Sawubona, Durban-Finally some immersion and collection!

This post is so overdue! Here is the update on the project. We finally got FULL collaborative ethics clearance! We had ethics clearance to do research as guests of DUT, but their university was holding off some paperwork that kept us from full collaboration and hiring RAs for two weeks. This slowed us down, but now we're working hard to catch up.  .

Our project involves a number of methods, both quantitative and qualitative. The only thing I have pictures for are our surveys and a focus group we did. I am personally doing one on one interviews (WHICH I LOVE) and also something called a Q-sort (which we're still sorting out) but don't have any pictures to document that yet. I love just chilling with people and talking to them about growing up and what they feel their role can be in their current world. Here is a picture of our first focus group- an awesome bunch of Child and Youth Care students who are Zulu and Xhosa. We've made better friends with Zamani, Bongani, Pamella, and Khanyi since then (they've helped us as RAs).

They were interested in the focus group process and openly told us about ways they hope to give back to the community through their professions (advocating for children in the justice system, helping the youth with drug intervention, helping street kids, etc.). Then they opened up about how they feel about Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a notion or way of being that emerged from Zulu culture that relates to my blog title-it translates to "a person is a person because of others." In other words, you realize that as a part of humanity, you must care for others recognizing that you have been cared for, and that you should expect to be cared for because you are human. However, the true spirit of Ubuntu is that you treat others the way YOU HOPE others would treat you- not necessarily expecting something in return. We talked all about how that was demonstrated in their home life, how it's demonstrated in the community, and whether or not it is misused in society, and whether or not it is increasing, decreasing, or changing to the current generation (but still existent). I cannot give you full details here, but many of the focus group members had passionate feelings about this subject, and interestingly how it relates to social welfare (sound familar to American issues right now?)

We're also doing a bunch of surveys with students (it's all voluntary) and everyone's been really nice. The fact that we're American really does help, but our other RAs have also been really sucessful. It's a 15 minute questionnaire that measures how they feel about serving their friends, family, and people in general, as well as their levels of empathy and forgiveness. Our theory is that, perhaps, these "Ubuntu" related scales that are commonly used in the States may reflect a higher sense of care here in Durban compared to an American sample, since people in SA typically ascribe to a way of life where giving is imperative. However, my own suspicion is that there will be a lot of surprises in the final analyses. Not because people aren't generous (SO generous to us so far) but they are also very blunt on our surveys and we're talking to a new generation  It'll be interesting to get final qualitative feedback from another focus group who will openly talk to us about the surveys later in the week.

As a thank you, we give people the popular "Lunch Bar" chocolate bar. We hide it in our bags so it will be a nice surprise for people- not as an attractor to do the surveys. It's got a full wafer in the middle, crisps, carmel, and chocolate- a Cadburry bar. I think it's kinda weird, but people get excited when they see that they got " a big one" after helping us with no incentive :)  Starving students are the same worldwide- free food is exciting. 

We also recruited from the Residential halls to another focus group and Q-sort (it's a way for us to find out the most common words people use to describe Ubuntu...I have no idea as to how it would go). Here is one of the most popular Res halls- it's HUGE- and kinda in a sketch part of town. They cram four people into each room with only beds and a 'kitchen' area- and it's randomly assigned. I asked one of our RAs if she liked her roommates. She flat out said no, but she had no choice. I'm SO grateful we've gotten to stay with the Anniah's... and I can see why students went on strike for better accomodations earlier in April.

Other than that, we've met so many cool people here in SA. Here is a picture of me with Seshnum, Prof. Bhagwan's lead reserach assistant. She's been an angel and full of smiles the second we got here!

 Below is us with the Bhagwan family with Sam, and Randy and Laralee after a family dinner.

Here's a picture of me and the Anniah girls (minus Bev) right before Grace left to go see her long distance boyfriend in Sweden. 

Me and Kate girl!

We got to go to a baptism last Sunday for 3 new members and it was fun meeting some people. One girl I befriended, Mpume, said that she might be able to take us to the rural areas- or what she called the REAL KwaZulu-Natal. I'm excited. Here's a picture of the new members, the father of one of the mmbers, and the bishop (right). 

Finally, one of my favorite moments thus far last Friday was listening in on some group singing. I think  people just get together in this area every Friday to sing some songs from back home, and I finally felt like I was being apart of something really fun an African. People here try to remember their roots though Durban is getting very Durbanized (especially with American culture). Here is a picture- I'll add the video in the next post. Can't believe there's only two weeks left!