Blog Post #5 -- Research

Andrew’s and my research has been tough but rewarding while in Zambia. Reading about gender-based violence every day has proved to be very hard emotionally especially when, for example, our legal stakeholder today that we were interviewing started talking about her personal experiences with GBV. My heart constantly hurts reading and hearing about terrible things that happen to women and children every day, not in Zambia but all over the world. The only way that I’ve been able to feel better about the state of things is looking at the positive trends that are being seen in all over the world, and try to do a good job while working in this program.

In terms of researching together, Andrew and I have made a great team. We trade off our interviews so one person asks questions and one person types notes as we go, and this has been a great system. We’ve had eight interviews since we started from setting up meetings to just showing up and knocking on doors. To be honest, we haven’t had any big challenges since we’ve started, we’ve more just been struggling with how to split up the task of writing. It’s hard to figure out who writes what and how to keep the writing style consistent. Luckily, Andrew is a great writer so we don’t disagree on too much.

In terms of adapting to this new environment, I’ve had to get used to working in a small office with a lot of talking people. I work better in solitary, quiet environments so the office at SAIPAR has been a big change. I also get distracted easily so staying on task and not engaging in the conversation on the room can be difficult. Sometimes I will go take a walk around the SAIPAR complex or go across the street to The Deli inside Kabulonga mall to get some peace of mind. This usually helps me clear my head and work better than I was working before.

Next Friday we’ll be showing a rough draft of our presentation to Marja, which I’m nervous but excited for. It’s hard to believe we’ve already got a presentation date set and are close to finishing this program. The work we’ve been doing on GBV doesn’t feel like it will have a big impact, which is something I’ve had to rationalize to myself a lot. The fact of the matter is, GBV is a problem as old as time since we live in a patriarchal world, and an occasional paper that two college students write isn’t probably going to end GBV any time soon. For now, I’m just trying to do my best, listen carefully whenever anyone is sharing their story, and trying to do survivors justice. The passion with which everyone we’ve talked to does their work is inspiring, and I hope we can add to that passion, even if it’s just a drop in the ocean. Overall, I’m so thankful to have the experience to do this work and learn more about what Zambia is doing to curb GBV. I’d be excited to come back in a few years and do a “check-in” to see how the programs being implemented by the government now are doing. Maybe I’ll be back in Zambia sooner than I think!