Week 1 of data collection (Sept.4th-7th): Simweete and Dick Chilapula villages

Mwabuka buti,

The first thing I learned, even before I left my yard Tuesday morning, was not to have my motorbike serviced the day before I needed it. For some reason, after installing a new battery, the mechanic returned my motorbike to me after having to jump start it to bring it home. For the next two days of field work, we had to jump start the bike each and every time we wanted to move. And jump starting did not occur on a flat, paved road that would have made our lives easier. The 'roads' we were using were either covered with sand or no wider than a foot path. My research partner, Mercy Zulu, and I learned that most men in the village were eager to help, so she only had to push me once before we took advantage of their offers. Ufortunately, I didn't get any video footage of this. We were always so focused on the task at hand that we never thought of it until it was too late! The icing on the cake occurred when Mercy and I were about 200m from our homes. She lives nearby, and as I was pulling over to drop her off, the bike stalled. It was too unbelievable. Instead of jump starting it that one last time in front of everyone on the street, I decided to just push it to my yard. One passerby asked me 'Did you run out of fuel?' I just shook my head 'no' (wishing that was the case!) and continued on my way. It was now after 6pm and all the shops and mechanics had closed for the day. Our adventure would continue into the following day!

Our data collection schedule consists of spending 2 days in each village, 2 villages per week. My partner, Mercy, has a certificate in social development and is an incredibly confident, hard working woman. She's also a highly qualified football (soccer) referee and is able to ref matches at the second highest tier (the one before national level). The first day of our research exercise consists of conducting 10 household interviews. We go from house to house, talking with the residents using a prepared questionnaire. The second day involves holding group discussions, first with the women, and then with the men. By separating the groups by gender, it allows for a more open environment to share one's views, especially for the women. The first village, Simweete, is located about 20km from town. They have a hand dug well with a hand pump. When I had come the previous week to make the appointment with the Headman, we had actually gone to the village across the road and spoke with the headman of a different village. Luckily, I had sent a letter addressed to Simweete and they were ready for us. The first home we visited had a large garden with tomato plants. Unfortunately, due to lack of water, most of the plants were dying. Selling tomatoes is a good source of income, but due to the low yield from the water point, people are not able to use it for productive purposes (except the headman's family, which is located about 100m from the well). During the rainy season, people will dig holes to find water for their gardens. The well is used mainly for domestic activities, such as drinking, washing, and cooking. The people of Simweete were so eager to learn how to improve their water source after the discussions had been conducted. Unfortunately, they had not been collecting maintenance funds on a regular basis, and it would take some time before they would be able to improve the well on their own.

At each village, we explain to them that we're not there to provide any handouts. Once people see a mukuwa (Westerner) or non-governmental organization in their village, there is a tendency to believe that they have come to give them something. This may potentially affect our data since people may not provide us with the complete truth about their livelihood status. They may think that if they protray themselves as living well, they won't benefit from what we're offering. This is why it's so important to try to build trust with the people and be straight with them from the beginning.

Hope this finds you happy and peaceful,

Jenn