Impact assessment of International Volunteering Services (IVS)

Rural centre for human interest (Ruchi)

Prepared by:

Raghvendra Singh

Amit Dalal

Jibraan Sadique Sheikh

In partial fulfilment of requirements of the VFS

Of the

Post Graduate Programme in Rural management

Institute of Rural Management Anand

ABSTRACT.

The study has been conducted to understand and come up with a measurable impact assessment
of International volunteering services. The interaction of IVS with the local community and
how it has impacted the community on different aspects of their lives i.e. social, culture and
economic. The extant of the study conducted is in the proximity of Ruchi headquarter situated
in Bandh. Methodology techniques employed during the study to solicit information and
reactions is participant observation, focused group discussions, questionnaires and participant
observation. The scope of the study is limited to the social, culture and economic impacts to
the local community. The attempt has been to extrapolate these assessments with using
measurable techniques of surveys to gather the accurate non biased findings.

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INTRODUCTION:

Rural centre for human interests (RUCHI) non-profit making organization committed to development
of rural India. RUCHI, began in October 1980 in a remote village in Chopal in Shimla District,
Himachal Pradesh. Ruchi has been a pioneer in engaging International volunteer services to understand
and bring a different dimensional approach to the existing problem of Rural India. With partnerships
with International NGO’s and organisations ex. such as RNZWCS in New Zealand, Rotary
International, Charities Aid Foundation, Help Age International, U.K., MISEREOR in Germany and
CCIVS in France. The major area of focus for the organisation involves sustainable management of
natural resources, promotion of rural technology, healthcare, education and awareness generation and
micro-credit for village projects.

RUCHI transfers knowledge to village communities through education and empowerment. RUCHI
strongly believes that collective participatory action is required for balanced and sustainable community
development. The International volunteering services entails livelihood intervention for the rural
populace which has hugely benefitted the masses socially, economically, culturally. IVS engagements
includes:

Environmental Management Programme:

Social Development Programme:

Health and Sanitation Development Programme:

Staff capacity building:

In this study we have tried to understand the impact of International Volunteering services by Ruchi on
the adjacent villages on different parameters using different tools of impact assessment.

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OBJECTIVE:

The study conducted aims at accessing the impact of International volunteering services by
Ruchi. Some of the projects being undertaken by RUCHI IVS include watershed management
in badly eroded landscapes, development of non-conventional energy sources such as bio-gas
for household cooking, new technology in agriculture and related fields (horticulture and
composting), community health care, and promotion of women’s groups and youth groups.
RUCHI see themselves as agents of change in terms of voluntary activity. It aims to understand
the socio-economic, cultural and behavioural impact of the International Volunteering services
in the existing community.

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Research Methodology:

Impact assessment tools engaged for the assessment:

Stakeholder Analysis is an entry point to SIA and participatory work. It addresses strategic
questions, e.g. who are the key stakeholders? what are their interests in the project or policy?
what are the power differentials between them? what relative influence do they have on the
operation? This information helps to identify institutions and relations which, if ignored, can
have negative influence on proposals or, if considered, can be built upon to strengthen them.

Observation and Interview tools:

Participant Observation is a field technique used by anthropologists and sociologists to collect

qualitative data and to develop in-depth understanding of peoples' motivations and attitudes. It
is based on looking, listening, asking questions and keeping detailed field notes. Observation
and analysis are supplemented by desk reviews of secondary sources, and hypotheses about
local reality are checked with key local informants.

Focus Group Meetings are a rapid way to collect comparative data from a variety of
stakeholders. They are brief meetings -- usually one to two hours -- with many potential uses,
e.g. to address a concern; to build community consensus about implementation plans; to cross-
check information with a large number of people; or to obtain reactions to hypothetical or
intended actions.

Questionnaire targeted on different aspects of the scope of the study is also employed to better
understand the attitudes, preferences and factual information as accurate as possible.

Questionnaires used:

Household Survey

1. Has RUCHI worked in some development projects in the village?

Options- a) Yes

b) No

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2. Are you aware about the projects done by RUCHI?

Options- a) Yes

b) No

c) A little

3. Have you received any benefits from the projects run by Ruchi?

Options- a) Yes

b) No

c) A little

4. Has international volunteering service created any Impact on the village?

Options- a) Strong Agree

b) Agree

c) Neither Agree nor Disagree

d) Disagree

e) Strongly Disagree

5. Social Impact on your family?

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Options- a) Strong Agree

b) Agree

c) Neither Agree nor Disagree

d) Disagree

e) Strongly Disagree

6. Economic impact on your family?

Options- a) Strong Agree

b) Agree

c) Neither Agree nor Disagree

d) Disagree

e) Strongly Disagree

7. Will you be willing to work with RUCHI in future?

Option- a) Yes

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 b) No

c) Maybe

Local Business Survey (Shops)

1. Has RUCHI worked in some development projects in the village?

Options- a) Yes

b) No

2. Are you aware about the projects done by RUCHI?

Options- a) Yes

b) No

c) A little

3. Have you increased your variety of products for the volunteers of RUCHI?

Options- a) Yes

b) No

4. Has your income increased during the past 10 years?

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 Options- a) Yes

b) No

c) A little

5. Does RUCHI has an impact on your income?

Options- a) Strong Agree

b) Agree

c) Neither Agree nor Disagree

d) Disagree

e) Strongly Disagree

International Volunteer Survey

1) How was your experience while working with Ruchi?

a. Good

b. Average

c. Bad

2) Did you develop empathy while working on the field for school kids and the people of
Himachal

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Strong Agree

Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

3) Did the interaction with kids and people who you were working with gave you a sense of
satisfaction and motivated you more for the work?

Strong Agree

Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

4) During your stay did you learn something about Indian culture?

Strong Agree

Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

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5) Did you feel, that you had a impact on people you worked with?

Strong Agree

Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

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Ruchi and Local community:

Ruchi is located at 1 km from Bandh which according to the latest census has a population of
201 and 41 households. Bandh is the nearest village settlement which is most exposed to the
functioning of Ruchi. The next nearest settlement is Bhavguri which houses the panchayat and
also a major point for the villagers around to buy their essentials from a relatively bigger shop.
Next to it we have the nearest Bazaar, Patta which forms like a centroid for the small villages
around. All the necessities of daily life can be bought from the market. Patta is also a major
Bus stand where the frequency of buses plying has increased over the years. It forms the centre
for the village dwellers for interaction (usually beneath a banyan tree) in the centre and
surrounded by shops for every household requirement. The food essentials and rations for
Ruchi is also bought from Patta market. The international and domestic interns frequently visit
the place to stock up on daily usable and try the local delicacy in the old generational sweet
shops of rural India which is not high on fancy display or glitz but provides the rural taste and
purity.

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Social Impact assessment of IVS:

The ultimate aim of volunteer services which is setup in an rural society is to improve the well-
being and livelihoods of the host society and environment. This typically involves working
with locals who are otherwise ignored or neglected by society in some way. Volunteer projects
not only provides a direct source of income, but the time and effort to conserve and preserve
societies and environments provides a financial support in which host communities financially
benefit from in the long run.

Enhanced Cross cultural Understanding:

Employing interviewing technique like semi-structured interviews and village meetings in

Bandh, Patta and the allotted village to i.e. Bhavguri we attempted to understand the impact of
IVS on local community. We have noticed cross-cultural understanding by combining a variety
of cultures, trends and geographic lines that would have otherwise be divided in the reality of
a politically divided world. Through the interviews it has been noticed that there is an increase
in the cohesion of cultures gaining insightful knowledge for the host community, providing
them with personal opportunities to learn more about other communities and cultures outside
of their environment. Likewise, the volunteers also learn from host communities and are
provided with personal opportunities to learn more about the host culture and therefore this
personal level of learning heightens cultural sensitivity, appreciation for the host community.

Reduction in Racial, Cultural and Social boundaries:

The IVS has increased the cross-cultural understanding by inevitably reduce the context of
context of racial, cultural and social boundaries. This is done through merging cultures, and
social differences during volunteer projects. The appreciation for cultural diversity and learning
from other cultures and people has increased respect and understanding although there is still
an eye of curiosity when International volunteers cross a path. Through volunteer projects
which has immensely benefitted the local community for instance the rainwater harvesting and
water filtration techniques and the tanks made available for drinking water, has providing a
deeper understanding of one another’s differences.

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Utilization of skills that the locals may not have:

There are many skills that volunteer can bring to a local community, particularly skills that
locals may not have. For example, teaching English is a very common voluntary project and
provides host communities with basic knowledge of English language. This has again
benefitted the govt. school children to improve upon there proficiency with the lessons
imparted.

Key Findings:

The direct engagement of International volunteers in development initiatives generates

numerous local benefits such as forming bonds between locals and volunteers, knowledge
sharing and disseminations, break down stereotypes, promote cross cultural understanding and
generate tangible improvements to the local community.

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Assessing the Cultural impact of IVS program of RUCHI

One of the challenges of a culturally sensitive changes is the ability to measure its impact. The
attempt to quantify the specific contribution of a cultural development, as opposed to one that
does not take culture into consideration, is unavoidably complex.

The assessment consists of indicators ranging from the economic weight of the culture sector,
to social cohesion, cultural participation, and individual freedoms, to education, governance,
or access to means of communication among others. Together, these indicators provide a
snapshot of the situation and valuable development policy analysis. The project involves as
well providing capacity building for national statistical agencies to collect and analyse cultural
statistics.

We didn’t have much information on how to measure cultural impact and co-relate it with the
IVS of RUCHI. We took some random surveys from the people who came to grocery store in
Bandh and had Focus group discussion with the shopkeeper and the people gathered at the
shop.

We worked on factors related to cultural impact which are:

Understanding other cultures.

Cultural exchange is a broad definition given to any mutual sharing of information, usually
cultural, between two or more species for the purpose of improving friendship and
understanding between them. Cultural exchange is sharing different ideas, traditions, and
knowledge with someone who may be coming from a completely different background than
your own. Cultural exchange gives exposure to villagers about different things which are being
carried out in different countries as well as different states of our country.

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Cultural Change in the village of Bandh:

Assessing the behavioural change in the residents of Bandh through Focus group discussions.
What is the reaction of people currently towards the International volunteers compared to when
RUCHI started this International Volunteering Program (IVS).

Realizing the impact of social service through cultural exchange.

We also assessed the villagers, if they feel the gratitude towards the Volunteers from Ruchi
and motivates them for collaboration with RUCHI and cultural exchange.

Similarly, we also assessed that the cultural exchanges creates empathy, gives the satisfaction
of the service they are doing and motivated them to work hard. This will improve the
productivity and eventually will create an impact on the residents of Village.

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Key Findings:

1) After conducting the surveys and Focus group discussion and analysing the results, we
can say that the International Volunteer service program has created an impact on the residents
of Bandh village. Now they are more open to cultural exchange.

2) It was also observed during the discussion that the villager are more welcoming towards
the volunteers currently and there is a change in attitude while they meet these volunteers.
Previously they avoided interaction with the volunteer but now feel more comfortable in
interacting with them. This has made them more aware and open to the interventions done by
RUCHI and other institutions.

3) We also found that residents are now more aware about the involvement by the
international volunteers in the interventions done by the RUCHI. They feel thankful to them
for their contribution in the development of the village.

We also conducted a survey with the RUCHI’s current international volunteers for their views
regarding the service they are doing in the development. They feel motivated when working
with the underprivileged people and has a sense of empathy towards them. This makes them
more involved in the work and as a result people are impacted.

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Economic Impact:

Context and Objective:

The main objective of economic impact assessment of IVS was to find out how volunteers
contribute and impact the local village economy in last 10 years. As the study is only about
the volunteers’ impact, we are considering only the consumption data of the volunteers as
well as new products stocked by the shops for international volunteers.
The figures are based on the data collected from the shops in Patta and Band village.
The number of shops has increased in Patta as a result the competition has increased.
Connectivity has increased in last 10 year as a result of increased personal and public
transportation which has resulted in diffusion of expenditure.

Changes in the revenue of shops from last 10 years

Figure 1: Changes in the revenue of shops from last 10 years

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Changes in total revenue and revenue from RUCHI

Figure 2: Changes in total revenue and revenue from RUCHI

New products stocked by the stores include rolling paper, pasta, olive oil, toilet paper,
tissue paper, oregano etc. which were not generally bought by the locals but due to the
increased availability locals have also started buying them and using these products, which
have helped stores to diversify their offerings and generate more revenue. These types
of interventions have helped stores to cope with the decreasing sales due to increased
connectivity both by transportation and online markets.

Key Findings:

In total the revenue of all the shops have decreased due to the increased connectivity by
personal vehicles and public transportation.
Ruchi contribute about 2.5 % in the total revenue generated by the general stores and
restaurants in Patta and Bandh.
The number of stores has increased in number as a result there is a decrease in number of
customers per store.
Ruchi fulfills about 50% of its grocery’s requirements from Patta rest of the requirements are
fulfilled from Kalka, Kasauli and Chandigarh.

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Technological Interventions:

Along with the international volunteers there is also an inflow of technologies in the area
which help the local people to improve their living standards and income. These techniques
and technologies ranges from waste management to production of own green energy from the
waste products generated from humans and cattle.
Agriculture in the area around Ruchi is mainly rainfed international volunteers have helped
locals to build water harvesting systems for house and agricultural purposes along
with better water filtration systems. These systems help them to
increase the agricultural productivity hence augmenting the income of farmers by reducing
their reliance on weather and use harvested water for multiple purposes in a hygienic
way. IVS also helped the locals to build biogas plants and compost pits which helped locals
to utilize the waste in a better way along and provide energy for cooking and compost
for agriculture purpose.

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Reference:

• http://www.ruchi.org.in/volunteering

• Measuring the immeasurable: the impact of culture on ...www.unesco.org › culture ›

themes › the-future-we-want-the-role-of-culture

• Impact Measurement - How to measure social impact -

Sopacthttps://www.sopact.com › social-impact-measurement

• Economic Impact Assessment - Western Development ...https://www.wdc.ie › wp-

content › uploads › EIA-report-full

• Survey Process - ASER Centrewww.asercentre.org › …

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