Second round of case studies ...
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2006
1
11
32
Trip End
Jan 30, 2007
Kurnool,
India
Thursday, October 19, 2006
For clarification, as of the last entry I visited two districts (over a 6 days period) on Andhra Pradesh; Ranga Reddy and Nalgonda. Ranga Reddy essentially surrounds Hyderabad and Nalgonda is about 4 hours drive East-ish. As of this entry I can also add Kurnool to the list. That was a 5 hour BUS RIDE south of Hyderabad.
By the time I got to Kurnool it had been practically 10-days straight of work. I left on Monday and the weekend prior I worked both Saturday and Sunday at the office. I was exhausted! As I mentioned in the previous entry it is essential to maintain standards in the interviews ... well Kurnool was very difficult. With each question I got more tired ..
A girl I interviewed and my interpreter, Samantha
. and I had to wake myself up for the next person. I have to make sure I am pushing the interviewee ... and making them think ... engaging them in a conversation. You see, my study is more about what they think about the problems, and the work MVF does ... it is not just a survey "Age, sex, married, working ... etc." The questions include "Do you know what rights are?" "What are the challenges for girls in your community" ... at first they are reserved but if the questions are asked in the right order and we give them time to digest the question we get amazing and eloquent responses. I also request that we have a room (or blanket under a tree) to interview the girl in alone ... without any staff members, family members, or other girls present. This sparks a sort of controversy and sometimes people cannot understand why I'd emphasize this ... but to me it is about dignity and respect. I feel if I do not extend this to the girl I will not have a proper interview. I have not been able to test to see if my approach is yielding different results from an interview held in front of a group ... I am asserting that my approach is better - but I imagine it must be. You can decide for yourself.So my total number of case studies is now at 38! I have completely blown past the anticipated 20 persons mark. I essentially have had not choice in those cases where I am told 6 girls have been waiting for me ..
A sacred temple ... you take bath before entering
. I must interview all of them. Consequently I am a bit rushed and only have max 30 minutes for an interview. However, the technique is down now and I know which questions are valuable and how to ask them. Regardless, more time would be ideal.I am off to Adilabad again on Thursday next. I will be there for 3 days. After that I will be in the office until I depart for the USA on 1 November. I have to go back for a measly 5 days to attend an important appointment ... so I get an unscheduled break. Once I return I head straight to Delhi for the Indian Social Forum (ISF) then it is directly off to Madhya Pradesh, then Bihar, the Kolkata all for work. I do not know if I will have internet access in between ...
I will post again before I leave for USA and perhaps after the ISF. Hope you all are doing well ... in the freezing cold! BTW you can call me if you'd like (I love calls) my number is 9989 653588 ... it is free for me to receive calls. I'd love to hear from you ...
Comments
Calling
What is usually a good time of day (US - Eastern) to call the number you provided?
Calling!!!!!
The best time to call me is between 8am and 2pm New York time ... I am 9 and a half hours ahead!
Talk to you soon!