Gulbarga

Last week I went to the field to see how the health insurance project is going on the ground. Being on the field was one of my major motivations for choosing this internship, but sadly, because of my foot, I had not been able to go until now.

I spent four days in Gulbarga and Bidar, two districts in the state of Karnataka. Every day we visited a village in the area to talk to the people and get a sense of how the study is going. It gave me a much better understanding of who the people in the insurance scheme are, where and how they live. Most of the people are very poor and live very simple lives. Some of the villages are so small the arrival of anyone from outside is a major event, and if the outside person happens to be a woman, and white, it is a great novelty for them. I would have little kids following me around to see what I was doing (which was problematic when I needed to go to the bathroom, given that in some places there were no bathrooms or outhouses at all). All of them have very pressing needs and worry about their health and their families.

Gulbarga is the capital of the district of the same name, and even though it has been growing rapidly, it is still no more than a large town. People are very conservative and not used to seeing outsiders. It is not common for families or couples to eat out; it is still a widespread idea that why would you go out and eat something that you can make at home? So it is mostly men who go out to have a drink with their friends. On the first day we had dinner at one of these restaurants, a nice place on a rooftop overlooking the city. Since it was a bit late no more women were around, so they set a special table for us behind a little wall (and under a cell-phone antenna) so we'd be away from the men. Two thigns strike me: first, that women should not come in contact with ousiders, particularly men; and second, that it is assumed women don't drink.

The next morning we went to a nearby village on a jeep and then on a bus to see the new mother survey take place. It was pretty obvious I was not from around the area, which is nice because people are curious and like to engage in conversation. So few foreigners go to that place, some people actually asked me if I was from the Russian Circus that was in town (agreed, I was wearing the crazy pants, but still!).


The New Mother survey goes to houses where women have had a baby in the last 72 hours and takes measurements of the baby and the mom as well as asking her some questions. I got to see a very beautiful baby girl that was 2 days old. Her mother, grandmother and great aunt were taking care of her. It was amazing. It was interesting to know that since it was her first baby she had gone back to her parent's house to have it and her family would pay for everything, not her husband.


The next day we went to another village to observe an SKS center meeting where the clients repayed their loans and discussed the health insurance product. Once again, it was interesting to see these groups of women, the difference in ages and how they engage among themselves and with the loan officer. I'm also always surprised at how old they look even if they are still young and how serious they are most of the time.

On Saturday we went to Bidar, where the earth is very red and the road is surrounded by fields being plowed and you might see some running monkeys alongside the bus. We visited a very small village to see how the endline survey is going. Probably no more than 200 or 300 households live there. It is surrounded by fields, and oxen and cows roam the streets. It was interesting that in that very small place they have a temple, a mosque and a christian church. Even though it is close (10-15 km) to Bidar, the district capital, it feels like a very remote place. If I had only looked at the data for this village in the computer, I would have thought that since it was so close to the main city in the area it would be better off than it actually is.

That's why going to the field is important: to conceptualize and give dimension to the problems we are trying to solve, and also to better understand the data we so aptly analyze. By spending those four days outside the office, I was able to put a face on the people we want to help, and that gave a whole new dimension to the work I'm doing and want to do.