Yesterday was great balance. It was filled with a morning full of field work and followed by an afternoon of desk work.
Yesterday was a bit further than the previous day in terms of driving. Currently, a new project is starting in Shinyanga so I went out with the assessment team to gather data on the schools and health facilities in the project area.
A few times it happened where I was dropped off with a coworker while the other people went to a different site. Both times the survey we were trying to complete wasn’t working so we just had to sit and wait for about an hour.
One of the things I’ve been observing while out in the field is how much responsibility children are given. For example, one of the schools we went to was in the middle of a grounds keeping day. All of the students either had a machete in hand or were hauling off the sticks and twigs. There was only one teacher supervising the whole operation, less over a concern of safety and more in terms of keeping the kids working.
I also saw many young kids (as young as 5 I’m guessing) out by themselves herding a flock of cattle. I’ve seen this a few times before, but yesterday it was different because one minute I was driving past that and the next I was with their peers in a classroom.
I was able to put in four so-so hours of work after the field. It was much needed because I kinda have a lot of tasks to get done online, but seeing as my time here is dwindling, I want to make the most of it and get out to the field as much as possible. Today will be the same story. I’m planning to go out to the field in the morning and we’ll see if I get back in time to be productive at the office!