www.wwf.org) at their Sepik Community Landcare project. Papua New Guinea, located in the South Pacific, north of Australia is considered one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. The Sepik Region has a similar ecosystem as the Amazon in South America or the Congo in Africa. With over 750 languages spoken in Papua New Guinea, it is also rich in cultural diversity.

The Sepik Landcare project works with local communities to provide a range of services, including technical scientific and conservation advice, health, education, training in small-scale business development, water supplies, planning services and other activities.

In July I will be leaving for PNG to help train the local WWF staff in supporting their network and computers. My posting will be at a research station in the rain forest, only accessible by river boat!