Week Five:

One invaluable new skill I’ve acquired this summer is actively taking notes and reflecting at the end of each day. Heading into my experience in the Huntington's Unit at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Healthcare Center, I was intimidated by all the learning I would have to do on the spot. From remembering so many new names to handling difficult discussions, there was no online guide that would tell me what to expect or even prepare me how to respond to different scenarios. How could I understand the wants and needs of non-communicative residents? What was the best way to engage each of them? With so much going on each day, my solution to feeling overwhelmed was to keep a small notebook and pen on me at all times. I was committed to treating my volunteering experience like a college class- I would capture every detail and review them at the end of each day. X likes country music? Got it. Y only communicates by thumbs down and thumbs sideways? Got it. Z participated in a Huntington's disease therapy clinical trial? Noted.

Actively taking notes and reflecting has undoubtedly enriched my summer experience. Tying this skill back to leadership, creating and taking a few moments each day to review my small "memory bank" has enabled me to take initiative and innovate. I remember that certain residents like going onto the patio and, every chance I get, I bring them outside. I remember that certain residents are music lovers- and blast their favorite tunes on a speaker whenever I can. I remember the life stories of my residents - from their past lives working in the Met Opera to their rocket science research, little talking points that not only function as powerful conversation starters but also starting points for new ways of service that will hopefully bring them joy. In the grand scheme of things, actively engaging and reflecting is crucial for building upon the status quo. It’s a habit that I’ll take with me wherever I go moving forward.

WEEKS 2, 3, & 4 

Week 4

I am going to start with the week 4 question because it explains why I have to combine weeks 2, 3, and 4. Week 2 of my work in the field, my hotel caught on fire and my room was burned down. I had to travel to the capital of Ghana, Accra, for a little under two weeks to replace most of my things such as suitcases, clothes, hygiene products, documents, medications, etc. It was a significant challenge, but I continued my research by making sure I was still communicating with national staff members in Accra, regional staff members from the field, and conducting research virtually. Dealing with the issue required remaining calm and mechanical about the steps I needed to take to return to the field. I received help from Columbia Global Engagement through Dr. Shannon Marquez and from staff at World Vision, but I tried to minimize my dependence on other people. I made lists of what needed to be replaced to ensure I could proceed by prioritizing immediate needs. I contacted physicians to have my prescriptions sent to Ghanaian pharmacies, found street markets to buy affordable clothing, set up appointments to get new glasses, ordered my own cars to get around, etc. It required an immense amount of tedious research. For example, the contact solution is only carried in a few pharmacies in town, so I called distributors to find where it was in stock. Only one hospital across the city had my medications in stock, so I needed to go through the process of having an American prescription accepted in Ghana. It definitely taught me how to remain calm, meticulously plan the steps I needed to take, and execute those plans in a timely manner. It is quite funny because my co-workers still joke about how I was making phone calls to inquire about getting medications, acquiring funds to replace my lost items, and starting a list of who to call while I was standing in front of the actively burning hotel rooms. Although my attitude towards the fire was perceived as indifferent, I was actually quite panicked. It was the leadership training and independence that helped me find tranquility in focusing on what I could act on and not on a past I can’t change. 

Week 2

I visited communities in West Krachi with the NGO I am observing. I have had the opportunity to engage with community members such as politicians, health professionals, community volunteers, students, school staff, and citizens receiving funding from World Vision. I keep my role as mostly an observational one to prioritize learning over imposing. Working with communities with unique cultures, languages, and customs that are not mine, I understand the importance of not asserting my opinions and beliefs. I am mainly studying the role of Citizen Voice and Action (CVA) in NGO work as a tool for empowering local communities. The World Vision Krachi West Area Program has worked with CVA groups to strengthen local child advocacy projects by enabling citizen engagement, facilitating community gatherings, and supporting local-level campaigns. Although the funding and resources come from the NGO, the goal is to negate the influence of donors and non-community members in community projects. My role is mainly an observational one because I am learning about human rights and child advocacy, and it’s not my place to impose myself onto communities I am not part of. All of the projects by the World Vision Ghana Krachi West office are created by Ghanaians, managed by Ghanaians, and are sustained by local facilitators not associated with the NGO once the NGO leaves. I am here for a short amount of time and successful sustainable development projects can take decades to accomplish, so erroneously claiming I have made an impact would be taking credit for the work of the Ghanaian people and the immense effort these communities have put into contextualizing and sustaining their own successful projects. I shouldn’t even attempt to have an impact in decisions because it’s not my place to try, and it would be imperialist to think I’m able to do so. My interactions with community members begins with having the local community leaders and facilitators agree to welcome me into their community. So far facilitators, chiefs, and community leaders have all been very welcoming and understanding of my role with the NGO. I ask for NGO workers to take the lead in asking questions because most people speak English, but I don’t want to impose myself and my linguistic preferences given that many people in the community are more comfortable speaking one of the ~50 Indigenous languages spoken across Ghana. The questions the NGO asks are all questions I can learn from, and they can provide direct translations given the World Vision staff are Ghanaian and many speak multiple languages in addition to English. I am happy to go through all of these procedure because it is the bare minimum for me as a Western researcher going to foreign country with a history of colonization that I am not culturally or ethnically connected to. 

Week 3

This week, I visited “Kids Club” programs in the Kpatchu, Abujuro, Twesoro, and Nchumuru communities to learn more about how World Vision prioritizes sustainable development and capacity building over imposition. We visited a reading club devised to improve literacy rates in the area while also strengthening childrens’ sense of belonging. Children receive resources that give them the opportunity to attend school and have the opportunity to play together, perform plays, read poetry, etc, because of the centers created with World Vision funds. The area program I am working for is getting reviewed this week by the national office to analyze the sustainability of their community-led projects, so I was able to learn more about “capacity building” from them. I met the individual facilitators from each community to learn more about how the NGO puts projects in the hands of non-affiliated local community members who contextualize the projects to their own communities and sustain their success after the NGO completely distances itself from the operations of the project. I also had the opportunity to learn about how World Vision has allocated funds to pay locals to run training programs with curriculums that promote family unity and child protection. I was present during interviews and data collection indicating that the trainings have been successful in lowering rates of physical and sexual abuse in households registered in the program. My research last summer was on sense of belonging, child advocacy, and education, so it has been interesting seeing it from a sustainable development programming point of view and in a new context. Every day of work is very different because of how varied each community and child advocacy group is. 

Week 3: What does a typical day of your research/community engagement look like? Aside from a narrative description, upload a photo, video and/or other media submission!

7:30 am: I wake up and head to the panadería below my apartment to get a spinach empanada. I put on a pot of coffee, eat breakfast, and get ready. 

8 am: I walk to the Andalusian School of Public Health (about 15 minutes). Siesta is respected here, so the work day goes from around 8 am- 3 pm, when the heat makes it hard to do anything other than take a nap. I'll start on data analysis, geocoding, or translation tasks. I work in a large room with ~5 other scientists, and we'll go back and forth on ideas (about coding, experimental design, etc). 

12-2 pm: School of Patients workshop! (See previous week for description).

2 pm: more public health research tasks :)

3 pm: I walk back to my apartment, stopping at a restaurant in Plaza Larga for a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice. It's siesta time. 

5 pm: Another school of patients workshop! The evening workshops are usually led by a medical professional or patient and are more lecture/presentation style. Past workshops have included: Nutritional recommendations for patients chronic renal disease, information on multiple sclerosis, nutrition and Alzheimers, and a public debate between political candidates of various parties on their public health agendas. 

8 pm: I eat dinner with friends I've made around Granada, and afterwards we might go to a flamenco concert or to an overlook with views of the Alhambra where guitarists play late into the night. 

(I am not sure how to add pictures but as soon as I figure it out I will edit this post!)

Week 2: 

I engage predominantly with the American expat community in Paris; however, I have also interacted with French people interested in English and cross-cultural exchange. As an events intern, knowing that my audience is largely fellow Americans or French people with extensive knowledge of English and the English-speaking world has definitely shaped the kinds of events I propose. I want to create experiences that resonate with this community and allow them to interrogate their unique position in both American and French society. Therefore, I look extensively at speakers who are Americans in Paris or creating panels with both French and American participants. I also want to highlight issues surrounding immigration and explorations of French culture and history. 

In my work, I am present although I aim to be invisible. As an art history major and someone passionate about decolonial studies, I am very partial to those topics when planning events. Although I express the most interest in those speakers and books, I do aim to cater to a wide variety of subjects and make sure that the library draws in the largest audience possible. 

My interactions with the public are fairly limited to general questions about the library. I have yet to host an event, so I have not facilitated a QnA or interacted with the audience about the subjects of the talks. In terms of connecting with the community, I believe there is an automatic kind of solidarity between most patrons of the library and I due to our nationality being American. This relationship is only strengthened by our international location. It is very comforting to be around people who understand your background and your accent when you are in the middle of a large foreign city.