I've had two experiences this last week that have made me consider what it will be like doing field work in Ghana.
I talked to Brother Jackson, the father of my boyfriend's roommate. He runs a non-profit called Deseret International which sets up clinics in developing countries. The conversation happened because he was visiting his son and they were working on a painting project, so it was an informal opportunity to talk with him. What I noticed about this situation was that it was a real opportunity to talk to a real player in the field I'm evaluating and that no matter what questions I asked, he had things I felt he should share, insights to contribute, and an idea of what he wanted to talk to me about too. I benefited a lot from just talking about where he worked and how he set things up when he went into a community. It was a fun experience to make a normal conversation an informative situation, and I know now that if I ever need anymore questions or insights, I can get his email and ask. I feel like it wouldn't be weird or unexpected and he'd have some great things to contribute. Something he said that really struck me was when he asked how Salvation Army enters a community. I didn't know the answer or what he meant, but he gave some examples and I realized that what he was asking correlated with how sustainable their entrance and involvement in a community is. He of course had a way that he did it, and that was the best way in his opinion. I think it's hard to say a way is the best, but his effort seemed really good. He said that they entered a community and found local doctors trying to build a practice. He didn't mention how they determined the needs of the doctor, but he said they would build the doctor an infrastructure and provide some funding for supplies or equipment if necessary and practical. The doctors in return agreed to take on charity cases while building their practice, and as long as they reported those cases, Deseret International would fund those cases. The challenges that come with this are fewer than would come if the doctors were imported for a short time, but I didn't know how to ask him how they determined the needs of the community or doctor. There are many interesting aspects of the conversation that make me curious to understand how Salvation Army approaches development projects.
I talked to Dave Schuller about my project and how I can better interview the local people. I've been feeling like Dave is a great tool for Field Study Prep, because of his experience in the field and his realistic approach to interviews and development. I really appreciated our last conversation because we had a couple mock interviews where he acted out challenging interviewing situations and explained some ways I could improve. I felt like a missionary again while we were interviewing, and I think that if I was going someplace similar to Mesa, I'd have a blast with this project and feel comfortable in the interviews. However, Dave brought up some of the real challenges of different languages and being able to relate to people. How am I going to get them to open up to me? How can I get them to REALLY open up to me? How am I going to help them be open when I'm interviewing them in a different language with little understanding of cultural nuances? I want to look at development efforts from western theory but I also want to look at them from their framework, how do I find the limits and key components of that framework and how can I get them to disclose those or even understand what I'm looking for? I want to be ready, but there are going to be some major challenges, most that I'm sure I'm not even aware of!
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