Burundi: What I'm Actually Doing with my "Month Off"

It's the middle of the day in January, and Boston (according to Google) looks pretty miserable. I'm surrounded by white walls and lots of natural light, and in my short-sleeve shirt and jeans, I'm warm! It's the first day that I don't have to work from within the office, the first day that I actually have just allowed myself to reflect on the last few weeks. 

Six months ago, when the opportunity to work on a study in Burundi came across my email, I wasn't sure it was a good fit. I thought it might be nice to practice my French - I'd been studying away for a few weeks at Middlebury College. And I thought it might be nice to make some extra income, work with some new collaborators, and apply my French in a public health context. But the relationship between women, economics, and family planning was not an obvious intersection with my own interests in adolescents, HIV/AIDS, and child protection. I had no idea that accepting the offer and coming here this month would be pretty amazing, and very rejuvenating...

A neighborhood in Bujumbura

My first few days of work were absolutely crazy! I'd wake up early in the morning (though I refused to do the 7 AM start thanks to jetlag). J’ai commencé d’utiliser français pour la première fois cette année. I spent hours with Imelde, my research assistant, talking through what qualitative research is, how it differs from quantitative research, all the "who, how, where, when, why" questions that are important to understand before you can even effectively learn how to use a new research method. We talked about the different kind of qualitative research methods that exists - the individual-level approaches such as freelisting and one-on-one interviewing, or group-level approaches such as focus group discussions, a method that we were primarily focused on. The 100-page training guide I edited allowed me to facilitate training on how to effectively lead the research, and also reminded me how fun it is to move beyond "logistic regressions," "STATA," and "numbers" while actually using research to engage directly with people. 

(And, thanks to my amazing summer at Middlebury College, it was possible to have all of these discussions in French!)

Some of the neighborhoods we walked through...

At the end of the first week, we started recruitment for our focus groups and interviews. Since I blended in enough to pass for a Burundian (as long as I was silent) - a topic that, on its own, could be another blog entry - I went with Imelde to do the recruitment. We identified different neighborhoods in the capital city, walked from door to door in the hot sun, and spent up to 30 minutes explaining our study. Our hope was to identify a maximum of 60 women interested in discussing how women such as themselves define "work," and how they balance their income-generating activities with caring for their children. It was my first time actually walking through neighborhoods I'm sure foreigners rarely spend time in, places that were considered poorer and where Kirundi, rather than French, was the main mode of communication. 

Some of the neighborhoods we drove through. 

After a week of loooong, lunchless days - something very atypical here (and perhaps "workaholic American") given the normal 2 hour lunch period - the week of our first interviews finally arrived! We did a few focus groups and individual interviews, which gave Imelde the opportunity to apply the lessons from our training. The interviews were all in Kirundi, which made it hard to really assess how they were going, but it's amazing how little cues like body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions can convey a lot, once you understand a little bit of the local context. 

Some things are just international...

like Obama!

And pet monkeys!

My third week is nearly half way over, and we're working our way through the final data collection days. I was such a "proud mama" to see Imelde tell me how well yesterday's focus group discussion went, how for the first time she really felt like she had effectively facilitated the discussion and had found a group of lively, engaged women who were really happy to share their experiences with us. 

En route to the office 

And in the midst of all of this - it seems academia rarely like to focus on one project only - there's the continual networking and planning for possible future opportunities!

As I approach the end of my time here, I can't help but think how well everything's lined up. I'm so inspired and reminded by my leadership on this study of the fact that research can bring a voice to those often ignored, and if utilized, can actually bring about change. Talking to women about their perspectives on work is actually really interesting, especially when their definition of their activity differs from the common economic definition. Hearing them talk about the challenges of life and poverty in Bujumbura and how this impacts their livelihoods and their kids livelihoods makes me want to advocate for change in the world. And allowing women who know their own experiences to share them, recognizing them as the experts they are, is truly priceless.