Hi Ray: Following are some quick answers (mostly extracted from multiple sources).
Question 1: What specific services to the VIC’s offer?
Answer:
See the link: (Introduction to VICs) in > http://www.fusion.lk/?cat=16
Some more extracts:
The outcome of a VIC is multi-fold; VIC as one-stop information repository, they save significant time otherwise required by the villager to access same information at multiple locations, perhaps visiting distant townships. Some information such as nutrition, human right, education material helps the rural communities to assimilate knowledge on important livelihood matters. Education material such as herbarioums, seed collections provide additional support for school children. And they gradually prepare the rural, uneducated communities to interact with IT (information technology) as a tool to access information, that would be available at telecentres in neighbouring villages.
…………………..
Strategy of VIC model, which is primarily resource neutral, low tech helps to accommodate these villages which may otherwise lose the opportunity to interact with digital age. Since the emphasis is on information, rather than technology, the VIC model can provide benefits bypassing the infrastructure impediments against ICT technology transfer.
There were 59 information sub categories under 5 main categories available at VICs, which were varied among each other. Such information are collected from various sources; telecentres, government offices, NGOs, newspapers, temples etc.
Target group being the rural disadvantaged communities, VIC model managed to fit with rudimentary environments where even the village entry roads are not properly in place. Difference is reflected in a research carried out with 84 visitors at 2 telecentres and 4 VICs; where the user groups of VICs were relatively poor communities than telecentres. Amongst the users of telecenters surveyed, 100% had electricity, 68% had telephones, 49% had cell phones and 100% had televisions. Whereas, at VICs, 85% of the users had electricity, 15% had telephones, 24% had cell phones, and 83% had televisions (Kapadia, 2006).
In the same research, 56% of the respondents reported indirect economic benefits due to relatively cheep prices & travel time saving as multiple information were available in one location closer to their neighbourhood, which may have, otherwise, required to visit multiple offices (government offices, medical clinics) at far locations. Amongst others, 12% reported the benefits of internet to access job sites, government gazette, and computer access to prepare their resume for job applications (Kapadia, 2006).
VICs, were able to catalyze range of community development processes such as village mapping, human rights education, environment conservation etc. Information mapping process at VIC, enabled to surface the number of disabled people living in the same village for the time into greater attention, which subsequently helped to formulate specific support projects to them. Topics such as HIV, child labour and corporal punishment has come to the notice of village communities, as the film produced by ILO (International Labour Union) has been shown by VIC leaders (Kapadia, ). Rural school children carry out their educational projects using VIC as an educational resource centre.
VICs are managed by youth leaders, thus enable them to test, demonstrate their hidden leadership and organizing skills. Some VICs carry out fund raising events, for instance, burrowing multi-media projectors to show popular films at the village, and managed to buy phone lines, and in some occasions, refurbished computers. One VIC reported to track their village development activities (carried out by either Sarvodaya or some other NGO) using computer data bases.
Question 2:
We came up with three major resource inputs on behalf of your organization, they are Human Resources, financial investment, and senior management allocation. Are there any other inputs that we should be aware of?
Answer: Not sure!?! (But not in my mind).
Question 3:
We were still a bit unsure about the details of the VICs. How exactly are they funded? Also you said that the village supplies a lot of the resources for the VICs. What exactly does the village provide?
Answer: (Extract)
VICs are managed as ‘Zero Cost’ operations by the Fusion. In average Fusion spends about 6,500Rs (60$US, from outside donor funding) to provide initial training and follow up guidance for each VIC. As an immediate outcome, VICs will be setup by the village community, spending village resources (in-kind as well as financial resources), to the estimated value of 7,500Rs (75$US). Over a 3 year period, their accumulated average asset (in terms of furniture, shelves, building material) value estimated to be over 20,000Rs (200$US) which are gathered mostly from donations.
The required resources are generated by community from variety of means. For instance, Village society allocate their savings to carry out some activities.
VICs are owned by the village community, and they generate the required resources (eg. from local donations), managed by volunteers thus not requiring management expenses. Utility expenses, if required are subsidized through their existing village savings and other development programs (eg village banks, village savings mobilized through micro-finance programs). Such decisions are collectively taken by the village Society (i.e. Sarvodaya Shramadana Society). Some VICs carry out fund raising events, for instance, burrowing multi-media projectors to show popular films at the village, and managed to buy phone lines, and in some occasions, refurbished computers.
(pl note above are extracted from un-published write ups which are still at draft forms).
Posted by smilingharsha 
