Reflecting on the Semester & Gearing up for the Summer

Upon being assigned to my partner organization, the SANI Foundation, I was excited, but nervous. The SANI Foundation aims to “facilitate the full inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities in Zambia into all aspects of society”. As Alex and I began our research, we quickly realized that there is not much research available relating to Zambia as a whole, but especially concerning people with intellectual disabilities (ID). This lack of research exemplified how people with ID generally exist as a marginalized population in Zambia. During our preliminary research, we were able to learn more about the social stigma surrounding ID. However, we still have a long way to go in order to learn more about how this affects employment opportunities for people with ID. I am excited to learn more about this using various research methods and hopefully give the SANI Foundation useful information in order to better support people with ID living in Zambia.
Alex and I also began looking into other barriers that people with ID face, specifically relating to healthcare. Something interesting we found is that there is a large range in prevalence rates for people with intellectual disabilities across the different provinces. It would be interesting to see if there is less social stigma in these different provinces leading to a larger presence of counselors and medical professionals. If this was the case in a certain province, a child with ID would not only be more likely to receive resources, but they would also be counted towards the national prevalence rates of ID. One of my research goals is to use hypotheses like this one in order to tie together the multiple barriers that people with ID face.
When in country, I hope to talk more with Michelle and point people at SAIPAR to really understand how best to gather information about people with ID living in Zambia. I would like to continue our preliminary research using the information available about other countries as a way to view the state of people with ID in Zambia. This research will be difficult, but I feel confident with the cohort’s support!
The pre-departure seminar has been an amazing way to get to know the cohort better and I am so excited to live, work and learn in Lusaka with this group of people! I was able to reach my goal of learning more about everyone’s different style of learning and I think this will allow us to work well together as a cohort in country as we all tackle our research topics. I was also able to learn more about Zambian culture and some of the things we will be facing in the 8 weeks we are in Lusaka.
Although I was able to reach a lot of my goals, I would like to continue to work on understanding my bias and the things I am subconsciously bringing with me to Lusaka. I know many of these things will be realized in country, but I am excited to journal, vlog, and talk about all of these things as means for reaching this goal.

Amongst the stress of final exams, packing, and saying goodbye to school friends, spending my summer in Zambia is finally starting to feel real. I am so glad I was able to make such strong connections with the people in this cohort because I think they will really help with the adjustment to Zambia. I am expecting some major adjustments to the culture and work style, but I am excited to say goodbye to Ithaca for a little while and hello to Lusaka!

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