Second field visit

Trip Start Sep 03, 2006
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6
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Trip End Jan 30, 2007


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Flag of India  ,
Tuesday, September 26, 2006

This weekend I was in the field in the district of Adilabad. I traveld via car with Venkat, Youcef (our amazing driver) and Colleen - a PhD student at Stanford who is here for a few ore days doing dissertation research on MVF. States in India are divided into districts, the districts into mandals, the mandals into villages. (In states outside Andhra Pradesh mandals are called blocks). I was in one mandal - I assume it was in the farthest reaches of Adilabad because the ride was LONG! I remember at one point I thought I'd ask how much longer, thinking maybe an hour or so (we had already been on the road for about 3) I got the casual response of "About 3 1/2 hours" followed by Venkat's familiar laugh. He knew I wasn't expecting that response!
Once we arrived at Adilabad we went straight to a meeting/rally to welcome the recently elected village/mandal level government officials AND discuss child labour in Adilabad. It was being held at the Indian Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) - a governmental body "Roadblock" on way to Adilabad
"Roadblock" on way to Adilabad
 . Adilabad has a number of tribal villages - in fact there are at least 14 (YES 14) local languages spoken here, and the villages are not very far from one another. It is impressive. A number of people from the government and community organizations (like the Child Rights Protection Forum - CRPF) spoke about their commitment to ending child labour and getting all children into school. I even got up there (with help of a translator) to talk about the U.S., education, and my impression of the progress that has taken place in Adilabad. With over 300 in attendance it was quite a rush.
I am now back in the office busy as ever putting down in writing my research question and methodology ... it is coming along well. I am really looking forward to getting back in the field. I cannot believe how much I enjoy being with the children - its the best feeling to see them smile and want to show me around, sing songs ... its really a good feeling. I haven't really felt the way I expected I would. I thought I'd be sad to see the situation these girls are in - but instead I am so happy and I feel so honored to meet them - I never feel like "wow thats bad" - I feel like - "wow thats great!"
We will see how/if my impression changes over time ... for now enjoy the pictures and send some feedback.
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