Own Your Laptop Challenge

This project aims to bridge the gap between urban and rural communities, particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19. It was observed that while cities were adapting better due to access to technology like smartphones and laptops, villages faced challenges and limited access to such resources. This initiative has been instrumental in empowering rural youth and showcasing unseen local sites such as homestays and restaurants, managed by locals, through social media platforms managed by motivated young individuals trained by Chap Foundation. View impact here.

In this project we do the following activities:

1. Digital skilling by travellers

With the support of travellers and volunteers, who also serve as ambassadors, we have created business opportunities for local families through effective social media marketing strategies. The “Own Your Laptop” program has a vast scope for impact, we have 10 to 15 volunteers actively engaged in skill and knowledge sharing initiatives within the village community.

2. Award refurbished laptops donated by our donors

Furthermore, during our festivals like Shobla Banana and Kala Bhitoli, we roll out competition for girls of 14-21years to get a laptop. The process can be seen here.

View the smile of the recipient of the laptops here.

This is followed by skill enhancement through professional teams of photographers, filmmakers, and editors. Our goal for the future is to further bridge the urban-rural gap, creating more livelihood opportunities and fostering entrepreneurship skills. A notable success story involves a traveller introducing platforms like Fiverr and LinkedIn to students, leading to business opportunities and the creation of websites by a girl from a family-run homestay, who learned through Zoom calls with volunteers.

3. Award Laptops to Visually impaired girls

Moving forward, we aim to provide more laptops to visually impaired students, as we believe that access to such technology and software can significantly transform their lives by enabling learning and growth opportunities. You can see h magic here.