And Time Goes On... Research Update

It’s hard to believe, but we are now three months into the research/photovoice project (4 months total in Ghana) and it’s time to begin thinking about endings, closure, and new beginnings after my departure. Like any project, this one has not been without its challenges, but also many significant successes.

Some of the challenges were:

1. The physical environment: Originally we met under one of the trees in the school compound, but quickly it was clear that this wasn’t conducive to getting any meaningful work done. Children playing in the yard, cars passing, the wind catching papers, etc… all got in the way and disturbed our conversations. So, we moved to one of the classrooms – which was a little better. Now at least we had tables to work on, and a bit more privacy, but still there were disruptions. Many of the kids I have in my group have younger siblings who wait at the school for us to finish… and in the meantime come in and out of the group to ask their brothers or sisters something. As the classrooms are not finished, and we are in many ways still essentially outside, the wind would often times be the source of many annoyances and frustrations. Who would have thought, but an important logistical issue to keep in mind! As a comfortable and favorable physical environment plays a critical role in helping to establish a conducive work environment and trusting relationships, this has been a constant struggle throughout the project.

2. Language: While the official language, and the one taught in schools, is English there is still a definite language barrier between myself and the children. This was most apparent when teaching the kids how to use a camera, as it was a challenge to explain concepts like ‘exposure’, ‘lighting’, ‘flash’, etc in ways that were understandable.

3. The cameras themselves presented several problems. I ended up buying Kodak ‘point-and-shoot’ cameras (thank you everyone at the fundraiser!) – Very simple ones that use film, have a flash, and are self wound and re-wound. Not all the cameras performed well however, with some of them failing to wind the film after the child had taken anywhere between five and 10 pictures. This resulted in a lot of spoiled film, and several frustrated children whose hard work was being thrown away. Not to mention that just going into town from where we live is not easy, and so it often took several days to get more film and get the child back on his or her way. But perhaps this is a reality of life here, and the group took to the set-backs well and continued to move forward.

4. As I would learn, and probably should have expected, the cameras were a hot commodity, even amongst family members of the co-researchers. I had a few children approach me saying that various family members had taken their cameras – and with that there film – to take their own pictures. Based on a culture that adheres strongly to the notion of seniority, often times the children in my group were in no position to say, “no, that’s my camera and you can’t use it right now”. So, some kids went weeks without their camera, without telling me…

5. Long Vacation: I was failed to be informed during the planning of my trip that the children would have a three week vacation between academic years. So, in the last three weeks of August our group only met once. What was particularly frustrating was that when I found out about the vacation – probably late June or early July – I spoke about it with the group and we all agreed to meet anyways. Turns out though, “yes” often means “no”, especially to someone in authority so as to avoid conflict in the moment. Perhaps similar to the philosophy of “its better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission”. We were further hampered by the fact that not many students actually come to school the first week of classes, so that we have only really gotten going again in the last two or three weeks. So, this has caused a serious set back on my timing and is making my remaining time here hectic and a bit concerning. However, one learns to roll with the punches.

And the success…

1. Children are learning to express themselves, think critically, and even I dare say, are enjoying learning. Yes, I’ve actually seen smiles on their faces when they learn something new!

2. The children are speaking to others who are not in the group about what they are doing, and from what I can tell are using the attention to develop themselves as leaders.

3. The cameras have become an income generating tool for some families. While it served as a disturbance to one girl’s picture taking time, her father was hired because he had a camera to take pictures at a graduation ceremony. This particular family is extremely poor and the father’s work was a source of much needed income.

4. The pictures the kids are taking are stimulating important dialogue amongst themselves, including sharing health information. One boy the other day, was asking another, “Do you know where malaria comes from”?

5. The children are learning to be self-advocates and are realizing that “even at their age” they have something important to say.

Speaking of which, we are coming very close to the end of the first part of the photovoice experience – critical thinking/learning, picture taking, and analysis – and are preparing for the next stage – action and advocacy. Thus, we are hosting a photo exhibit at the British Council in Accra on Friday, October 5. We have invited all the Ministries responsible for Social Services in Ghana, plus a few others whose mandates match the issues the children have raised through their pictures. We have also invited several child-centered organizations including the Ghana National Commission on Children, The NGO Coalition for the Rights of the Child, and The National Youth Council. We hope media will attend also.

We will host an exhibit for the community as well on Sunday October 7, which will give parents, the Parent Teacher Association, and the local community an opportunity to see what their children have accomplished. At the moment, we are still putting the final touches together, with the children writing their stories and the captions for the pictures, and me pounding the pavement – the HOT pavement – in Accra to get the final logistics in place.

I am feeling hopeful and believe the exhibit will be successful. I have been told October is Black History Month, and this in itself should bring a lot of the general public to the British Council, and I hope that due to the placement of our exhibit people will take the time to browse through it. At the very least, I want it to be a great experience for the kids, as this will be their first time “doing” advocacy. I hope the experience encourages and motivates them to do even more!

I’ll take this moment to offer my sincerest thank you to everyone who contributed to Ghana Make You Move! It was an incredibly successful event and the generosity expressed by so many people is now paying off in leaps and bounds. For one, I was able to buy each participant their own camera – which they’ll keep of course – and as we’ve seen could serve as an important income earner for many poor families. Second, the venue we are having the exhibit at is not particular cheap, but it is well respected and programs there are held in high regard. So, I had my heart set on having the show there and am grateful we have the financial means to do so. In addition, here no program where ministers and the like are invited can be without food and a reception, and so another way the funds are helping. And finally, I can afford to have the pictures developed at a quality place and to have the selected exhibit photos enlarged so that everything looks professional and well put together.

None of this would have been possible without everyone’s support of this project and I wanted to remind everyone of my true and deep appreciation!