This week...

This week has been a definite learning experience...

Do you know why organizations don't do surveys, don't do measurement and evaluation??BECAUSE IT TAKES SO MUCH TIME! and it's SOOOO difficult to get the Right message across. 

This week we developed a survey, we had questions about the general demographic of the families, health, water, sanitation, and agriculture. We created this 4 page survey, that even in English had some confusing bits, and then we trained our Community Development Committee. 

We trained them how to give the survey, what to be careful of, what questions would be confusing - how to ask them in a couple ways to get to the right answer, etc. And then, today they CDC was to train the Chairmen of each of the Nuru Groups. Well...I must say that throughout the entire time, I was thinking -- oh my gosh, this is ridiculous. 

Now, let me explain - it's not ridiculous to ask people to learn, it's not ridiculous to ask people to record information, but in my mind - I thought...this questionnaire is ridiculous. It is MUCH too confusing - I'll talk about my part - I should have just asked one question about HIV, and if the person's family had a case then I could follow up. AND the survey is in English - So many of the people in this room today don't read English. And why should they...they speak Kiswahili! And I just imagined...what if someone came into a room where I was and told me I'd have to give a survey to 10 people written in a language I don't speak. Oh man. I was feeling so bad about it. 

We'll see what happens - I know they'll try. If nothing else, I know that I am thinking of ways to improve the survey. 

The rest of the week, I'll blog about this weekend - did four home visits - where one lady thinks she has retained a pregnancy in her body for 10 yrs, another lady asked me to take a pic of her and then started breastfeeding her daughter for the pic, and visited 2 health facilities - it's always normal to see mosquito nets hanging over the beds right? Anyway...more to come - Soon! ;)