Researching amid a pandemic

By Nontokozo Ndlovu, 2nd year MDP student

Nono Ndlovu

A pandemic was the least of my worries when I started this program. Throughout my studies, public health has always been my passion and driving force. It still is but the challenges have made me explore a lot more than what I had just imagined.

My placement as a researcher for a needs assessment on Metis homelessness in the Housing and Property Management department with Manitoba Metis Federation has been eye opening.

Questions that arose were:

• What is it to be a public health practitioner?
• What is it to be a researcher and building relationships during a pandemic?
• What is it to be homelessness in this time of a pandemic?

 My duties include researching on Metis-specific homelessness, identify gaps, challenges and trends. This includes connecting with different organizations and doing interviews. Connecting with organizations who are essential during a pandemic is challenging yet a time to learn a lot. The biggest challenge is not hearing the stories of the people we are writing the needs assessment for. This meant building relationships virtually and allowing that time for people to trust you with information they are giving.

Home office

This also brought many questions like:

• Does exchanging emails back and forth build relationships?
• Does requesting virtual meetings at a time like this overstepping?
• What other ways of research could be used?

 I have so many questions that I ask myself all the time. “I have so many questions that I ask myself all the time. The only answer I have found is that it is essential to hear the stories of the people experiencing homelessness/ unsheltered people. However, this is the challenge of doing research during a pandemic when you are house bound and not able to work directly with the people for whom the work is to benefit.

Environmental Justice in India

By Ari Phanvoulong, 2nd year MDP student

Goa is an Indian state known for its beautiful beaches and picturesque landscapes, attracting travellers from near and far. Goa was a former Portuguese colony, liberated in 1961 after 450 years from Portuguese rule. The Portuguese influence in Goa today is still apparent in its architecture and numerous churches.

Travelling to Goa after spending the first part of my field placement in the southern state of Karnataka marked a new phase in my research. Prior to my arrival to Goa, I had planned to meet with several individuals I had been hoping to interview for my case study regarding a port expansion project. This port expansion proposal has been quoted by many activists as a coal-driven expansion of the port, which could increase air and water pollution for residents of Vasco da Gama, including local fisherfolk. For many years, this expansion project has been a contentious issue between companies that operate out of the government-owned port and residents of Vasco.

 

A view of the port from an office located on the beach

Finally arriving on the grounds on which the case study is set allowed me to organize same-day interviews as I was able to meet with participants at their convenience, usually within hours of first contact by phone. I was also told that it wasn’t unusual for students to call and visit government agencies to enquire in person, and so that is exactly what I did. The visits weren’t necessarily as effective as I expected considering the sensitivity of the subject. However, the individuals I did get to interview were enthusiastic and receptive to my questions, taking away any apprehension I had when I first arrived. 

The weeks I spent alone on the field tested my patience, but I was overall happy with the work I was able to accomplish autonomously. Despite not reaching my goal interviews in terms of quantity, I’m satisfied with the quality discussions I had with all willing participants and look forward to producing a report that can contribute to the larger environmental justice project.

A visit to Grandmother's Hole Beach at the Japanese Garden of Vasco da Gama on my last day in Goa.

My Local Field Placement Experience

By Patricia Eyamba, 1st year MDP student

Patricia pointing to York Factory Cree Nation

Wow! The field placement went too fast, seems like yesterday when I started.  Anyways, it was a very rewarding experience for me; 220 hours of a life transforming encounter. Yes! A life transforming encounter because I did not only improve on my academic skills or develop professional abilities but I became more human.

I have learned during this time that as a development practitioner, it is important to balance your soft skills and your technical skills.  Technical skills help you get your job done which is only an aspect of the process but soft skills sustain your connectedness with people.  It is good to amplify your human skills because it helps increase successful co-existence and motivates your team.

Being human makes you focus on how things went well, acknowledge setbacks and be encouraging when giving feedback. With this skill, you are able to handle frustrating tasks with kind words. How nice!

Additionally, I feel good for having the opportunity to attend two meetings with some leaders of York Factory First Nation. This forum provided me the insight into how community meeting processes are managed in an Indigenous community. Another exciting task was when I was given responsibility to develop a framework for a draft community engagement plan to promote embodied understanding of the process of engaging Indigenous communities. In putting this together, I gained insight into understanding community protocols and ethics, I gained knowledge of what it means to practice respectful communication; understand what is relevant and important from an Indigenous point of view.

Finally, I am grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Trish Fitzpatrick for her patience and teaching me key research skills. With her support, I have been able to put together a briefing note, a draft annotated review and a proposed community engagement plan. I am more aware of the impact of Hydro project on the Indigenous community in Manitoba. Overall, it was a good journey of self-discovery and learning that will guide me throughout my academic and career life.

Environmental Justice in India – International Field Placement

By Ari Phanlouvong, 2nd year MDP student

India has been amazing so far. I have been extremely fortunate to have been in good health and have adapted so easily and quickly. Since arriving Friday, May 18, Cassandra and I hit the ground running, immediately immersing ourselves in the chaos of Mumbai which was a whirlwind, to say the least. For someone who has never travelled to India, Ahmedabad may have been a better place to begin our journey as it is much quieter than Mumbai, however, we decided to spend our first weekend visiting the big city before flying north to the state of Gujarat which would mark the official beginning of our field placement.  

The end of a productive day at GNLU

The research on which we are working consists of examining both the social and environmental impacts of court decisions regarding specific development projects located in the states of Goa and Karnataka. Through this analysis we hope to increase positive impacts to local communities.

My specific case is located in Goa. During our time in Ahmedabad at the Gujurat National Law University (GNLU), each member of the team did in-depth research on our respective projects by analyzing court documents as well as using the University’s available resources and contacts to guide us through our next steps in the research.

We then headed south to Honnavar in the state of Karnataka where we met our community liaison who has been helping us connect with the communities in each of our cases. Our contact in Honnavar has played a crucial role by allowing us to approach communities in such a short amount of time. As we all know, building relationships and a rapport with community members is a crucial process in research and normally takes longer than a few short weeks. 

Our Honnavar office

After spending a few weeks in Honnavar building our interview tools and skills, as well as courage to undertake the next steps of field work independently, the team separated. We are now in our respective project areas. I took a 6-hour bus journey to the city of Panjim (Panaji) in Goa, where I have organized meetings between nearby cities and towns. My next stop is Vasco da Gama where I will base myself for the remainder of my time on the field.

The beautiful beach behind our Honnavar office