Local Software Engineer Returns Home to Nepal to Prove That Power is Knowledge

Seattle, WA, July 09, 2011 --(PR.com)-- A local software development engineer is preparing to embark on a four-day journey over a nearly 7,000-ft mountain pass, braving leeches, landslides, and monsoons—so that schoolchildren in a remote mountain village can have the same opportunities he did.

Tilak Pun, an engineer at Knowledge Mosaic Inc., a Seattle-based information technology company, will depart for his native Nepal on July 12th, taking the next step in his plan for Solar Energy for Shikha School. The school, of which Pun is a graduate, suffers frequent power outages, often leaving the students in the dark for days at a time. Along with co-worker Clif Swiggett and family, Pun plans to transport, assemble, and install ten solar panels—based off a prototype built and tested on the Knowledge Mosaic roof—to bring reliable energy to Shikha Secondary School. They will trek along the famed Annapurna Circuit and carry, with the help of Shikha students and several mules, over 1,400 pounds of equipment to an elevation of almost 7,000 feet. Ultimately, says Pun, “quality education is the goal.”

According to Pun, access to a more reliable power source will allow the students to not only receive a better and more diverse education through research opportunities, videos, and other resources available via the Internet, but also to see how their education can be applied practically towards achieving their goals. “Basically [they] have this mentality that [they] can’t do anything with the kind of education that they are receiving,” says Pun. “That’s what I wanted to change.” In more developed areas where technology resources and quality education are more accessible, Pun says that students find it easier to grasp the connection between education and their aspirations beyond the classroom.

Pun was able to overcome similar obstacles through his training to become a member of the elite Nepalese military corps known as the Gurkhas, which allowed him to travel to Singapore where, he says, he saw the “real world” and its many new possibilities—but such an opportunity is extremely rare. Out of about 30,000 in the country who attempt to qualify each year, only a couple hundred are selected. “Every kid in the rural parts of Nepal wants to be a Gurkha,” says Pun. Indeed, it has been one of the few ways in which those from small, rural areas get to see the world. But with better educational resources and Pun’s efforts to demonstrate that power is knowledge, more students will have a chance to realize that dream.

Once in Nepal, Pun and the others will travel on foot to his home village of Shikha and recruit students to help him transport the heavy equipment. They will be trekking up the same path that Pun himself, carrying 75 pounds of rocks in a backpack, once ran as part of his military training. The journey will be made even more arduous because, as Pun states, “it is monsoon season” and the path is rampant with leeches and occasional landslides.

The company will be throwing a send-off party for Pun on July 11th from 4-6 p.m. at the Knowledge Mosaic offices, 3450 16th Ave West Suite #301. The press is invited to attend. Pun, Swiggett, and company president Peter Schwartz will be available for interviews and photos.

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