Emily Koft travels to Ghana to present research

OSR-13 graduate Emily Koft (second from left) spent two months in Ghana over the summer of 2007 as part of the International Development Internship Program offered through Seattle University for students interested in doing qualitative research for NGOs in developing countries.  Summer of 2008 she traveled back to Ghana to present research findings.

Here she shares some of her insights.....

The summer of 2007 was an exciting time for me…. I traveled to Ghana (West Africa) for the first time, to do research for an NGO that runs a micro-credit program for women in several townships.  This past summer, I had the great pleasure of returning to Ghana with the honor of presenting my 2007 research findings at the 23rd World Annual Conference for the International Organization Development Association (IODA).  Lucky for me, the location of this year’s conference was in Accra, the capital of Ghana!

The IODA conference was such a valuable experience for me.  It was inspiring to meet so many talented, driven and sincere individuals from the international OD community.  Attending the conference turned out to be a great complement to my ongoing work/research on microfinance efforts in Pokuase, Ghana — a great opportunity to highlight local work in the community, while stimulating many new ideas for how to approach cross-cultural work and drive systemic change during challenging times.   These insights, coupled with the outcome research I have gathered, have proved quite helpful for the more formal writings and reflections I am working on. 

My second trip to Ghana turned out to be an even more rewarding and rich journey - connecting on a much deeper level with people and culture was an unexpected thrill.   Seeing the friends I had made during the previous trip, working again with my two translators, being back in the town where I had talked to so many people, hanging out and drinking Fanta in between interviews … while I may have done many of the same things as on the prior trip, this experience touched me on a different level.  There was a more intimate sense of caring, knowing (and not knowing!) and understanding that persisted throughout my interactions.  I interviewed about 30 women on this trip, and by the fourth one I would practically be in tears by the end of the discussion.  I felt sad listening to the stories of poor sanitation, lack of clean water, unpaved roads, difficulty paying school fees, and more.   I wanted these women to have proper health and sanitation in their lifetime.  For now, I hope that my effort to meet these people and help share their stories will mean something.

At last year’s Pegasus Conference, Peter Senge ended his keynote by saying that ‘Africa is our home.  The level of connectedness there is way more connected than in Western culture’.  If you ever have the chance to visit Ghana or another African country, you will not be disappointed. 

Note:  the 2009 IODA conference will be held in Hyderabad, India.  If you are interested in going or learning more.

For more information about IODA in general, go to www.iodanet.org  where you will also find pictures and presentations from the 2008 Ghana conference.