What unique services does your telecentre (or a telecentre that you know of) offer to the community?

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Permalink Reply by Tikajit Rai on February 2, 2010 at 12:18pm

Hi there!
In Nepal's case, we are developing one-stop service and it includes: 1) Internet service; 2) VoIP; 3) Online money transfer (remittance); 4) online call-time recharge; and 5) local eContent. Please, note however, our strategy is to partner with rural cooperatives (of farming communities and women managed ones) and transform them in to eCenters--or Telecenters. We developed the finance/account software for these cooperatives in local language; and this service has been our entry point to enable these cooperatives with ICT. Rests of the services are basically developed on this.
Thanks.
Tika.

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Permalink Reply by Cuchie Echeverria on February 8, 2010 at 7:16pm

Hi Tika.

Thank you for sharing this. It really sounds interesting. The online money transfer for instance will be particularly applicable too in the Philippine setting as we have a lot of overseas Filipino workers who send money to their families back home plus there are also parents who send their children to study in the city and so they need to send them their allowances regularly.

It is also good to know about the strategy you are employing in transforming rural cooperatives into eCenters. This seems to be a win-win situation for your organization, the cooperative and of course the community it serves.

Local eContent is also interesting. How do you go about developing local content? Would be glad to know more about this as we will soon be embarking on a similar initiative.

Lastly, what do you mean by online call-time recharge? Can you explain this a bit more?

Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Nassali on February 8, 2010 at 6:31am

Hi, Buwana Telecentre (Uganda) offers accommodation services. I find this unique because its outside the normal trend of telecentres as mostly they offer ICT4D services. Actually, they argue that most funds for the sustainability comes from this. The telecentre lodge is strategically located on a high way so getting clients is not a huge problem.

Also, Nakaseke Multi-purpose telecentre has a fans club for its community radio station. To be a member, a small fee is paid; which in the longrun helps meet telecentre managerial requirements financially.

Cheers

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Permalink Reply by Cuchie Echeverria on February 8, 2010 at 7:31pm

Hi San. It is interesting to note that, indeed, the range of services that can be provided by a telecentre can go as far as the imagination and creativity could reach, but of course community needs are the main consideration in crafting such services.

As to the fans club, what other benefits do members get in return, considering that there is a fee involved? Is the community radio station accessible only by club members?

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Permalink Reply by Alan Foo on February 9, 2010 at 12:23pm

We provide all telecenters our library of electronic contents for English, Mathematics, Mandarin and 400 over ebooks... it is like an instant e-library.

It is free for all telecenters.

Soon our contents will expand as more participants join in to share their contents they generated with our free AGE tools. This way , one day, there would be hundreds of thousands of available contents for all to use.

Right now we have a few countries joining in... If each teacher is to contribute one module per month or week.. we would be building the world's largest library of contents freely downloadable through even slow dial ups.

That is our aim.

Any telecenter care to take part in our AGEShare program where we create and exchange contents with each other is free to contact us at www.paperlesshomework.com/Ycontact.htm

Regards
Alan
www.paperlesshomework.com

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Permalink Reply by ROBINSON WIKANA MUKANGAYI on February 15, 2010 at 5:41am

Cuchie,

Telecentres are currently offering diverse services until one can easily propose for a revision in the definition of the term Telecentre.

In our case i.e. Shinyalu Community Telecentre, we have different cases; we have a community borehole aimed at thinning the water problem in the community which is trully successful and we shall be expanding the same to other corners of the area.

We have further acquired a community demonstration farm where smallholders gather to get tips on different farming practices courtesy of agricultural experts i.e field officers among others.

This participatory approach by the Telecentre has made the community appreciate its presence in the and majorly helped us understand the community.

Robinson Wikana Mukangayi
Shinyalu Community Telecentre

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Permalink Reply by Cuchie Echeverria on February 15, 2010 at 8:42pm

Hi Alan and Robinson.

Thank you so much for sharing your insights with us. It's interesting to get to know the diversity of services that are actually in practice in various telecentres in different parts of the world.

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