Reflections

By Naomi Wilson

Since returning from Ghana and continuing in my program as a 2^nd year doctoral student, I am looking at things through a different lens.  I’ve mentioned Ghana in multiple classes about the pervasiveness of low cost private schools; I’ve spoken about teachers and the idea of assessments; and I even spoke about the overall mockery of our presidential race and how other countries are viewing us. All of these experiences has shown me how influential my experience in Ghana has been to me.

 

What’s more interesting is that most of the lessons I learned were not through education per say but the day to day life of being a human being trying to see the positivity in things.  Most of my work was based in assessments and traveling to schools but it was also based in relationship building. Yes, I did work in education and there is something’s such as professional development that I gained insight in, but overall it was my life experiences and view that changed.  I was a part of a community that made optimism out of nothing and children who found joy in the small things such as the lunch games or seeing foreigners come into their classrooms.  I witnessed being a part of a team that was disillusioned with the help from the “west” when their ideas were often not taken into consideration. I myself had to check in where I would bring in ideas that worked for my particular contexts in the states but did not adapt it to Ghana or even think that maybe it could not work at all. 

 

The thing about socialization is that you do not recognize you are working off assumptions until you are either talked to about it or you self-reflect. Being socialized into western ways of thinking that everything we propose is the best is hard to disassociate from but it is necessary.  It’s a part of our own education that must take place in order to see the strengths in other contexts that are quite different from our own.  It’s about recognizing that significant change may not happen right away but celebrating the small wins such as greater enrollment by a percentage or students increasing their scores marginally a celebrative moment as well. 

 

I’ve written about this in other posts, but learning about another culture and taking their cultural norms as the lead is necessary when working in other contexts. As educators and as consultants who work abroad, it is imperative that one listens first and acts later.  If I have learned nothing else, it is seeing the strengths in a company first before I automatically focus on the perceived problem.  Part of the work is progressing things but it is also learning from the environment itself.  Not only for personal growth, but as an important element that can drive your work within the new space you are in.

 

Overall, my experience in Ghana was fruitful in that it made me take a deeper look at myself as an educator, researcher, consultant, and citizen of the world.  These learnings are priceless and I am so grateful for my opportunity granted through WDI not only for my professional growth but growth as a human being; that was the greatest experience. 

 

It all comes to an end...

By Dilparinder Singh

4-amazing-weeks in Ethiopia come to an end, as I just submitted the final deliverables for my project in Ethiopia!
I can’t believe that my 3 months of super enriching summer internship has come to an end, and that it’s time to head back to AA!

I was working with PATH/MACEPA in Ethiopia to analyze and helping PATH/MACEPA build out a landscape on the case management of P. vivax malaria. Interestingly, mid-way into my 4-week project, the Government of Ethiopia released a circular on Malaria elimination that caught almost everyone by surprise, but with a calm approach and full-fledged support from my supervisors in Ethiopia and Seattle, I took the challenge head-on.

Over the next two weeks, I went on field visits to the health facilities around Addis Ababa, conducted over 30 stakeholder interviews and conducted through desk research to gather the information necessary to not only fulfill the revised scope of work but also add value to the Ethiopia’s National Malaria program!

Among the 30-odd interviews I conducted, I got a chance to visit the United Nations Africa HQ, WHO Africa Regional Office, Federal Ministry of Health etc. and interview the big-shots of the National Malaria Control Programme in Ethiopia! Satisfying? You bet!

During my four-weeks in Ethiopia, I realized how involved the Government is to tackle the pressing health needs of its citizens! It was heartwarming to see the effort and time all the stakeholders put in to address the health needs in the country. On my field visit to a health facility in a small town near Addis, I saw how politely and carefully the health personnel were attending to the patients - it was great to see!
I had heard that Ethiopia has one of the best health systems among the emerging nations in the world; I experienced it first-hand during these 4 weeks!

Time for this humbled and transformed student to head back to AA!
Thank you PATH. Thank you WDI. Thank you Michigan Ross.

PATH/MACEPA office, Addis Ababa (Thank you everyone for such warm hospitality!)

The United Nations Africa HQ

Patients waiting in line for their turn...

 

The Bishoftu Health Center, Oromia

Waka Waka, Africa!

By Dilparinder Singh
This journal was originally written on 14th August.

It’s been just a few days in Ethiopia’s sprawling commercial and cultural hub - Addis Ababa, and I’m in love with this place! The coffee, the food and the people - everything is just great!

Honestly, I did not expect that the weather in Addis would be so pleasant! I always thought it’s hot in here, but being in the highlands bordering the Great Rift Valley, the climate here is just perfect!

Due to the heavy protests and rains during my first weekend, I could not go out at all! But I got lucky this weekend, so I went out this weekend and I really enjoyed my 4-hour walk. Honestly, I felt as if I’m in India! Everyone here seems so happy, there is so much diversity here, but unfortunately the gap between the rich and the poor is clearly evident as is in India.

It's been a really nice couple of weeks thus far - after a thoroughly enriching day at work, catching up on Olympics and News before sleep sums up my day perfectly!

The Tiglachin monument, a memorial to Ethiopian and Cuban soldiers involved in Ogaden War.

View of Addis from a small hill near the Prime Minister's palace!

View from office balcony! Not bad at all, right?

Teachers and Respect

By Naomi Wilson

It’s interesting when you come back from being out of the country and then  faced with all of the things that are different.  Coming back from Ghana, I was analyzing so many things differently especially as it relates to our education system.  Ghana is predominantly low cost private schools and definitely has a public school space but it is not respected. Most families believe it is not necessary to send their students to the public schools because students would be more useful helping out at home when the schooling system is so bad. Personally, I did not experience this myself but Ghanaians around me told me the same story consistently. What’s interesting about Ghana’s case is the reverence for the teacher. Having lived in America my whole life and being immersed in our educational systems, we see regularly the lack of the respect for the teacher. This can be seen in the policies that are made without their input, the pay of teachers, and even how they are regarded as a profession. In Ghana, this is completely opposite as it relates to families and how they view teachers.

Teachers are seen as professionals who can directly impact the future of a child. Ghanaian parents see this and understand this, and therefore look to the teachers for guidance before they look to the principal. For an example, if low cost private schools are doing an enrollment drive the best way to get families to become interested is to have the teachers recruiting. In America, parents may look to the teacher when it comes to student conferences but, by and large, we see the principal as the know all and often do not defer to the teacher. In some cases, it is understandable why a family would not listen to a teacher if the teacher themselves are not interested in the child, but in Ghana it does not matter. Now, there are pros and cons to this but it was inspiring to see the regard to them.

Schooling systems, in general, are place based and culturally specific. To determine how a teacher should be treated globally is hard to say but we can all acknowledge that the work of a great teacher is immeasurable. Students spend more time in school than they do at home in most places and the teachers get a lot of time with their students. This is all to say that teachers have the opportunity to be impactful in so many ways. A part of this impact is respecting teachers as a nation and investing in the profession. Both Ghana and America do not do this enough and it would drastically affect the quality of teachers we receive and how they are treated. Unfortunately, we live in a society where the amount one makes is determinant of their worth to people and the respect they deserve. We must change this and it was inspiring to see that, at least a small level, teachers were revered in Ghana and were seen in the professional light that they deserve. 

Fueling homegrown innovation to address local health needs...

By Dilparinder Singh

Even though native to India, I have never had an opportunity to work in India before this assignment.  Being completely aware of the political, economic and cultural environment, I was therefore very nervous and excited at the same time.  India is a country of both tremendous health needs and growing health resources. In view of the rapidly growing start-up ecosystem, the opportunity to develop health solutions in India, for India has never been greater. Many of these solutions have applications for low-resource countries far beyond its borders. Despite the hyper growth inflection phase for Indian start-up ecosystem, the healthcare start-up space is still in infancy. Fewer than 100 startups listed in India who are addressing healthcare needs. Despite vast technological prowess, India fares poorly in terms of burden of disease and preventable morbidities and mortalities, and of social protection of the poof from the rising healthcare costs.

But it’s not all grim! Healthcare innovation space in India has lately shown encouraging signs, for instance 57 deals were made in 2015 with total funding of $277 million.  Fueling homegrown innovation to address the health needs and gaps in a country is important as homegrown innovation provides stronger link to local needs, can significantly improve global access to technologies, enhance local to global collaborations, increasing access to technology innovations.

My task therefore was to identify strategic opportunities and partnerships in India to help PATH establish its value-add in the innovation ecosystem to improve the affordability, accessibility, and effectiveness of health technologies for the bottom-of-the-pyramid populations. As a part of the project, I got a chance to interview various entrepreneurs, advocacy partners, incubators and accelerators, and medical experts, gaining invaluable exposure to the health innovation space in India.

At the end of my engagement, receiving extremely positive response on my work was highly encouraging, and I can definitely see it translating into an actionable and impactful work for PATH.

On a personal level, it gave me a chance to connect with my family and friends whom I had not seen in a long time. I also took this opportunity to travel to nearby cities during the weekends - Agra and Jaipur.

The Taj Mahal (shot with Nikon D5100)

Being tourist in my country... atop Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur

The pink city of Jaipur!

An amazing, amazing experience indeed! Thank you WDI, PATH and Michigan Ross!
Off to Africa now…

The Role of Private Schools in Addressing the Challenges of K-12 Reform in the Philippines

By Michael Manansala
Ford School of Public Policy

The 2016-2017 academic year marks the first time mandatory K-12 education is rolled out in the Philippines. The country previously functioned on a K-10 system with few K-12 schools available for wealthier families, and prior to this rollout, the Philippines was one of only three countries along with Angola and Djibouti that ended secondary school at grade 10. Implementation is supposed to occur in two stages: this year, Filipinos will enter the 11^th grade for the first time, and then graduate its first 12^th grade class in AY 2017-2018.

However, implementation is already plagued with problems stemming from poor anticipation, the transition into a new administration, and lack of resources for schools and families. Since there are not enough public schools that can accommodate the additional 1.5 million students who would have graduated from secondary school, DepEd made vouchers available to encourage families to enroll in private institutions that offer grades 11 and 12. One of these schools is the Affordable Private Education Centers (APEC Schools), a joint venture between Pearson, the largest learning company in the world, and Ayala, one of the Philippines’ largest conglomerates. However, due to the lack of information on the voucher program, families and schools alike did not know how to access and redeem these vouchers from DepEd. As the academic year for public schools was loomed, the DepEd noted only about 340,000 of the 1.5 million students anticipated to enter 11^th grade had actually enrolled.

To respond to the alarmingly low levels of enrollment, the Ayala Group, APEC’s parent company lent one of its call centers to DepED and established the Senior High School Help Desk on May 23^rd, three weeks before the the first day of the academic year. Most of the questions asked by families were about the SHS voucher program as well as indirect costs of attending senior high school. In addition, APEC and other private schools delayed their start dates to July in order to accommodate families redeeming the vouchers after the first day of classes, June 13^th. As a result of the Help Desk, the delayed start date, and other initiatives, DepEd anticipates that about 90% of the 1.5 million students will actually enroll in SHS this academic year, with about .4 million students anticipated to drop out and not enroll.

Beyond enrollment, many challenges remain for the Philippines’ K-12 reform. Despite the voucher program, many families will not be able to support their students through SHS due to the indirect costs of education, and this will cause further drop in enrollment throughout the academic year. Furthermore, tertiary institutions will inevitably experience a drop in revenue in the next two years due to the delayed enrollment of students who are currently in 11^th grade, but would have been first years in college under the old system. Already, some universities are looking to recruit students from other parts of Asia to offset the revenue loss. All of these problems are expected to occur during landmark reforms, and the best policy response is to anticipate as many of these problems as possible before they manifest and be ahead of the curve. Otherwise, the country will be stuck patching expensive holes in the policy that could negatively impact financial resources and learning outcomes for millions of Filipinos.

Michael Manansala is a graduate student at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. As a WDI Fellow, Michael is working with Pearson Plc’s Affordable Learning Fund (PALF), where he is embedded with the Affordable Private Education Centers, the PALF’s largest portfolio company and the largest chain of low-cost private schools in the Philippines. At APEC, Michael leads two work streams: designing APEC’s annual testing plan and managing the head of academic office.

Doing well by doing good!

Dilparinder Singh
MBA Candidate, Ross School of Business
(This post was written during my last day in Seattle)

As I complete my two weeks in Seattle and prepare to head to India for first of my two projects, I would like to reflect on my experience thus far.

It has been a great couple of weeks indeed. At the PATH Seattle office, I met some amazing set of people, who despite being so accomplished in their careers are so humble and approachable.  At the end of the very first day of my internship, I knew I belonged here!  I was blown away by the amazing and relentless work PATH has been doing around the globe in providing affordable healthcare to the bottom-of-the-pyramid populations. Staff here, despite being extremely busy with multiple projects and travels, always have time to speak to you, guide you, and are invested in your personal and professional success. I am filled with pride and sweet-nervousness that I have been tasked such important projects to really make a positive difference.

To be honest, I do feel a little sad leaving Seattle. From day 1, I was made to feel at home and an integral part of the team - I did not feel for even a second that I’m just an intern! I’d miss this place!

PATH HQ, Seattle

On a personal level, this was my first visit to Seattle and experience could not have been better. Being in Seattle gave me a chance to connect with my Singapore university friends and explore Seattle - the hikes, food junctions, and must-visit places.

The Seattle Public Library

The Needle!

Seattle Glass Art Museum

Lake 22, near Mt Baker National Forest

Off to India now…

Education Consulting in Kasoa, Ghana - What is an Impact?

By Naomi Mae Wilson

Before I begin my experience of impact and the reasons on why I was hesitant and critical of leaving a piece of it in Ghana, it is important to know my background. I am originally from San Diego, CA. I have a Bachelor’s in African American Studies, a Master’s in Educational Leadership and am currently pursuing my PhD in Education Policy. I have a good amount of experience in community organizing, social justice education, and leadership. My background fueled my desire to work in Africa generally and inspired me to apply to the William Davidson Institute Fellowship in Ghana specifically.  I arrived in Ghana knowing that the experience would be life changing. Not only because it was me returning to Africa for a significant amount of time, but also because it would be my first time working in another country. In the end, Ghana proved to be everything I could imagine and more. My experience was phenomenal and I am extremely grateful to the two other fellows I worked with, the Omega company, and the support I received from the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund (PALF).

With the Omega Schools Assessment Team in Kasoa, Ghana

When I first arrived in Ghana 11 weeks ago I kept reminding myself that I can not save anyone, nor should I want to, and that I would make the best out of any situation. Having been in education for nearly 5 years now I knew education in the context of the United States, but had no understanding for an international frame. All of my traveling has been for leisure and this fellowship with the William Davidson Institute was the first to serve as a job internationally.  I was tasked with leading assessments for a low-cost private school chain, Omega Schools, that would use its’ data for efficacy check ins and potential investors.  I spent a majority of my time learning the area, the employees, and building a strategic plan that would make our assessments drive as seamless as possible. We were to assess 10 schools, totaling to around 900 students, using the Ghana National Education Assessment (GNEA) along with the Early Grade Reading Assessment for third grade and sixth grade students. As someone who has done logistics for years and finds it to be fun, I was not worried about the task but about the process and the outcome. I, as a Black American woman, was to come in and assess students I have never had contact with and only had a very minimal baseline understanding of the context of the local community within Kasoa.  Outside of my concerns of being an outsider, I also was weary of the actual impacts I could make. Before coming to Ghana, I deemed success as leaving an impact on an organization, job, team, etc. and I was unsure if this could happen within my project. Ghana has taught me a lot over the last 11 weeks and moreover, has granted me a greater understanding of what an impact can mean for various people.

While in Ghana I often had to think about my own privileges of nationality. Moreover, I thought about culture and context and how I could be the least infringing on the local peoples’ thoughts and desires for the company. As someone who considers herself an advocate it was hard for me to think about the ways I may have been perpetuating stereotypes or not checking myself.  In this sense, and being in a whole other context, I had to think about the fact that I actually could be oppressive in my own ways. By thinking about solutions from an American standpoint or putting my thoughts on how things should be without consultation can be oppressive. I do not always know the solution and although I do have a skillset in consulting it is not the end all solution. Coming into the project, I held myself accountable to stay listening and to get a sense of what it was like in the context of Ghana before I made suggestions. This proved to be helpful because there were some issues we had to address but I would not have been able to address them had I not learned first. I would not have been able to make my own impact on myself if I didn’t stay uncomfortable and always in dialogue. These experiences and conversations proved to be fruitful as it gave me legitimacy in the eyes of my coworkers. Often, visitors come into developing countries and begin to dictate what people should do and how without first learning the communities wants and needs and their agency. Because of this, one may be leading charges and making headway on their own agendas but, in my opinion, are not making a positive impact with the community itself.

An impact is more than what you make it and a result of collaboration, humility, and understanding. My experience in Ghana, especially in the beginning, was foundational to how I conducted myself in this way and throughout the rest of the fellowship. I took the time to learn about my surroundings while also pushing back in respectful ways. I heard the interests of the locals and also made my concerns heard in a way that did not trump others. I took a bite of humble pie while also advocating for the betterment of the company even if it meant being critical of leadership. My personal project was successful because it was completed and will be useful for future endeavors. But even more so, I decided that it is of a colonizer disposition to come into a community, lead a project, and not teach the people how to be able to do it themselves. It creates a power dynamic that makes a people dependent on the “stakeholder” in order to succeed. This is a key piece of colonization. I decided that I would teach the leadership how to do assessments for themselves and gave them the tools to be able to lead it on their own. That way, it felt like I not only made an impact but also fulfilled my desire to be an advocate and collaboratively work towards agency. This topic of impact and agency are a few of many experiences that are worthy of being discussed and this post is the first to get the conversation going. 

Thoughts On Fitting In and Standing Out

Elisabeth Michel
University of Michigan School of Public Health
(This is my second post from May - scroll down for the first!).

I feel like an invisible outsider.

All the villagers can clearly distinguish the muzungu (originally meaning “ghost”), the term used to refer to foreigners. Correction – the term used to refer to non-Black foreigners. I, on the other hand, an umunyamahanga (foreigner).  Kids run up to the muzungu for a handshake, or yell to them from yards away. Adults stare at them, and then spread their faces into a toothy grin and joyfully respond when the muzungu greets them in Kinyarwanda.

But it’s different for me. People often don’t take notice of me – until I start talking.

I’m pretty sure there is an elderly woman around here somewhere who thinks I am the rudest person under the sun. One day as I briskly walked to work, I saw her slowly approaching from the opposite direction. While we were still some ways from each other, she looked me in the eye and released a slew of words in Kinyarwanda. I maintained my walking pace, smiled and responded, “Mwirwe!” (Good afternoon!).

I don’t completely blend in, because my clothes are different and folks can tell them I’m not from Ruli. But it’s not immediately apparent that I’m not Rwandan. So I don’t get many stares, and people often don’t respond as enthusiastically to my greetings as they would to that of a muzungu.

My older brother is 6’5” and has always been taller than his peers mostly everyone around. My mother used to tell him when he was younger that he had to be aware of his surroundings and couldn’t always act as immature as his peers, since he looked older than his age. (Imagine someone you think is 15 acting like a 10-year-old…).

I feel like that sometimes when I walk around Ruli. As though I need to hold myself to a higher standard. Obviously, I cannot force myself to be someone I’m not – nor do I have any desire to do so. But I feel I have to go the extra mile to be respectful, work extra hard to learn as much of the language as is possible in 3 months, and learn the customs as best as possible…so I don’t accidentally offend people. And I can at least tell someone I don’t speak Kinyarwanda, instead of letting them guess for themselves as I breeze past them.

(Blending in can work to my benefit though – once I learn numbers and how to ask, “How much is this?,” I may get better deals on goods and services than a muzungu might...)

I may sometimes feel invisible, but in reality, I'm not. Whenever I engage in conversation with someone in Ruli, I receive bright smiles, a warm welcome, and Kinyarwanda lessons. And I've been forging new friendships that I'm already beginning to treasure. So, maybe by the time I leave in August, I won’t feel like too much of an outsider.

These children were headed to an outdoor lesson on the basketball court. Most precious sight to see: kids clamoring around someone for a hug or yelling, "Good afternoon!" from across the way.

 

Arriving in Rwanda.

Elisabeth Michel
University of Michigan School of Public Health

I wrote a few posts offline earlier this summer - this first one is from May, just after I arrived in Rwanda.

I am on the continent of Africa.

It feels surreal.

I landed in Kigali on Sunday night (May 15). Members of the TIP team met me at the airport, and we all piled into a car for the final leg of my journey. I did not watch the time closely, but I think it took us around 3 hours – maybe less – to get to Ruli, my new home. Once we left the outskirts of Kigali, we traveled north along a bumpy dirt road, climbing the mountains of this land of a thousand hills. I thanked God for the night. Since it was so dark (there were no lights, except for our headlights and those of passing cars or motorcycles), I couldn’t see how close we were at times to the edge of the mountain. Ignorance is bliss.

Feeling exhausted after spending 22 hours on 3 different planes (not including layovers …).  I tried to get some sleep in the car. Unfortunately, my body constantly bouncing up and down inhibited me from doing much more than closing my eyes and laying my head down. And then sitting right back up when my head started dribbling like a basketball on the headrest.

Regardless of the factors telling me I should be nervous, the driver made me feel confident. Navigating the roads with familiarity, he guided the car around the worst potholes and rocks and kept track of the best places to steer the sedan – making it rev up the mountain as though it were a sports utility vehicle.

This may sound cheesy, but truly he reminded me of leadership and problem-solving. Like a leader, he maintained control of the vehicle, bore the responsibility for bringing a group of people to their destination, and he had to navigate the difficulties and challenges before him. At times I wanted to tell him to stop intentionally driving closer to the edge of the road (read: mountain). Obviously though, this man knew the road well and how to safely get us to Ruli. I – a passenger and foreigner – had nothing to add.

Thinking about how I had no option but to trust this man, I started drawing a parallel between being in the car and my presence in Rwanda for 3 months. I came to work with The Ihangane Project in facilitating a leadership retreat for department heads and administrators of a specialty hospital in Ruli. During the retreat, participants will learn a problem-solving framework to solve key issues within their departments. After the retreat, I will provide support as the department heads implement solutions to these key issues.

As my eyes scanned the dark silhouettes of mountains in the distance, I began asking myself - what will I have to offer? I’m a student in my mid-twenties from a completely different country. Yes, I have a wealth of skills, experience, and knowledge. But who am I to waltz into a room for a week and tell high-level leaders (significantly older than me) how to solve problems at a hospital? A place where some have worked for years?

I refuse to be one of those, “I’m from the United States and I know what to do, so be quiet and listen” types of international consultants/interns/travelers. There are enough of them in the world (incurring damage…) – I don’t need to add myself to their number.

But I also don’t won't plop myself in a corner and keep my mouth shut for fear of overstepping, offending, or “speaking out of turn.” I don’t know how this fellowship will turn out. I will, however, learn as much as possible and give whatever I can that is relevant to the situations in which I find myself, at work or in the community.

And I intend to soak in the sun and enjoy these Rwandan hills – at a safe distance from the edges.