Research Progress and Wrap Up

Let's just say I wasn't made for blog writing. I suck at updating. So here comes 3 more posts before I leave SA :) Here's #1-Finishing up data collection!

Here's a review of our research project objectives:

1. Goal: See if we could use our positive psychology scales in a place like Durban, as we would anywhere in the States or Europe. Objective: Have 500 surveys completed all over campus, and see if they would be responded to naturally and easily. CHECK!

We were always printing- we became fast friends with the copy shop people.

People taking surveys on City Campus

People taking surveys at the cafeteria on Sultan Campus

 2. Goal: See if students would respond to that survey as a possible instrument to measure Ubuntu (serving others, friends, and familiy, empathy, and forgiveness). We had a focus group of people who did the surveys discuss this. CHECK.

3. Do in-depth interviews with a substantial number of students to understand the state of Ubuntu. college-going  emerging adults in Durban (a place in Africa that is constantly changing due to globalization). I completed 32 of these. LOVED EVERY MINUTE.  Life changing. CHECK. 

4. Completed a number of in-depth focus groups to supplement #3. Had 3 with a number with 7-10 Zulu and Xhosa students each. CHECK. I have a picture of this, but for privacy reasons I don't want to post it here. 

There's no way we could have finished our work without our fabulous research assistant friends from DUT. We're all pictured below:

The student dream team: Pam, Bongani, Me, and Sam

To finish things off, Randy had the brilliant idea to finish off our Ubuntu project by a community service project, since we didn't only come to SA just to take data and say "hey thanks." Laralea (Randy's wife) and Randy were picking up their laundry one day and saw a bunch of bags lying around at the launderer's business. They asked the lady at the laundry what all the bags were about, and she said that she had tons of leftover blankets and clothing that she had laundered that people had neglected to pick up for months. She was just going to get rid of it, but Randy decided to pay her for what she had so we could donate it to a number of reputable centers. Here's all the bags we ended up picking up, and it included children's, women's, and men's clothing, soccer uniforms, blankets, sheets, drapes, and more. We were able to sort through them and donate them to a number of centers that would benefit adults in need, as well as some houses that offer services to street children (there are a lot of street kids here- in fact, one of the homes is not far from the picture location with taken with Pam and Bongani above). Here's a few of our picture documenting that experience. We're hoping to deliver some of it tomorrow.

Randy and Laralea looking through the soccer uniforms

Sorted, bagged, and labeled

Us with all of our bags- we fille Ray's office! (Left to right, Sam, Seshnum,and Me). 

The project has been a huge adventure (we were all over the place for two weeks, and plans were tentative EVERY DAY) but my overall impression of doing this kind of work (now after getting through it) is that you can do anything with postive, hard working, patient people. We were able to bust out all of our data collection in two weeks with four people- but it was the collaboration of our facillitators and willingness of people who participated that made it all possible.

While I've been reviewing my notes, I've realized that what I've LOVED the most is getting to know these people. Even though it was just for a 10-20 minutes for each person, interviewing was the bomb.com. They did it with no incentive, and before and afterward we would just chat about life. I got to see a little bit into the soul of each person I talked to- their dreams for the future, what it was like growing up in SA in their families, how they feel the state of Ubuntu is in SA, and where they think things are going in the future. Though they were very honest and ultimately reaslitic, the fact that they were so willing to talk to me and help me out was a sign of Ubuntu toward me. Sure, I got a few rejections here and there, but it wasn't really ever personal. Though I can't share a whole lot of results here, I can say that people would definitely LIKE to keep up the tradition of Ubuntu- but the complex times in SA has made that difficult. Freedoms and rights post '94 have been wonderful, but it's also contributed to a growth in crime, and you've gotta watch your back in SA. Corruption is still rampant. Though people would like to be integrated and friends, there's still a cultural separation. However, I'm hopeful for the people I met and what they'll contribute to their communities.

This seems cliche, but it's true- everywhere you go, there are wonderful, kind people who are more similar to you than different- regardless of where they were born, their skin color, their language, their religion, or spiritual/moral orietation. It doesn't mean that each of those factors doesn't contribute to the uniqueness of each individual, but the fun part is discovering that there's a lot of common ground that we share. We care about our families. We care about our friends. We care about our communities and we do want to empower those who are less forunate than us. We all struggle- none of us our perfect. Sometimes we feel discouraged and don't know how to move on- yet we find the strength to through the power of example and from what I can see as the goodness of God. We're all brothers and sisters as a human family- and a little Ubuntu goes a really, really long way.

Picture of a sunrise from my deck. It reminds me that we're all living under the same sun.