Namaste

Formally, I am in New Delhi as a short-term (until October 2) research fellow with Pratham/ASER. Pratham is an NGO that works on the ground and in the field to deliver education to the most disadvantaged through various innovative programs. I first heard of the organization through a class in social policy evaluation during my Ph.D. coursework. ASER is a research and evaluation organization charged with conducting impact assessments of Pratham’s interventions. As a researcher, impact evaluation is a big deal, so working with a set of organizations in which on-the-ground work is coupled with real evaluation is a great experience. I am particularly interested in a few things: 1.) citizen volunteer involvement in conducting the ASER reading and math achievement survey; 2.) factors important in enrollment and achievement using the raw data at the district and household levels; 3.) the messy details of piloting, changing, training to implement, and actually implementing a household survey in rural communities. I will miss the actual survey but will be here for all of the training and will get to do a bit of fieldwork as well. Personally, I have always wanted to come to India – fascinated by the culture, the people, the religion, the art - and have tried to get here by various means at various times. In some ways, this may have been the best way to come. The leadership of the NGO is very well-educated, a lot of Ph.D.s. My primary supervisor is an economist who teaches both in California and here in New Delhi at an Institute of Statistics. However, she also knows a lot about education proper. A lot of development literature considers the role of women in children’s achievement – Pratham is an interesting lens through which to investigate that. There are a lot of very strong women in leadership here. Yet also traditional in many ways, not least of which in dress.
In addition to my job I obviously want to take some good pictures. I “see” photographically, and there is so much to shoot, but I need to figure things out a bit before really diving in – mostly how to ensure I do not put myself in danger. I wanted to learn some about Indian painting as well, but not sure I will have the time. Perhaps via the Internet… elementary Hindi might be of more critical and immediate importance!
I still am a bit sore in the elbow/back, so will not be able to type much. I prefer pictures, anyway. ;) My major objective with this blog is to share one pretty good photo per day, hopefully encapsulating my experience of that day. So far, I have not taken my camera out of my room yet, so these first two photos are from the balcony of the guesthouse! My greatest accomplishment of the day was to learn how to light the stove and with it to make some instant oatmeal I brought from the states, only slightly soggy from the deluge that delayed my arrival...