By Gianella Jiménez, Student IOB-University of Antwerp
The Institute of Development Policy (IOB) and Mzumbe University joined forces to do fieldwork research in Bagamoyo-Tanzania. As a current international student in the advanced master in Development, Evaluation, and Management in IOB, I found myself enthusiastic to apply to do a research internship in data collection using drawings to gather information about children’s perceptions of water scarcity in villages in Bagamoyo-Tanzania from 18th November 2022 until December 26th 2022. The research internship was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Nathalie Holvoet and Dr. Sara Dewachter from IOB, and Dr. Cristina Shitima of Mzumbe University.
Once I arrived, preparation for the activities started on Sunday Nov 20th, early in the morning in Bagamoyo, I remembered going to town to buy some pens, speakers, and materials for the activities in the school. We also bought some food to prepare our meals. In the afternoon, we started the dialogue to organize final details and give each one a task for the fieldwork. The team which was made up of Mzumbe previous students, and the women monitors in Bagamoyo, the teachers from the schools, and myself. All the information about the activity was explained by Eliya Lushiku who was the team leader from Mzumbe University. Then, we practiced playing the water games and organized activities for the next days in the schools.