PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE TE???1W? m£09rfia jfififlgfifif W. JUL 2 727:3 069 " L r .; ,_.. 1\\ K j 5&1“qu IZL MAR '2/‘34’994 $K§wuwg JIEEEEM qééEEEEEE MSU Is An Aflirmetlve Adion/Equal Opportunity Institution l'éuo‘l'l/‘D University «a mu1111“1111911)wiggliQ‘Ylmf‘film 1/ 'Ezifi"; , WOMEN'S PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR NEEDS RELATIVE TO DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS THROUGH PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS: CASE STUDIES IN BELIZE, THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AND MICHIGAN presented by Sharon Anderson Browne has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degmem Agricultural and Extension Education ajor professor Date January 24, 1989 MS U i: an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0-12771 PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 3.3.}: p 9 IWL‘ on; o 9 19—94 more We JUL 2 721103 069 fi‘i N I ~ ALL ' v" .3 «W049 124 m '2/‘3/1’994 WIS: busts £634 w MSU Is An Affirmetlve Action/Equal Opportunity Institution WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR NEEDS RELATIVE TO DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS THROUGH PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS: CASE STUDIES IN BELIZE, THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AND MICHIGAN By Sharon Anderson Browne A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Agricultural and Extension Education 1989 .- \ww-t/ If. «-.454~l4l ABSTRACT WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR NEEDS RELATIVE TO DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS THROUGH PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS: CASE STUDIES IN BELIZE, THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AND MICHIGAN By Sharon Anderson Browne Women in developing countries are increasingly involved in small-scale projects and programs designed to improve their individual, social, and economic situations. Women involved in development programs through the Partners of the Americas organization in Belize (Central America), the Dominican Republic, and Michigan (United States) are striving to make this private, voluntary organization more responsive to their needs. Until recently, program planners assumed that what the women in Michigan’s Partner countries needed were programs in home economics and related areas. Inadequate knowledge and information used in the program- development process resulted in inappropriate conceptualizations of needs. The researcher’s purpose was to investigate perceptions of the needs of women involved in Women in Development programs on the north and south sides of the Partnership. Data from the findings will be used to design programs, networks, and processes that are Sharon Anderson Browne responsive to the needs of the constituencies and that are appropriate to organizations’ missions. A purposively selected group of 33 women was the major source of data. ‘This study was essentially quantitative; however, qualitative research procedures were used in data collection, analysis, and reporting. Responses to open-ended interviews were tape-recorded and hand written; the transcripts were content analyzed. Data were collected in Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan. The researcher concluded that respondents were interested in broadening the knowledge, technical skills, and resource bases for programs. They were vitally interested in education, vocational training, and opportunities for personal growth and self- determination. Basic human needs are for food, water and water resources, health and sanitation, housing, transportation, and energy resources. Employment opportunities and a steady source of income are important instrumental needs. Programs designed specifically for women are vital. Needs assessments are necessary to the program-development process; collaborative methods should be given special attention. New program-development procedures need to be devised. Dedicated to MRS. FRANCES CARTER, my fifth-grade teacher, who inspired in me dreams for higher education iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to the members of my committee, Drs. James E. Jay (chairperson), 0. Donald Meaders, Samuel A. Moore 11, and Carroll H. Wamhoff, for their guidance, suggestions, criticisms, and encouragement throughout my graduate studies. A special thank-you is extended to all my friends and loved ones who offered encouragement, assistance, a place to sleep, transportation, moral and financial support, and friendship of the kind that nourishes the soul. Included in this group are Diane Duran and Patricia Quiroz, my sisters; my husband, Ernest C. Browne, Jr.; and Stephanie McIver, Vicki Stewart, JoAnne Via, Geraldine Peeples, Betty Shelby, Waddie Mitchell, Wilma Miller, Susan Schram, Isabel Gabashane, Christine and Ulysses Hammond, Barbara Richter, Patricia Shinsky, Cynthia Franklin, and Annelle Lewis. I wish also to express my sincere gratitude to those women in Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan who, feeling an impulse to soar, shared with me their hopes and dreams. Although their identities remain anonymous, without their cooperation this research would not have been possible. I gratefully acknowledge those who paved the way for me in Belize: Dorla Bowman, Hortense Bowman, Helen Stewart, Ruth Galvez, and the Erasmo Franklin family; in the Dominican Republic: Fernando Badia, Efrain Baldrich, Bienvenido Perez Garcia, Ada Balcacer, Angelo Porcella, and Myrna Pichardo Escotto; and in Michigan: Josie Taube, Mary Keenan Arceo, and Diana Seim. Gratitude is also extended to the National Association of the Partners of the Americas and Michigan Partners of the Americas, which approved and funded my trip to Belize; to former senator from Oklahoma, James Boren, whose research and leadership led to the founding of Partners of the Alliance, for his encouragement; to Andre Parvenu and the Honorable Edward A. Laing, Belizean ambassador to the United States, for providing helpful references; and to the Sage Foundation for the dissertation grant they awarded me. For their continued support and encouragement, I thank Dr. Mary Andrews and the administrative staff of the Cooperative Extension Service, Michigan State University. I would also like to thank Celina Wille for translating the Spanish interviews, Sandi Bauer and Sharon Reed for making available the necessary transcription equipment, Barbara Reeves for preparing the early drafts, Susan Cooley for editing and preparing the final manuscript, and members of the Michigan Partners’ Women in Development Subcommittee for inspiring this study. Finally, a special expression of gratitude to Dr. James Jay, who remained steadfast in his commitment to my success. I shall be eternally grateful. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................... LIST OF FIGURES ....................... Chapter I. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY .............. Background .................... The Partners of the Americas Organization . . . . Statement of the Problem ............. Purposes ..................... Research Questions ................ Scope of the Study ................ Importance of the Study .............. Definition of Terms ................ Assumptions and Limitations ............ Methodology .................... Summary ...................... II. LITERATURE REVIEW .................. Introduction ................... Needs ....................... Theories of Need ................ Research on Needs ................ Needs Assessment ................. Concepts of Needs Assessment .......... Purposes of Needs Assessments .......... Methods and Techniques of Needs Assessments . . . Research on Needs Assessment .......... Related Research on Needs Assessment ...... Women in Development ............... The Concept of Development ........... The Concept of Women in Development ....... Women in Development Issues ........... Women in Development Research .......... Concepts of the Needs of Women ......... The Role of Women’s Organizations ........ A Dilemma in Needs Assessment .......... vii Program Development in Adult Education ...... Adult Development ................ Concepts of Program ............... Program-Development Theories and Models ..... Summary ...................... METHODOLOGY ..................... Nature of the Study ................ Case-Study Procedure ............... Validity and Reliability ............. Selection of Respondents ............. Description of Respondents ............ Development of the Interview Schedule ....... Data Collection .................. The Interview Technique ............. The Interview Procedure ............. Treatment of the Data ............... Summary ...................... FINDINGS ...................... General Findings Related to Research Question 1 . . Categories for Selection ............ Findings Related to Research Questions 2 Through 6 .................... The Belize Case Study ............... Country Profile ................. Description of Respondents ........... Findings .................... The Dominican Republic Case Study ......... Country Profile ................. Description of Respondents ........... Findings .................... The Michigan Case Study .............. State Profile .................. Michigan Partners of the Americas ........ Description of Respondents ........... Findings .................... Summary ...................... SUMMARY, MAJOR FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................ Summary ...................... Major Findings .................. Conclusions .................... Implications ................... Recommendations .................. viii 164 164 I65 168 169 17l Page APPENDICES A. INTERVIEW SCHEDULES ................. 173 B. CONSENT PROCEDURES AND FORM ............. 177 C. LISTINGS OF RESPONSES ................ 180 D. CORRESPONDENCE ................... 188 E. LETTER OF APPROVAL FROM UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS .......... 194 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................ 195 ix LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1 Role Categories of Respondents ............ 61 3.2 Respondent Codes ................... 62 3.3 Summary of Interviews by Type of Recording Method . . 72 4.l Social Characteristics of Respondents by Site . . . . 78 4.2 Characteristics of Belizean Respondents ....... 91 4.3 Characteristics of Dominican Republic Respondents . . lZl 4.4 Characteristics of Michigan Respondents ....... l39 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 2.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ............. 16 2.2 Preconditions for the Satisfaction of Basic Needs: An Adaptation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs . . . 20 2.3 The Curriculum-Development Cycle Using a Needs- Assessment Base .................. 5l xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Background Women have traditionally been excluded from involvement in development programs at the decision—making level. At all levels, the contributions of women to the development process have been overlooked and undervalued. Women’s potential contributions to the social and economic development of their countries are not generally recognized. In many cases, this potentially valuable human resource has been undervalued and underdeveloped (Charlton, 1984; Huston, 1979; Okeyo & Clark, 1980). . .117 ..v';‘ r 9,7- L w Since the United Nations Decade for Women (19705), scholars and “F development practitioners have concerned themselves with making colleagues aware of the real and potential roles in and contributions of women to the process of development. A major issue of concern to development organizations is women’s access to opportunities for personal, social, and economic growth. A related concern pertains to increasing women’s capacity to develop, use, and.>, I‘m") . I, _control resources and decision making in their own interest and in the interest of their families and their countries (Charlton, 1984). Partners of the Americas is a private voluntary organization dedicated to promoting economic and social development throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The Women in Development subcommittee is one of several program-development subcommittees within the organizational structure (Michigan Partners of the Americas, 1987-88). Educational programs and projects of Michigan Partners of the Americas that have been carried out for women in Belize, in Michigan, and in the Dominican Republic are experiencing failures. These failures are believed to be the resultofwan absence of a . clearly defined purpose and accompanying policies, fau1ty PEI-conceptualizations of the needs of women in the Partnership countries, and a failure to collect and use needs-based data in the program-development process (Browne, 1987). Some Partners members and subcommittee leaders have recognized serious discrepancies between existing and desired programs. Female members of Partners in Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan perceive current programs and activities as inappropriate to the needs of women and to subcommittee goals in Michigan’s partnership countries. To rectify the situation and to build the organizational capacity to achieve desired goals, members of the existing Women in Development subcommittees have requested needs-based data to guide the program- development process. The rtner the Ameri s r ni a io The following statement, taken from an in-house publication, recounts the mission of Partners of the Americas and reflects an appraisal of the efforts of the staff and volunteers. Partners of' the Americas is a private, voluntary organization dedicated to promoting economic and social development throughout the Western Hemisphere. Since it was founded in 1964, it was emerged as one of the hemisphere’s most influential forces for building goodwill and private sector cooperation among the people of the Americas. The Partners program began as an off-shoot of the Alliance for Progress, John F. Kennedy’s effort to increase mutual assistance among the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Within a few years, it became a private, non-profit organization. From this modest beginning, it has grown into the largest, international voluntary group working to improve the quality of life in this hemisphere. Today, more than 15,000 people in 43 U.S. states and 27 Latin American and Caribbean nations call themselves ”Partner volunteers." This pool of skilled, professional talent includes individuals from all walks of life-~doctors and teachers, college administrators and faculty, farmers and business executives, scientists and engineers, extension agents, home economists, and social workers. Together, these volunteers contribute their time and energy to self-help projects at the grass roots level. These projects may range from --helping a community produce safer drinking water to helping low-income citizens start their own businesses, --improving services for deaf children to improving crop yield on family farms, --upgrading hospital equipment to upgrading job skills, and --building low-cost wheelchairs to building rural schools. Some 1300 projects are carried out by Partner volunteers each year. These volunteers work in an organized but non- bureaucratic structure. Partners of the Americas pairs U.S. states with sections of Latin America and the Caribbean into 54 bilateral "partnerships.” (National Association of Partners of the Americas, n.d., pp. 1-3) Partner volunteers go into communities because they are asked, and they work with people on a one-to-one basis. They share their expertise, providing training to help people help themselves. They also act as community organizers, mobilizing whatever local resources are needed to get a job done (National Association of Partners of the Americas, 1987). In the past two decades, Partner volunteers have helped boost agriculture, community development, education, vocational training, health care, nutrition, services for disabled people, and economic opportunities in hundreds of villages, towns, and cities throughout the hemisphere. Today the projects they carry out are valued at nearly $40 million a year and are estimated to benefit 100,000 people annually (Michigan Partners of the Americas, 1987-88). Michigan has formal "partner" relationships with the Caribbean Island nation of the Dominican Republic and with the nation of Belize in Central America through the Partners of the Americas program. Volunteers from Michigan join volunteers from Belize and the Dominican Republic to identify, design, and implement technical- assistance and cultural-exchange programs for members and clientele groups. Of special interest in this study was the work of the Women in Development (WID) subcommittees within the Partners organization. The goal of the Michigan and Belize WID subcommittees is to promote_ sustained development and education of women for the purpose of “Mil—.— .. improving the-“quality of life for women through—programs of the ‘Partnerships (Browne, 1987, 1988). Programs of the WID subcommittees in Belize and Michigan, which were established nearly 10 years ago, have focused primarily on home economics and related activities (Belize-Michigan Homemaker Exchange File, 1978-1986). At present, there is no organized WID subcomittee in the Dominican Republic. Statement gf the Problem Developing women’s programs within Partners of the Americas is becoming increasingly difficult because of the international and cross-cultural nature of the relations with the Partner countries, lapses in and rising costs of' communication and travel between countries, demands on organizational resources, and nfisconceptions about the needs of women who are (or wish to be) involved in the process of development. Women in development is an interdisci- plinary concept, which evolved to consider the many ways of involv- ing women in strategies, programs, or projects that would enhance opportunities for personal, social, and economic growth. Since their inception in the 19705, women in development programs in many development organizations have been based on a belief that a woman’s place was in the home and that the concerns of the» world’s women center on the home (Bernard &. Gayfer, 1983; Charlton, 1984; Loutfi, 1980; Risseeuw, Wickramasinghe, Postel, & Schrijvers, 1980; Rogers, 1979). In 1978, when the Belize-Michigan Homemaker Exchange Program began through the Belize and Michigan Partners of the Americas organizations, the WID subcommittees operated on that same assumption. Since that time, volunteer participation has grown and program content has expanded beyond the emphasis on the home and home economics subject matter (e.g., handicraft production, food production and preservation, nutrition education, and child care). Women who are members of the Partners of the Americas in the Dominican Republic, Michigan, and Belize have questioned the appropriateness of programs and program-development processes used before 1987 (Browne, 1987, 1988). These individuals are concerned with the nature and orientation of WID programs and believe that past programming lacked direction and organization. Partners’ WID leaders often attempted to meld several unrelated activities into a program they believed would meet participants’ needs. To develop programs that address the real needs of women in a development context, those needs must first be known. The Partners’ WID subcommittees lack. concrete information and data to inform decision making. This study was undertaken to provide research- based data to guide programming decisions that pertain to WID programs through the Michigan-Belize-Dominican Republic Partner- ships. Purposes The researcher’s purposes in this study were to identify the perceived needs of women involved in development programs and to identify differences in the perceptions of needs among leaders, members, clients, and representatives of affiliated development organizations. Researsh Questions The researcher was concerned with answering six research questions: 1. What are the selected personal and situational characteris- tics of members of the four population groups? 2. What are the perceived needs of the four population groups regarding women in development? 3. What types of needs do the four population groups perceive? 4. What are the perceptions of the four population groups relative to current WID programs and activities? 5. Are there differences in the perceptions of need among the four population groups? 6. What are the perceived problems/barriers to participation in development programs for women? Scope of the Study This study was interdisciplinary in nature; it concerned the perceptions of the needs of four groups of women--leaders, members, clients, and affiliates of development organizations. The writer drew on the insights and experiences of respondents in three geographic locations--the Dominican Republic, Belize, and Michigan-- thus adding an international dimension. The respondents were women who were members of or otherwise affiliated with Partners of the Americas. The researcher used her affiliation with Partners to gain access to potential respondents. m rtan f th t This study is important because it generates knowledge about what women in developing countries perceive as necessary to their individual, social, and economic development, as well as insights; about appropriate roles and relationships with development- assistance agencies. Second, the importance of establishing and maintaining procedures and processes that improve the access of women to a wide range of opportunities is highlighted. Third, the findings of the study should provide information about and insight into the attitudes of women involved in development programs toward themselves, their ability to effect change, and their attitudes about the nature of development assistance that the women perceive as most beneficial to their development. The study was undertaken to provide data-based evidence in support of expanding the subject matter, content, and volunteer expertise of WID programs beyond the traditional emphasis on home economics. Ultimately, the findings may be used to identify subject matter competencies, new or different roles, levels of experience, requisite process skills, and new or enhanced networks of cooperation that have implications in creating more effective programs and further' opportunities for' volunteers. Perhaps the greatest contribution of this study will be what was learned about conducting a needs assessment in an international, cross-cultural context. ugfjnition of ngus To add to the understanding of the research problem, some of the terms and phrases used in this study must be defined. Definition is especially important because of the interdisciplinary nature of this study. In the fields of adult education, organizational development, international development, sociology, cultural anthropology, community' development, and nonformal education, similar terminology might be used in different ways. For the purposes of this study, the following definitions were employed. N534 was defined as (a) a discrepancy between an existing situation and some changes or desired set of circumstances. One aspect of need is tied to the concept of necessity, which implies an image of what is necessary to be fully human. This includes physiological and psycho-social necessities (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985; Monette, 1977); (b) areas in which actual status is less than targeted status. Targeted status encompasses ideas, norms, preferences, expectations, and perceptions of what ought to be (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985); or something the satisfaction of which is inside the human being, whereas the satisfier can be outside the person (Rist, 1980). A felt need is a deficient state that initiates a motive on the part of the individual, which may be understood as a tension state of some kind that causes gratification-seeking behavior (Monette, 1977). Cuntent needs are those concerned with the topic(s) or subject area(s) of programs. Prucess neeus are those concerned with the planning, implementation, and evaluation tasks of program development. A pruggem is the product resulting from all the activities in which educators and learners are involved (Boyle, 1981). 10 Pro ram e e t is a deliberate series of actions and decisions through which representatives of the people affected by the potential program are involved with a programmer to implement a plan of action and identify and use resources to provide appropriate learning opportunities (Boyle, 1981). Needs assessment was defined as (a) a comunication process between participants of a service and an institution, providing information useful in evaluating operational strategies, determining program offerings, and forming goals for the institution. In systems terms, needs assessment is "feedback" that keeps the organization in a “steady state" with the changing needs of the clientele (Nickens, Purga, & Noriega, 1980, p. l); or (b) the process of collecting data from persons who are affected by or who can affect the discrepancy being investigated (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985). Private voluntary or ani tions PVOs were defined as "non- governmental, non-profit, tax-exempt organizations whose primary purpose is to provide materials assistance and administrative and technical services at little or no cost to the needy" (Gorman, 1984, p. 48). PVOs have no official relationship with governments, although they often have dealings and specific agreements with parents and hosts that provide them access to client populations. As a rule, PVOs attempt to maintain a scrupulous, nonpolitical image. Most are small in size and scope of operations (Blaser, 1984). 11 Technical assistanee is the transfer of primarily noncapital resources on other than market terms; that is, operations and advisory personnel (including teachers and trainers), teaching and training programs (including in-service and institutional variants), research and surveys (again including the creation or expansion of local institutional capacity), pilot or experimental programs (on whatever scale), data, and institutional/developmental contacts (Tandon, 1973). Development is a normative concept implying choices about goals for realizing human potential (Barnes-McConnell, 1983); the term encompasses variant theories that describe the material differences between rich and poor countries. Distinctions are made between the richer, more industrialized countries and the poorer, more agrarian countries; these are often termed developed and developing nations, respectively. Developed and developing countries vary widely in physical, social, and economic conditions; in human-resource capabilities; and in the policies pursued by their governments. Development theorists have offered various methods of managing the transformation of societies. The 1975 Hammarskjold Report defined development as a total, comprehensive process, informed by a value- laden vision and shaped by five pillars: (a) the satisfaction of human needs, both material and political; (b) self-reliance; (c) endogenous growth; (d) harmony with the environment; and (e) structural transformation in the economy, society, and polity (Charlton, 1984, p. 175). 12 Women in development is a term used to convey a concern for many concepts and issues related to the effect of international development on women. Subsumed under this rubric are concerns for the recognition of the real and potential roles and contributions of women to the process of development; the issue of access to opportunities for personal, social, and economic growth; and a concern for the consequences of leaving women out of development initiatives or displacing them from productive roles. WID programs and policies are those that increase women’s self-reliance and independence by facilitating their access and capacity to use resources on an equal basis with men. This means activities that are development and not welfare oriented. An important element is that the women themselves have control over resources and input into decision making. Human-resource.development is a deliberate process of increas- ing/expanding the energies, skills, talents, and knowledge of people, which are--or potentially can be--applied to the production of goods or the rendering of useful services (Harbison, 1973). Assumptions and Limitatipps The researcher assumed that the participation of members of the population groups of interest to this study would be voluntary and that their responses would be considered and honest. A second assumption was that subjects’ responses would be based on the context in which the women were living. 13 The study had several limitations. First, the research was exploratory in nature. Second, the population was small and purposively selected; therefore, the results can be generalized only with caution. Finally, the writer did not intend to prove what should be done; however, she suggests methods for conducting needs assessments internationally and cross-culturally and for creating needs-based programs. Methodology Quasi-qualitative methodology was employed in conducting this research. Purposive sampling (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) was used to identify potential respondents. Purposively selected respondents are those individuals most likely to be knowledgeable about the subject being investigated (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Nadler, 1977). Thirty-three women from four population groups of (a) leaders, (b) members, and (c) clients of Partners of the Americas organizations and (d) representatives of other WID organizations were interviewed: 13 in Belize, 11 in Michigan, and 9 in the Dominican Republic. Methodology included field work and interviews. Data were collected at the field sites by means of interviews, which were audiotaped or recorded by hand. Transcribed interviews were subjected to content analysis and constant comparison within and between groups. The findings were written up as separate case studies. l4 5.0mm: This chapter began with a discussion of the organizational context in which the study was undertaken. The writer explained the purpose of the study and discussed needs, the relationship of needs assessment, and the processes used to initiate adult education and 'training programs for women in developing countries. Also included in this chapter was an identification of four groups of purposively selected individuals who would provide information about the needs of women involved in Partners of the Americas, a private voluntary organization, and other organizations. Women members of Partners of the Americas (in Michigan, Belize, and the Dominican Republic) and other development—assistance organizations have recognized some serious discrepancies between existing and desired programs for women. Current programs are not perceived as adequate to the needs of the targeted groups. The researcher sought to identify the perceived needs of women involved in Partnership programs and to analyze those needs with regard to implications for program development in a private voluntary organization. She employed qualitative methods in this descriptive study. Purposely selected subjects for interviews were women leaders, members, and clientele of the Partners of the Americas organizations in Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan, as well as representatives of affiliate organizations involved in development programs for women. The case study procedure was used in collecting, recording, and reporting the data. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW Memo Many conceptualizations and methodological issues are involved in the topics selected for this literature review. The review is organized into four sections: needs, the assessment of needs, women in development, and program development 'h1 adult education. Literature on the uses of qualitative methods in educational research is discussed in Chapter III. Nee s The literature on needs is based on the perceptions, wisdom, and experience of scholars in the social sciences. Social psychologists have concerned themselves with the concept of need, particularky as a motivator of human behavior. The social- psychological literature is rich with treatises on the concept of need. The philosophies of John Dewey and Ralph Tyler probably initiated interest in the concept of need in the field of education (Monette, 1977). Theories of Need In 1943 Maslow established information about a psychological theory of human motivation, which identified a hierarchical set of 15 16 basic needs as powerful motivators of human behavior. According to this five-stage theory of human needs, when an individual is deprived of a particular need, that need becomes activated, thereby motivating behavior directed toward gratifying it. Accordingly, Maslow postulated that the instinctual nature of basic needs constitutes the foundation of a system of human values that are good and desirable, and needed in the sense that they are necessary to avoid illness and psychopathology. Basic or fundamental needs motivate human beings toward valued, desirable states of being. According to Maslow’s hierarchy, the basic needs for' all humans, from lowest to highest, are: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization (see Figure 2.1). SELF- ACTUALIZATION ESTEEM LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS SAFETY PHYSIOLOGICAL Figure 2.l.--Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. From Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personalit , 2nd ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1970). 17 Physiolpgical needs. These needs are for food, water, sex, clothing, shelter, health, and sanitation. If an organism is dominated by physiological needs, all other needs may become nonexistent or pushed into the background. Physiological needs are the most potent, and all capacities are directed toward satisfying these unsatisfied needs. When these needs dominate an organism, the organism’s philosophy about the future tends to change. The present takes precedence. In this way, unmet physiological needs obscure the higher motivations, and an observer is left with a lopsided view of human capacities. When these needs are met, other (and higher) needs immediately emerge to dominate the organism. When these needs, in turn, are satisfied, new (and still higher) needs emerge, and so on. This is what Maslow theorized when he organized basic human needs into a hierarchy of relative prepotency. Safety; needs. 'These include need for security; stability; dependency; protection; freedom from fear, anxiety, and chaos; need for structure, order, law, and limits; strength in the protector; and so on. Unmet safety needs are less potent than unmet physiological needs, but they are dominant when unsatisfied. Belpngingness and love needs. These needs include affection, friends, affectionate relationships with specific people and with people in general, roots, acceptance, and inclusion. Unmet belongingness and love needs commonly result in maladjustment and even pathology. 18 Maslow termed the physiological, safety, and love needs deficiency needs because, without them, individuals are thought to fail to experience healthy development and physiological adjustment. Esteem needs. A need or desire for a stable, firmly based, usually high evaluation of one’s self, self-respect or self-esteem, and the esteem of others is an esteem need. Esteem needs are further classified as the desire for strength, achievement, adequacy, mastery, competence, confidence, independence, and freedom, as well as prestige, recognition, attention, dignity, and appreciation. When these needs are thwarted, feelings of inferiority, weakness, helplessness, or discouragement may result. Need for se1f1actualization. The need for psychological health, the basis of which is that an individual is doing what he/she is individually suited to, is self-actualization. Self- actualizing organisms are characterized by autonomy, independence of culture and environment, and will; they are compelled by growth motivations--individual human development, creativity, and so on. The emergence and fulfillment of these needs usually rest on previous satisfaction of the physiological, safety, love, and esteem needs. Esteem and self-actualization needs are known as growth needs because they are said to contribute to the full development of an individual’s potential. Maslow identified the following preconditions for the satisfaction of basic needs: 19 l. Freedom--to speak, to act in responsible ways, to express oneself, to investigate and seek information, to defend oneself; justice, fairness, honesty, and orderliness in the group. 2. The desires to know and to understand--or the gratification of cognitive impulsesnare directly related to the protection or attainment of basic needs. 3. Fulfillment of aesthetic needs. In clinical studies, Maslow found that some individuals have a truly basic aesthetic need. They get sick (in special ways) from ugliness and are cured by beautiful surroundings; they actively crave beauty, order, and symmetry (see Figure 2.2). Maslow did not suggest that the hierarchy of needs has a fixed order. It is more fluid than its iconic representation may imply. Nor are the basic needs considered universal. Maslow recognized the possible existence of cultural variations in basic human needs. Individuals experience different levels and intensities of needs. What motivates an individual in one culture toward the satisfaction of a basic need may not motivate an individual in another society. However, it is the common experience of anthropologists that people, even in different societies, are much more alike than we would think from our first contact with them, and that as we know them better we seem to find more and more of this commonness. We then recognize the most startling differences to be superficial rather than basic. . . . No claim is made that basic needs are ultimate or universal for all cultures . only that it is relatively more ultimate, more universal, page basic than superficial conscious desires. . . . Basic needs are more commonly human than are superficial desires or behaviors. (Maslow, 1970, pp. 54-55) 20 Self- Actuali- zation Esteem Love and Belongingness Safety Physiological (PRECONDITIONS) FREEDOM, THE DESIRE TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND, AND AESTHETICS Figure 2.2.--Preconditions for the satisfaction of basic needs: An adaptation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. From Abraham Maslow, Motivationyand Personality, 2nd ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1970). Maslow found instances in which individuals’ early experiences with chronic love deprivation or access to economic opportunities resulted in lowered or lost motivations for these and other needs. Along 'these same 'lines, Samuels (1984) said that needs are situational. Needs may be physiological or psychological and differ in their ability to cause action. Samuels differentiated between individual and group needs by ordering needs in the following way: 21 l. First-order needs: lie within the individual. 2. Second-order needs: lie in social interaction and enable the individual to function as part of a group; exist because there is a group. 3. Third-order needs: enable the individual to participate in a society. Basic needs, then, are actual needs of the first or second order; they' must be satisfied for the individual’s well-being. Although they are generally related, there is I“) consistent power relationship among the three orders of needs. Reviewing widely accepted theories of need was important to understanding the focus of this study. These theories provided a basis for understanding the nature of needs and the power of needs to motivate behavior and to influence culture, environment, and perceptions. Also, these theories highlighted the contextual and fluid qualities of needs. Researeh pn Needs Lederer (1980) believed that . Perhaps the most challenging--and unresolved--problem of needs research is how to define a need. The one very important fact to be aware of in any attempt to define needs is that needs are theoretical constructs. This means that the existence of an individual’s needs, or the "truth” of those needs, cannot be proven in a direct physical way. At best, the existence of a need can be concluded directly from either the respective satisfiers that the person strives for, or from symptom; of frustration caused by any kind of unsatisfaction. p. 255 Needs methodology has been characterized by the survey approach to data collection. Researchers, professionals, and politicians 22 seem convinced that opinion surveys can bring to light valuable information on a variety of subjects. This has led to an overuse of and overdependence on survey data (Lederer, 1980; Nickens et al., 1980; Pennington, 1985). Several authors appeared to agree that the most important goal of any individual or social activity is to focus on humane existence and development (Lederer, 1980; Maslow, 1970; Nesman, 1981; Paolucci et al., n.d.). Hence, the concept of need is useful because of its potential to contribute to an understanding of human motivation, human growth, and self-fulfillment. The concept of need is also useful in understanding organizational functioning. Monette (1977) explored the concept of need in adult-education literature with the aim of assessing its usefulness for practitioners. He discussed the critical relationship between needs and the operational philosophy of an institution. Monette said that "labeling a need as educational implies that it is capable of being satisfied by means of a learning experience" (p. 118). This implies that the educator’s task is to weigh the merits of a range of learning needs and decide which to address. As Knowles and Knox both point out, needs must be sifted through the ”philosophical screen” [values] of the sponsoring institution for the defining of objectives. Given the paucity of attention to philosophical and normative considerations [of the concept of need] in adult education literature . . . it is perhaps fair to say that the key variable in needs assessment . . . is the strength of the educator’s conviction of the acceptability of given needs. (Monette, 1977, p. 125) 23 A discussion of needs methodology was relevant to this study because it contributed to an understanding of how practitioners have approached research on the concept of needs. Needs Assessment The literature on needs assessment is as voluminous as the programs described therein. This body of literature appears to be organized around five different themes. For the purpose of this research, the themes of adult education, curriculum development, and program planning were used. Needs assessment has been looked to as a mechanism of organizational and educational change (Delaney & Nuttall, 1978; English 8 Kaufman, 1975; Monette, 1977; Nickens et al., 1980; Pennington, 1985). The manner in which a needs assessment is conducted varies with the organization, the concept of need, the conceptualization of needs, and uses to which the results will be put. Kamis (1979) characterized needs assessment as the frail and weak offspring of evaluation and planning that is currently in vogue and yet struggling for survival. Needs assessment is a prevailing requirement for social programs, particularly nonformal adult education programs; nonetheless, it means different things to different people. Several authors have> concurred that needs assessment is an important part of a comprehensive research and planning program of human-service agencies (English & Kaufman, 1975; London, 1960; 24 Nadler, 1977; Nesman, 1981; Nickens et al., 1980; Pennington & Green, 1976; Piepmeir, 1980). These authors and others have agreed that, to be useful, a needs assessment should include the learners and all others who might be affected by the results of the assessment. Concepts of Needs Assessment Needs assessment has been defined as "an information-gathering and analysis process which results in the identification of the needs (Hi individuals, groups, institutions, communities, or societies” (Suarez, 1985, p. 3496). In education, and particularly in nonformal education, needs assessment has been widely used to identify the needs of learners or clients for their own personal, academic, and vocational pursuits, so that educational program administrators might use the information in planning and resource allocation (Delaney & Nuttall, 1978; Nickens et al., 1980; Pennington, 1985). Purposes of Needs Assessments Specific purposes of needs assessments include identifying unmet needs; diagnosing or identifying problems, weaknesses, and gaps between what is and what ought to be; obtaining information to ensure congruence between services and activities needed by clientele (Nickens et al., 1980); analyzing clientele and identifying areas of demand (Pennington, 1985); and determining the performance status of a treatment and holding institutions accountable for their efforts (Suarez, 1985). In short, the results 25 of needs assessments are expected to have utility and to improve the process of social decision making (Lederer, 1980). McKinley (cited in Monette, 1977) classified needs-assessment procedures in adult education into three general families: (a) individual self-fulfillment models, which are intended to discover those needs that are potent enough to attract individuals to educational activities; (b) individual appraisal models, in which clients are involved in determining their learning needs; and (c) system-discrepancy models, which are used to discover the educational needs in social systems. Methods and Technigues of Needs Assessments Finding research on the needs-assessment process is not easy. The content of studies in this area varies according to the institution, discipline, or organization undertaking the assessment (Kamis, 1979; Monette, 1977; Nickens et al., 1980). The review of literature on methods and techniques was limited to concepts of the process(es) of' needs assessment. Selected empirical studies in which qualitative methods were used are included as examples. In the late 19605, Kaufman developed the concept of needs assessment into a process of system analysis. The generic pre- and postassessment steps include: 1. Plan to plan: chart means and ends. 2. Derive goals. 3. Validate goals. wave: 10. ll. 12. l3. 14. 26 Order goals. Translate goals. a. Develop performance indicators. b. Develop detailed performance objectives. Validate performance objectives. Reorder goals. Provide futuristic input to goal ranking. Rerank goals. Select testing instruments or evaluative strategies for assessing the current state. Collate data gathered. Develop initial gap or "need statements." Order gap statements according to Step 4. Publish list of gap statements. Postassessment steps use data produced through the needs assessment: 1. Interpolate gaps by program and level. 2. Conduct diagnostic/planning sessions to develop implemen- tation strategies to meet identified needs. 3. Budget for implementation strategies. 4. Fund strategies. 5. Implement strategies. 7. Reassess gaps by means of feedback (English & Kaufman, 1975). 27 Kaufman and English (1979) identified 17 steps that are necessary in conducting a needs assessment. Delaney and Nuttall (1978) identified similar steps. The 17 steps are as follows: 1. 2. ll. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. OOQNO‘U‘I-fi Decide to plan systematically. Obtain commitment of planning groups. Identify a representative constituency (race, gender, national origin). Obtain commitment to participate. Obtain data on current and past trends. Identify a time period. Determine the present and anticipated gaps (needs). Prioritize the gaps (needs). Determine areas of disagreement and list them. Reconcile the disagreements. List agreed-upon needs and rerank them. Repeat Steps 9 to 11, if necessary. List needs in priority order. Select the needs for action and list them. Continue the needs-assessment process; schedule the next assessment. Be prepared to consider new needs that might arise in the interim. Thank participants personally and keep them informed of the progress. Recently, experts have frequently asserted that development programs should be geared to meeting human needs. This emphasis on 28 human needs requires effective methods and techniques with which to assess what the needs of individuals and communities are and how they can best be addressed. Numerous methods have been used to conduct needs assessments, including analysis of publicly available information, social surveys, and group approaches (e.g., the community forum, the nominal-group approach, the Delphi method, and advisory councils). Pennington (1985) identified five approaches to needs assessment in adult education: 1. The participation demand approach, which draws information from the records in adult education institutions about individual requests for courses. This approach assures that relatively accurate estimates about existing educational needs can be based on a sample of persons who have shown an interest in adult education. 2. The educational experts approach, in which committees of experts decide what clients need to know. 3. The key informant approach, based on information from key persons in the community who are in a position to know what their communities’ or constituents’ needs are. Key persons are selected by the researcher or by community leaders. 4. The community forum approach, which attempts to include a broader cross-section of the community in the needs assessment process than does the key infOrmant approach. Information is gathered through public meetings and specific topics are discussed. 5. The social survey approach, which collects data from a sam- ple of the population. Expressions of needs are considered representative of the community, and results are used to establish new educational programs. (pp. 3494-95) Experts, records, and surveys have advantages and disadvantages in needs assessments. They do not, for example, contribute much to the understanding of social and cultural factors that affect an individual’s perception of his/her needs and what methods of fulfilling those needs might be appropriate. da cu of no 1118 29 This researcher considered the key informant approach recommended by Nesman (1981), Nelson (1979), and Glaser and Strauss (1970) the most appropriate assessment technique for this study. Deviating from the conventional paths of predetermined estimates of need, this approach allowed the researcher to use flexible methods, such as interviews and field notes. In a paper in which he cited the need for more qualitative data, Friedlander (1985) established the importance of social and cultural factors in development planning and called for a new kind of data and data-gathering procedure. Use of qualitative methods would build on local, rather than external, institutions and mechanisms. Researchers have not generally accepted the notion that a reliable data base for planning requires qualitative as well as quantitative information. However, that view is changing. Croll (1985), Friedlander (1985), Risseeuw et a1. (1980), Huston (1979), and Roitman (1980) questioned conventional processes of research on the perceptions of needs. They believed that a research methodology that emphasizes the collection of qualitative information will yield the kinds of data that can form the basis for effective program implementation. This would require the use of ethnographic methods. Ethnographic methods are capable of yielding data similar to what might be obtained through quantitative methods, but they enrich the information by providing valuable insights into the fhctors 'underlying perceptions of need (Brown, 1982; Due, Mudena, & Miller, 1978; Risseeuw et al., 1980; Roitman, 1980). 30 The present research was essentially an assessment of needs of women involved in development programs. The literature on needs assessment. was important to this study because it offered the researcher an understanding of how needs assessments are conducted and of how the results can be put to use in effecting change. Change is at the root of needs assessment--changes in methods, goals, outcomes, and even in institutions. Change is usually more successful if those affected by the change see it as appropriate. Research an Needs Assessment Research on the subject of needs identification, particularly as it relates to the development of policies and programs for women in developing countries, is scarce. Although much informed opinion exists on the subject, the researcher was able to locate only three empirical studies. In all three of these studies, the investigators used qualitative research techniques with women as subjects and had direct and intensive contact with the women. Risseeuw et a1. (1980) undertook a study in Sri Lanka to look at development from the point of view of women from the lower socioeconomic strata whose voices are seldom, if ever, heard at decision-making levels. The purpose of the study was collaboratively to identify their needs. Methodology included fieldwork, interviews, and normative conversations. The researchers’ assumption was that development policies should link up ’with people’s need and aspirations in order to be effective. The views and feelings of the women were a starting point. These views 31 were supplemented by the researchers’ observations in the process of categorization and analysis. The research team comprised ten researchers; 100 women were the subjects. Risseeuw et al. used the terms "needs" and "resources" (the means of fulfilling the needs) in a broad sense. They included property, income, education, information, health, and political power as resources necessary for the fulfillment of needs. "An inventory' of’ needs and lacking resources is not sufficient to formulate policy recommendations. First, the constraints for need fulfillment must be determined" (p. 1). Risseeuw et al. also considered structural and cultural constraints in their analysis. Structural constraints are enforced by the economic and political system and are connected to power relations at all levels--from the household to the fields of national and international politics and economies. Cultural constraints include ideas and beliefs that tend to maintain patterns of structural inequality, severely restricting women’s options in life. Risseeuw et al. found that ”the most generally expressed, a11- pervasive need of women was for a steady income of their own" (p. 3). This was attributed to women’s need to dispose of their own income, the rising cost of living, and growing proportions of women who are becoming family breadwinners. The women in this study also Aidentified material and expressive needs. Other needs they identified were food, medicine, clothing, health, books and uniforms 32 for school-age children, housing, religious and social activities, and increased mobility in their villages and their country. The second study, conducted by Huston (1979), was international in scope. Huston studied the needs and aspirations of 123 women in six developing countries, using open-ended interviews to collect the data. This study represents an early effort to deviate from informed opinion of experts by going directly to the women and having them express their needs in the context of their own realities. Huston found that women expressed a great need for organization. Subjects placed much trust in the ability of women’s organizations to help them. The women were also interested in training or education for two basic reasons. First, they wanted to improve their families’ health; second, they sought training in remunerable skills in order to earn the money necessary to improve their families’ health and economic situation. In the third study, Due et a1. (1978) assessed how rural women in Zambia perceived development. One hundred forty-two women who were involved in homemaker-oriented programs in three rural areas of Zambia were interviewed. Few specifics were given regarding the methodology in this study, which was presented as a case study. However, the authors did assert that it is important to query women about their perceptions because the findings showed that these women had concerns that were broader than their homemaking roles. 33 Empirical evidence reported in this section indicated similar problems of women in developing countries and supported the methodology used in the present study. Related Research on Needs Assessment Related research conducted by Piepmeir (1980), Hoskins (1980), and Berger, Ettyang, & Gatara (1975) focused on institutional rather than pragmatic components of needs assessment in women’s organizations. In 1980, Piepmeir published a report on women’s organizations as resources for development, discussing the largely invisible contributions of women to social and economic development and the need for incorporating the concerns of women into development plans and programs. "Women have begun to demand a greater voice in the decision-making processes within their own societies and to ask for assistance in solving their own problems" (p. 6). Piepmeir continued, . . . Needs assessment is an important first step in planning development programs. But if the philosophies and perceptions of development specialists and funders are based on a stereotyped concept of women’s roles and functions, not only are the real needs of' women missed, but there can be no understanding of the dynamics of the particular society. (p. 9) The success of development programs depends on the people’s response. Their response is based on their own priority needs. Where programs have been directed to women, whether by governments or through women’s organizations, often they have offered services dealing with health and nutrition, home economics, or literacy, which have not been the central priority needs of the women. Piepmeir advocated change in the following interrelated areas: 34 economic opportunity, appropriate technology, child care, education, and health care. Piepmeir also asserted that research results and experience pertaining to working with and listening to women have indicated the areas in which women have the greatest needs. 'The potential for change depends on the use of existing institutions and resources and the creation of new networks and vehicles for reaching women. In another qualitative study, Brown (1982) used focused, open- ended interviews with a sample of five extension home economists to gain an understanding of the processes these professionals employed to assess the educational needs of their clientele. In her review of the literature, Brown found that many educators have not been concerned with how or why educational program priorities are established. A possible reason for this lack of attention to conceptual foundations could be the overemphasis on survey methodology, which tends to isolate the responses of the subjects from integration with other factors. Brown also found that needs assessment and priority setting were influenced by explicit and implicit sources of information. In a study designed to identify community energy conservation programming needs, Roitman (1980) used qualitative needs-assessment approaches. He compared the results of semi-structured interviews with those of community forums in a nonrandom sample of 66 persons involved in energy-conservation programs. Roitman found that the interviews were a rich and valuable tool in developing conceptual 35 categories and that the idea-generation procedures of interviews and forums produced essentially identical results in terms of prioritization of response categories. However, the interviews yielded more useful information regarding feelings underlying the identified needs. Roitman believed that both procedures would be of great value as precursors to a more highly structured survey approach, in instances where efficiency of data collection is preferred. The related research was included in this review because of its relevance to the organizational and methodological issues that were evident in conducting this study. meen in Development The Concept of Development Development is a process by which human communities strive to achieve basic levels of material goods, social services, and human dignity' for' each individual in an attempt to improve economic, social, and political conditions in a society. This implies that there are stages of development and that development is continuous. Many authors (Huston, 1979; Loufti, 1980; Tinker 81 Bramsen, 1976) have viewed development as a complex series of interrelated change processes, both abrupt and gradual. Although development can be studied as an economic, political, educational, or social phenomenon, its goals are those of existence itself: to provide all people with the opportunity to live full human lives. Development is the ascent of all pe0p1e and societies in their total humanity. 36 The essential element of development . . . is the individual’s conviction that there is opportunity, energy, purpose to his society, rather than problems, inertia, and hopelessness. Whatever the political, social, and cultural problems and uncertainties, development still remains above all an economic process. Economic success does not by itself solve all problems. It creates many new ones. But it makes it much easier to live with problems and even to assuage them--perhaps ultimately) even to solve them. (Drucker, cited in Anderson, 983, p. 7 Change is the essence of development, whether economic, social, political, or personal. Like change, development can be dreaded or desired, resented or welcomed. A developed country is considered to be advanced materially and technologically, so that its people can maintain a high standard of living. Some people equate development with progress. The 1975 Hammarskjold report states that development is a total, comprehensive process, informed by a value-loaded vision and shaped around five pillars: . the satisfaction of human needs, both material and, in a wide sense, political . self-reliance . endogenous growth . harmony with the environment . structural transformation in the economy, society, and polity. (Charlton, 1984, p. 175) The Coneept of Women in Develppment Women in development (WID) is an interdisciplinary concept that emerged in the 19705 out of the United Nations Decade for Women. WID efforts are research and action oriented in the consideration of how to involve women in development strategies at local and national levels and to equalize life chances between the sexes (Schuster, 1982). [I I: 37 W10 scholars and practitioners alike are concerned about recognition of the real and potential roles and contributions of women to the process of development; the issue of access to opportunities for personal, social, and economic growth; and a concern that women not be left out of development initiatives or displaced from productive roles. The purpose of WID research programs and policies is to increase women’s self-reliance, dignity, and social and personal growth by facilitating their access to and capacity to use and control resources and decision making. Women in Development Issues Issues in the literature on WID include those of status and role; social change; economics and access to income; the sexual division of labor; the feminization of poverty; invisibility in and integration into national development; social, cultural, and structural deterrents; and others. Related issues center on the nature of WID programs; past emphasis on home economics; handicraft production and leadership development; access to income, credit, and land; equity in educational opportunity; family-food security; domestic violence; adolescent pregnancy; and other topics. Wumen in Development Research In a recent review of research on women in development, Schuster (1982) suggested that professionals in many disciplines are iconcerned with aspects of WID. Their approaches to the problems, according to Schuster, fall into two general categories: 38 Area studies range from macroanalyses of women’s status at the national level to microanalyses of women’s roles in small communities. Ethnographic accounts are informed by anthropologists. Sociologists, historians, political scientists, and educators have also begun studying the condition of non-Western women. . . . Political, economic, ideological, and cultural factors are invoked to explain women’s status and roles. Aetion-orjented studies are practical in outlook and . . . committed to a vision of justice and equity. (p. 512) Until the mid-19705, women in developing countries were not recognized either as participants in or as contributors to national development (Antrobus, 1980; Boulding, 1980; Nelson, 1979; Schuster, 1982; Tinker & Bramsen, 1976). Nelson (1979) cited three reasons why women should be considered by development planners: pragmatism, justice, and family welfare. Pragmatically, neglecting women underuses an important resource. Schuster (1982) reported that the literature contains conflicting evidence regarding the allocation of household income. However, Huston (1979), Loufti (1980), Rogers (1979), and Nelson (1979) reported that consumption patterns between male and female family heads differ. Women tend to purchase basic necessities for the family, whereas men tend to spend a great deal of their income on themselves. Nelson (1979) estimated that one-third of the world’s households are headed by females. Widows, divorcees, and unmarried mothers are included in this figure. Development projects and training programs for women have ltended to be women-specific and focused on home-economics-type training and handicraft production for income generation. Critics 39 of handicraft schemes, including Dhamija (1981) and Rogers (1979), have described feminine crafts as . time-consuming, low-productivity' work. Usually decorative, non-essential items are produced for unreliable tourist and overseas specialty markets; the work is amateurish and marginal. No training is provided to improve organizational, managerial, and business skills of producer groups or to apply quality controls. (Schuster, 1982, p. 532) Home economics training has been criticized as a Western notion that is culturally biased and limited in its perception of female productive roles (Antrobus, 1980; Charlton, 1984; Piepmeir, 1980; Rogers, 1979). Paolucci et a1. (n.d.) contended that to deny the importance of household-related training is "to ignore the central role of the family as the primary social context. within which virtually all women operate and as the fundamental unit on which development is based” (p. 73). Concepts of the Needs pf Women Appropriate nonformal education for women in developing nations has been the subject of much debate. Inadequate knowledge about the kind of training or information women want or need fuels the discussion. According to the literature, development programs and projects (or nonformal education activities) have failed because of (a) inappropriate conceptualizations of the needs (Antrobus, 1980; Axinn, n.d.; Bernard & Gayfer, 1983; Cebotarev, 1980; Charlton, 1984; Due et al., 1978; Huston, 1979; Muchena, 1982; Rogers, 1979) and (b) failure to accumulate needs-based information before 40 projects. were begun (Huston, 1979; Muchena, 1982; Nesman, 1981; Piepmeir, 1980). ”Any project’s failure means that the people who have invested in the project feel they have been taken advantage of. They gradually withdraw and have very little to do with future projects" (Nesman, 1981, pp. 99-100). Piepmeir (1980) recommended that WID projects should meet the needs of women as they themselves define them and ensure the full participation of the women in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the project. This includes their control of resources and responsibility for decision making. Such projects should also focus on action leading to economic self-sufficiency and political participation. Bernard and Gayfer (1983) examined the nature and extent of women’s participation in nonformal education in third-world areas. Female coordinators of adult and nonformal education programs for women in seven regions collected information on such programs from print materials, practitioners, and researchers. The report was critical of nonformal education activities throughout the seven regions for . . . their failure . . . to take women seriously into account as full participants in development. Rather than enhancing the integration of women, programs too often contribute to the marginalization of women. Programs marginalize women to the extent that they compartmentalize them as homemakers, mothers, and incidental wage earners, rather than seeing them as individuals with a range of talents and dimensions . . . [and] to the extent that they segregate women from the socio-economic mainstream. (Bernard & Gayfer, 1983, p. 10) 41 Huston (1979), Loufti (1980), and Nelson (1979) recommended that development planners confront the needs that women have by first asking the women and then addressing the needs programmatically. The women in their studies reported the following needs: (a) increased involvement in agricultural development, credit, land titles, and training in improved methods; (b) woman- specific education and training programs (including home-economics- type activities); (c) special aid for women’s self-help groups; and ((1) increased involvement of women’s organizations. Croll (1985) and Antrobus (1980), reflecting the opinions of development experts, identified the following needs: (a) projects that are holistic in design, (b) empowerment--methodologies that empower by building capacity, and (c) improvements in methodologies to encourage participation in the research and advocated needs-assessment process (e.g., participatory research). The Role of Women’s Organizations Berger et a1. (1975), Bernard and Gayfer (1983), Piepmeir (1980), Hoskins (1980), and Loufti (1980) were emphatic about the importance of involving women’s organizations in the development effort. These researchers identified the need to improve institutional capabilities, participatory leadership skills, income- generating projects, technical support, networking, and program and project development. In a research report on the experience of women’s organizations in development programming, Hoskins (1980) noted that there are few 42 well-developed links from donor programs to women and few women program designers or administrators to help establish these links. Often such programs require administrative and other support from intermediaries who are culturally sensitive. Representatives of the WID office and the Agency for International Development (AID) held a series of conferences and meetings, to which they invited representatives from less-developed countries, women’s organizations, private voluntary organizations, and donor groups. These representatives discussed current activities and the future potential of women’s organizations to implement projects, deliver services, and cooperate with poor women in identifying, developing, and carrying out WID programs. These representatives agreed that . . indigenous women’s user organizations can be a valuable tool for handling local projects. Intermediary women’s groups can channel funds and materials to rural and urban poor women and can transmit information between the poor and private and public program organizers. (Hoskins, 1980, p. 6) Hoskins suggested that donors may be better able to reach the poor with culturally appropriate and responsive programs through strengthening women’s groups at several levels. Participants in the above-mentioned conferences concluded that working through women’s organizations provides women opportunities for personal development, leadership and management skills, network building, and information sharing, which comes through organizing and participating. (p. 4) Some women’s groups are addressing development issues, but . most are not strong or effective, partly due to lack of experienced leadership and management, and partly because existing groups have weak links, either with the government and 43 donors or with the poor. Social welfare programs . . . are [generally] considered the domain of women. (p. 3) Indigenous women’s groups are formal and informal organizations with local, in-country leadership and control of decision making. Hoskins (1980) identified two types of indigenous women’s groups: 1. 2. Usen_gnpups--found in both rural and urban areas and may be focused on social, welfare, or development objectives. . . They develop around specific objectives and last only as long as the objective is being addressed. They are spontaneous, informal and often fragile. User group members often recognize the need for outside help for market studies, technical know-how, assessing resources, and obtaining other information upon which to select the best potential solution to their identified problem. However, these same local women complain that when either indigenous or expatriate outsiders come to their communities with programming advice, they often bring irrelevant and useless information, are overly directive, and above all, fail to listen. (pp. 4-6) Intermediary groups--described as formed around profes- sional, religious, political, or other common interests. Their objectives and the focus of their programs indicate how they relate to women in development criteria. Many have several categories of objectives, though each is ambitious and requires a variety of professional skills. A number have projects which appear to be based on easing current hardships, or on the welfare model. Their goals, however, reflect a change from a welfare to a development perspective. There is little evidence that many of these groups realize development projects require building self- help capacities by user groups. The extent to which technical and philosophical changes in project design will be necessary to meet this end escapes most of them. (p. 9) Organization members need to carefully evaluate their skills and resources and direct programs toward capitalizing on organizational assets. The most successful organizations appear to combine professional staff and experts with volunteer support. Spokeswomen for intermediary groups were enthusiastic about the help that nonindigenous intermediary groups could offer; however, 44 they added strong qualifiers: (a) "Project-identifying procedures must be more truly responsive to local needs," and (b) "Concentrate on a supportiye role, helping indigenous groups to develop the skills to run their own programs" (Hoskins, 1980, p. 13). Hoskins identified five organizational goals and key criteria for evaluating WID projects: 1. Orientation--persona1 versus task. To what extent is the group involved in more than social activities; having a common goal more than simply being a friendship group? 2. Philosophy--social welfare versus self-help. What is the commitment to palliating present hardships compared to the commitment to finding means of permanently alleviating hardship? 3. Structure--informal versus formal. Has the group recog- nized itself as a formal unit in some way? 4. Motivation--external versus internal. To what extent is the presence of an outsider necessary to the continuing existence of the groups? 5. Ideology--group as end versus group as means. To what extent is the women’s group committed to promoting women as participants in and beneficiaries of the development process? (p. 20) Antrobus (1980) offered the following insights in a report on WID issues in the Caribbean, which supported the importance of assessing the needs of women. Issues such as the role and status of women are development issues and should be addressed within the wider framework of development planning. Unfortunately, this is seldom done by planners, who tend to focus on the motherhood roles (women’s reproductive roles) and ignore women’s roles as producers. Planners tend to think of women as a . homogeneous minority with special and separate interests and they often are not included either in the functional definition of people, such as farmers, unemployed, youth. Although women in third world countries play a significant role in domestic food production and local marketing (in the Caribbean over 70% of locally produced food is marketed by 45 women), in food processing and in the production of items for their homes, their labor is often not even calculated in the national production. (p. 60) This focus on women’s reproductive roles has placed women’s programs within the social welfare sector, to the detriment of both women and ‘their societies, not only because the social welfare sector is given lower priority than the economic and therefore tends to be allocated fewer resources, but also because their exclusion from the economic sector seriously hampers development for a number of reasons. One of these is that the overwhelming focus on women’s reproductive role has tended to reinforce that role. Another is the failure to provide equal opportunities for women in education, training, access to land, and credit. ‘This inhibits the full development of women’s potential and deprives their countries of the contribution they can make to development. Major problems of food production, malnutrition, poverty, illiteracy, and a host of others cannot be solved without involving women and without considering their needs and concerns (Antrobus, 1980). Even when agencies have established guidelines for women in development, or set up special advisers . . . it does not necessarily mean that all or even most development programs pay attention to the needs and concerns of women or to measures aimed at increasing the contribution they can make to their countries. (Antrobus, 1980, p. 63) Rogers (1979) analyzed ”the distortions involved in the research and data collection on which development planning is based, and criticized the relegation of third world women to special projects in the domestic ghetto" (p. 10). Rogers was also critical of organizations in which women are expected to do important work in 46 the community for nothing. This is very much a Western, upper-class idea. In addition to the impracticality of any program based on poor women’s donation of precious time, this approach is amateurish and patronizing or paternalistic. A by-product is an increase in female dependence on a male elite. Horn, Munnell, and Vandenberg (n.d.) postulated that 1. Organizations are central to women’s development efforts because of their participatory value. 2. The marginality of women is reduced through organizational affiliation because it gives women a reference group which can stand as a basis for integration into society in general. ”Consciousness" is a prerequisite to effective organiza- tion. Power, derived independently of man, often results in autonomy. Women . . . are discriminated against and so look to other females for comfort and understanding. . Women who have networks of relations or friends might be able to free themselves for organizational participa- tion. (p. 5) 0101-54.» A Dilemma in Needs Assessment There is growing emphasis in the WID literature on including women more fully in development planning. The informed opinions of experts convince one of the importance and necessity of program planning that is guided by needs-based information. Charlton (1984) stated that "the preoccupation with gathering information is understandable and to a point, laudable,” but he asked, "How much information is enough?" (p. 38). Some rural-development experts have admitted that most of the data collected are never used Ms there is a direct functional application related to the collection. Information is expensive, 47 and information-gathering capacity is a scarce response. Chambers (cited in Charlton, 1984) argued for a strategy of "optimal ignorance" and advised that researchers should think in terms of "what we do net need to know." However, overcollection of data and optimal ignorance both have failed to accomodate women’s needs because those needs were not recognized as being important in the policy process. The literature on women in development was relevant to the present study because it provided a framework for understanding the concepts of development and of women in development. Further, the issues relevant to WID were iterated, and the nature and extent of WID programs were examined. This literature was helpful in grounding the study and in providing a context for interpreting the findings. Prognam Development in Adult Education Adult Development The literature on adult development provides organismic or contextual explanations for changes in adults. Gould (1978) and Havighurst (1952) are two of several theorists who have discussed adult development as a series of life-cycle changes. Knowles (1975) developed a model of program development based on his philosophy of andragogy: . . a philosophy which assumes that adults are self- directed, use their life experience as a learning resource, are ready to learn in accordance with their socio- -developmenta1 tasks, and desire immediate application of learning. (Boone, 1985, p. 30) 48 Havighurst (1952) stated that men and women reach the peak of their influence on society at the same time that society makes its maximum demands on them for social and civic responsibility. This occurs between the ages of 30 and 55m 'The developmental tasks of these middle years arise from changes within the organism, from environmental pressures, and, above all, from demands or obligations of an individual’s own values and aspirations. Those tasks include: (a) achieving civic and social responsibility; (b) establishing and maintaining an economic standard of living; (c) assisting teens to become responsible, happy adults; (d) developing leisure-time activities; and (e) relating to one’s spouse as a person. That adults experience a series of stages and/or phases during the adult span of the life cycle that affect their personal growth and development and, hence, their learning needs have been widely discussed in recent literature (Havighurst, 1952; Knowles, 1950). Havighurst also identified 10 social roles of adulthood: worker, mate, parent, homemaker, son or daughter of aging parents, citizen, friend, organization member, religious affiliate, and user of leisure time. Continual change in the requirements to perform these social roles as the adult moves through the three phases sets up changing developmental tasks and thus changing readiness to learn. Adults have a variety of experience, come to the learning situation ready to learn, and often enter a learning experience to solve life problems they have encountered. Adults seek learning that they can apply immediately to life’s problems; hence learning is purposive (Knowles, 1950). 49 John Dewey used three words to sum the learning process: need, effprt, and satjsfaetipn. Learning starts with a need--the desire to satisfy body needs, the desire to get along with others, the desire to know, or the desire to become something better. This need motivates us to seek a situation in which to satisfy the need; and the effort put forth results in complete or partial success or failure, producing feelings of satisfaction, displeasure, relaxation, exhilaration, or exhaustion, depending upon the outcome of our effort. (Knowles, 1950, p. 22) Concepts of Prpgram In the field of adult education, ”program” is the term commonly used to describe the type of activities developed by a voluntary association, agency, or non-educational institution for its public. . . . The more flexible term "program" is preferred by adult educators over ”curriculum" because it reflects the need to be responsive to adults. (London, 1960, p. 65) In many nonformal adult education organizations, the term "program" is used as a substitute for "curriculum." Program development is related to curriculum development. The contexts in which these terms are used differ, and this fact has implications for adult educators. Boyle (1981) stated that the definition of "program" is much broader than that of "curriculum." "Program is the product resulting from all the programing activities in which professional educator and learner are involved” (p. 5). The term ”program development" covers a wide range of activities. Some activities are aimed at educational efforts, whereas others aim to maintain the organization. Program development is essentially a method of planning that involves certain phases and steps (Beal, Blount, Powers, & Johnson, 1966; 50 Boone, 1985; Boyle, 1981; London, 1960). Needs assessment is a basic step in program planning and development. In writing about the process of curriculum development, English and Kaufman (1975) discussed the cyclical nature of curriculum development (i.e., program development), which is based on needs assessment (see Figure 2.3). In this cycle, the curriculum- development process is portrayed as orderly. Program-Develppment Theories and Models Adult education theorists (Boyle, 1981; London, 1960) seem to concur about the formal steps in program development. These are: (a) determine the needs of the constituents, (b) enlist their participation in planning, (c) formulate clear objectives, (d) design a program plan, (e) plan and carry out a system of evaluation, and (f) report the results. Boyle (1981) stated that programming is a comprehensive synthesis of theory, analysis, and practice. Boone (1985) added that, in adult education, program development is broad-based, collaborative, dynamic, and proactive. One objective of program development is linking the adult education organization to its publics through the formal program-development steps. Boone wrote that design implementation is a . . subprocess of program development and may be viewed as a transition from the abstract to the concrete, from diffuse to focused activity, and from aggregate to individual efforts. In this transition the thinker becomes the practitioner, as the focus shifts to action-oriented, service-delivery steps that derive from prior planning. (p. 128) 51 REALITY I L I T 1 1...... “'““‘°' 5°99" “It'll???“ Needs Needs Needs Survival 1 1 . 1 A} I .__._ Agreed Upon Non-agreed Needs Upon Needs 1 Needs Placed in Priority Order 1 Selected Needs 1 1 1 Management Learning Objectives Objectives L 1 1 Curriculum Planning 1 Curriculum Development 1 Curriculum Implementation 1 Formative Evaluation l—T'T—J—j Summative Goal-free Evaluation Evaluation as; - 1 Figure 2.3.--The curriculum-development cycle using a needs- assessment base. From F. W. English and R. A. Kaufman, Needs Assessment: A Eoeus fer Durnjeulum Development (Washington, D.C.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1975), p. 50. 52 Planned programs are a response to the needs of target publics. Planned programs are also a blueprint of changes to be effected over a period of time. They provide the basis for the allocation and use of resources, for decisions or strategies and methodologies. "The planned program and plans of action also provide a base for the adult educator in identifying, recruiting, and developing resource persons to assist with the actual implementation of the planned program” (Boone, 1985, p. 129). The adult education literature contains several models of programming in organizational settings. Beal et a1. (1966) identified 34 social-action steps in the program-development process in extension. Boone (1985) considered the renewal of the institution and ways of linking the institution to its public through need analysis and leader involvement, whereas Knowles (1975) and Boyle (1981) focused on program development in continuing education situations. Researchers using the preceding models found common elements that are basic to program development: (a) problem/need definition; (b) setting of goals, objectives, and means; (c) some formal or informal learning activity; and (d) either an explicit or an implicit evaluation (Boone, 1985). Boone further stated that all of these models are adaptable to most adult education contexts and are concerned with the needs and interests of the learner, at the same time being cognizant of the needs of the educator, the organization, and the institution. 53 The literature in this section was included because it articulated some basic principles to guide the thinking of adult educators and development practitioners. The writers asserted that the whole person is involved in the educational process. This implies that the whole person should be considered in processes of development. This body of literature also provided an understanding of the characteristics of adult learners and the relationship of those characteristics to the program-development process and a consideration of the ways adult education promotes changes in individuals and society. Summar The review of literature was organized around four conceptual areas: needs, assessment of needs, women in development, and program development in adult education. The literature on the uses of’ qualitative methods in educational research is discussed in Chapter III. Conceptual analyses provided the theoretical background and the rationale for inclusion of selected concepts in this review. Theoretical concepts were followed up with empirical evidence from the literature. One of the most effective ways to analyze needs seems to be through individuals themselves. Researchers have found that women are not a homogeneous group and that their needs may be motivated by different drives, stages in the life cycle, and life circumstances. The implication is that different types of interventions are called for. 54 Although a search of the available literature produced studies that dealt with needs assessment and the perceptions of needs of women, no studies were found that dealt with the assessment of needs for program development through private voluntary organizations. The uniqueness of the Partners relationship among Michigan, Belize, and the Dominican Republic and the lack of precedents in the literature highlighted the need for this study. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The methods and procedures used in conducting the study are presented in this chapter. Included are a rationale for using the qualitative method, a discussion of the process of selecting potential respondents, the development of the interview schedule, and the methods used in collecting and analyzing the data. Nature of the Study The exploratory and cross-cultural nature of this endeavor prompted the researcher to use quasi-qualitative research methods. Ethnographic techniques were employed to record data and interpret their meaning. Such inquiry has been described as naturalistic as opposed to controlled and is a qualitative as opposed to a quantitative method (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985). Qualitative methods are distinguished from quantitative methods by the impressionistic quality of the data. Qualitative methods obtain data which is relatively unstructured by preconceived categories. Such methods depend on the subject of the study to shape an interpretive framework. (Roitman, 1980, p. 14) The goal of ethnographic studies is to compare the participants in their own terms and learn their categories for rendering coherent and explicable their view of reality. Such studies use "informed interviews with selected informants from within the community as 55 56 sources of data” (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985). Written accounts of the findings often include detailed descriptions and direct quotations, which provide a meaningful context for the data. C - Pr c Case-study methods involve the collection and recording of data about a case or cases and the preparation of a report that presents the case. The task of the case study is to produce ordered reports of evidence that invite judgment and offer evidence to which judgment can appeal (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985). "The case study," according to Stake (1980), "is organized around a conceptual structure" (p. 8-4). The task of the researcher and the reader is to . look for systematic connections between the observable behaviors, speculations, causes, and treatments. . . . What is studied depends on what the researcher is trying to do. The case study is a way of organizing social data so as to preserve the unitary character of the social object being studied. . . . The principal difference between case studies and other research methods is that the case is made the focus of attention. . . . The search is for an understanding of the particular case in its idiosyncrasy and in its complexity. . . . There may or may not be an ultimate interest in the generalizability. The principal difference between case studies and other research methods is net one of method . . . but of focus. The case study tells a story of a "bonded system." . . . Different conceptualizations of a problem require different boundaries. Selection of the boundaries depends not only on what you want to find out, but also on those things that turn out over time to be related to what you want to find out. (pp. 84-86) Different case studies tell different stories. The researcher must decide which issues to build the story around and must also decide the point at which data are adequate to the research questions. ”The conduct of case studies covers four phases: 57 selecting the cases and negotiating access, fieldwork, the organization of records, and the writing of a report" (Stenhouse, cited in Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985, p. 646). A written report may employ narrative reporting, portrayal reporting, vignettes, or analysis reporting. Multi-site case studies pose interesting problems for reporting. Stake and Easley (cited in Husen & Postlethwaite, 1985) suggested portraying each case as a separate entity and providing an overview of the cases. yalidity and Reliability Husen and Postlethwaite (1985) defined validity and reliability as follows: Validjty is a quality of the conclusions and process through which these were reached. In ethnographic research, the most appropriate criterion is credibility. Credibility is dependent on the apparent accuracy of the data and the steps taken to increase reliability. Much depends on the way in which the study is communicated to the scientific audience. A report in which the investigator describes the precautions that were taken to ensure the accuracy of the observations has more credibility than one in which the reader is merely asked to take the data and findings on faith. . . . The interpretations made from the data are more credible when the researcher describes the evidence on which they are based and also any efforts made to test for evidence that would tend to disconfirm any tentative conclusions. Validity and credibility depend a great deal on the way in which an ethnographic study is communicated to the scientific audience. Beliapility, that is the accuracy of the information, can be enhanced by recording data or events so that they can be examined at leisure. Still, it is possible to encounter sampling problems in the selection of data and there are limitations due to bias, lack of opportunity, tactical and ethical considerations in making the recordings. 58 Reliability can be assisted by long periods of exposure to the data. This provides opportunities for investigators to cross-check their observations over time and to reconcile inconsistencies. (p. 1732) Selection of Respondents Glaser and Strauss (1967) recommended selecting participants from the population group most likely to provide data related to the problem area. For this study, the most likely persons from whom to seek data were members of women’s groups organized in voluntary association to formulate, implement, and participate in development- oriented programs. A purposively selected sample of 33 individuals--13 in Belize, 11 in Michigan, and 9 in the Dominican Republic--was interviewed. These individuals were initially identified and invited to participate in the study by the current Partners of the Americas Women in Development (WID) subcommittee chairperson, by the executive director, or by direct personal contact initiated by the researcher. Three months before the field trip, the researcher contacted counterparts in all three Partnerships to explain the purpose of the study and to solicit their assistance in identifying potential respondents. A telephone contact was followed up with a letter that explained the research project in detail. Copies of an abstract of the research proposal were enclosed with the letter to enable the contact persons to explain what the researcher expected of potential respondents. Respondents were selected, formal appointments established, and an itinerary mailed to the researcher. In the 59 interest of anonymity of respondents, itineraries are not included in the appendix. The researcher asked her contacts in Belize and the Dominican Republic to identify and select respondents who were involved with the local Partners organization in one of the following ways: as WID leaders/subcommittee Chairpersons, as WID committee members, as clientele, or as representatives of affiliate groups interested in collaborating with Partners on development-oriented programs for women. The researcher assumed that the participation of members of the relevant population groups would be voluntary and that their responses would be honest and based on experience. Description of Resppndents Thirty-three respondents participated in this study. All were women, and all were involved in development programs or activities involving women with limited resources. The mean age of the 33 respondents was 40.3 years. The mean educational level for the group was 14.4 years. Twenty-six of them were married. Eighteen were professionals, four were paraprofessionals, five were self- employed, and five were full-time homemakers. Twenty-five lived in urban areas and eight in rural areas. All respondents were active members of at least one development organization. Four of the respondents could be classified as leaders within their local Partners organization, 7 as Partners members, 4 as clientele, and 18 60 as representatives of other community organizations with similar goals for the development of human resources. The respondents were racially and ethnically diverse, reflecting the cross-cultural nature of the population being studied. All were active volunteers in their communities in as few as one or as many as five other organizations. Their organizational affiliations included religious, civic, cultural, educational, family, and youth-development pursuits. Twenty-two of the respondents could be classified as leaders. These women had exhibited leadership potential and had developed their capabilities. At the time of the interviews, all of these women held voluntary or professional positions of leadership in an organization that was concerned with enhancing the development of socially or economically disadvantaged women. Seven of the women interviewed were active Partners members, and four had participated in a technical-assistance or training activity sponsored by Partners of the Americas. Respondents can be categorized in the manner displayed in Table 3.1. 61 Table 3.l.--Role categories of respondents. Dominican Role Belize Republic Michigan Total Partners WID leader 2 0 2 4 Participant/clientele in WID program 1 2 l 4 Partners member 2 1 4 7 Leader of other WID organization (affili- 8 6 4 18 ate group) __ __ __ __ Total 13 9 ll 33 Note: Where respondents fit into more than one pupulation group, the researcher selected what appeared to be the respondent’s primary role in relation to the local Partners organization. Development of the Interview Schedule The instrument used in this study was a list of questions to guide the interview. The researcher constructed the questions after an extensive review of literature on program development, curriculum development, and needs assessment, to elicit information about the perceptions of need. The researcher also examined instruments used by researchers with similar interests or concerns. She collaborated with Michigan Partners WID subconInittee members to determine the nature of the problems they had encountered in regard to program development before developing the questions. Questions were pretested with eight people. Two of the eight were Dominican graduate students; none was a Belizean. Three 62 members of the pretest group were Michigan Cooperative Extension Service agents with international experience, and three were members of the Michigan Association of Extension Homemakers. Following pretesting, the wording of some questions was modified. Table 3.2 provides an explanation of the codes used in recording the interview responses. Table 3.2.--Respondent codes. Code: two letters, followed by a number First letter: country/state code 8 . Belize D - Dominican Republic M - Michigan Second letter: population group L . leader, Partners Women in Development M - member, Partners of the Americas C . clientele, Partners of the Americas A - affiliate group representative (other WID organizations) Number: chronological interview order 1 a first interview 10 - tenth interview, and so on SAB: the researcher Example: MM6 . Michigan Partners member, interview #6 8C3 . Belize Partners client, interview #3 Note: The Dominican Republic group was small, and the responses were not extensive; hence, pseudonyms rather than codes were used for respondents. 63 Probing statements were included in the interview schedule. Additional probes were used in the interviews, as appropriate. For example: SAB: 8A9: SAB: 8A9: SAB: 8A9: SAB: 8A9: SAB: 8A9: SAB: 8A9: Question #3: Do you think programs for women are useful, important, or necessary? I think they are . . . being a part of a program gives a woman a chance to learn things. (Probe) What kinds of things? For instance, how to sew . . . how to be independent. . . (Probe) What else could these programs do for women? I feel that women could get to know each other more and bring about cooperation, better cooperationship [sic] together. Because we live village to village, but you’ll have some women that live in villages that don’t even know another woman that live in [the same] village. And if you could get out and meet with those women, at least you would share your ideas with each other. (Probe) What have these programs done for you person- ally? Well, for me these programs done a lot for me. When I first started out, I used to be very, very shy. I don’t think I would have agreed to do something like I am doing right now [this interview]. I used to find myself--if I even up to a meeting--I would always sit to the back and listen. Just sit there and listen. But I find myself, from time to time trying to come out [gaining confi- dence]. (Probe) Great! What would you like these programs to do for you, in addition to giving you confidence? What? What else would you like these programs to do for you? Well, I would like for them to, uh, make me a different person . . . [someone who] likes to meet with other persons; to even help me with my family because in my family I have two little girls and five boys, and I never 64 used to go out; I always used to stay at home. I feel like, by these programs, it will help me to go out more and know different places and know other people. The nature of the problem necessitated the development of an interview schedule specific to this study. No existing instrument could have been used effectively. Open-ended questions were designed to elicit demographic and descriptive data, which would allow for analysis of respondents’ perceptions, factors that affect participation and possible program content, preferred methodologies, and so on. DatayCollection The Interview Technigue The four main components of the interviewer’s task are to (a) introduce the interview to the person and convince him/her to accept it and to apply him/herself directly to the responding role; (b) administer the questions; (c) follow up responses that are inadequate--those that fail to fulfill the objectives of the question--using acceptable, nonbiasing techniques; and (d) record the response accurately and completely. The following required techniques, identified by Miller (cited in Husen & Postlethwaite, 1984), were used: 1. Introductipns. Interviewer identified herself with Michi- gan Partners of the Americas and Michigan State University and discussed the general topic of the research. 2. Administer the Duestipnnajne. 65 3. follow up inadeguate responses. a. With nondirective probes such as "How do you mean? “15 there anything else? "Please tell me more about that." ”Why do you think that is 50?" b. By providing feedback such as "I see." "I understand." "Thanks, that’s the kind of information I need." 4. Recor in re n . For open-ended questions, this required recording the respondent’s own words and included any spontaneous probes used by the interviewer, extraneous conversations that occurred, comments, and observations about respondent’s difficulty in answering questions. The researcher used formal, structured, open-ended interviews to collect the data for this study. This technique was used because of its adaptability and its suitability in cases where it is possible to interview respondents only once and/or for a limited period of time. Interviews were limited to one hour, and respondents were unconstrained in answering. Interviews consisted of a predetermined list of 6 to 12 open-ended questions. Nearly all of the questions could be readily modified to the situation and lent themselves to probing in the event a respondent’s comments were inadequate (e.g., if the respondent failed to understand the question). Because of time constraints and the need to elicit the same type of information from each interviewee, each respondent was asked essentially the same questions. The interview questions were written out exactly the way they* were to be asked during the 66 interview. Probing questions were entered into the interview when appropriate. New questions that occurred to the researcher were incorporated into the interview, as appropriate. Respondents were also invited to ask the researcher questions. (See Appendix A for a copy of the interview schedule.) Some questions were omitted if, in the researcher’s judgment, they had been adequately answered in the response to another question or if the questions were considered irrelevant to the respondent’s situation. In some «cases, questions were entirely rephrased to accommodate the respondent’s circumstances. However, in such cases, the essence of the questions remained the same. In Michigan and Belize, all interviews were conducted in English. Spanish is the official language of the Dominican Republic; hence, all but three interviews there were conducted in Spanish with the assistance of a bilingual interpreter. Three of the Dominican respondents spoke fluent English. The Interview Procedure The interviews were conducted in the women’s homes, places of work or volunteer work sites, or over the telephone. Telephone interviews were also tape-recorded. One woman preferred to be interviewed in a local hotel bar. If for any reason there was an interruption in the proceedings, the researcher turned the tape recorder off. Just before each interview, the researcher explained the purpose of the study to the respondent, requested permission to 67 audiotape the interview, and assured the respondent that her participation was strictly voluntary and that confidentiality and anonymity' would be maintained. Then the researcher asked the respondent if she had any questions or needed further clarification of any aspect of the interview procedure. The researcher responded to questions from the respondents as appropriate. When the researcher was satisfied that the respondent understood the purpose of the research and the consent procedures, she asked the respondent to read and sign a consent form (see Appendix 8). Once the form was signed, the researcher started the tape recorder or took written notes. At the conclusion of the interview, the researcher invited the respondent to make additional comments. Then she thanked the respondent for participating and stopped recording. Belize. In Belize the interviews were conducted during the two-week period from May 9 to May 22, 1988. All interviews were tape-recorded with the women’s permission. In one case, after the interview was completed, a respondent became agitated and asked the researcher to erase certain comments from her interview. She said she was afraid her employer might learn of the comments, consider them offensive, and be able to attribute the comments to her. The researcher made written notes on the cassette and in the handwritten notes. The comments in question are not included in the respondent’s quotations. 68 Clearly, some respondents were reluctant to have certain statements tape-recorded. In several cases, they made informative or illuminating comments to the researcher after the tape recorder had been turned off and put away. Fourteen interviews were attempted; however, one respondent failed to complete her interview. After responding to several questions, she indicated that she 'would like to withdraw as a respondent. The researcher promptly assured the woman that her withdrawal was acceptable and proceeded to tear up the notes. The researcher gave the signed consent form and the destroyed notes to the respondent for disposal. The remaining 13 interviews were used in the data analysis. Several Belizean respondents told the researcher that initially they had not been willing to grant interviews. However, once the researcher arrived in the county and met individuals slated to be respondents at the market, at church, and in different social settings, they relented and granted the interviews. The contact person in Belize was aware of this and had not informed the researcher of this potential problem. One respondent explained her reluctance this way: Lots of people come and they ask questions. Each time, I wonder, "Is it going to be this one who will not just talk but make something happen here?" We feel, ”Oh, they are promising us again” or "They are organizing us again." This one came down here and said that she tried to do this or that. . . . I pretty much felt the same way when said [you were] coming from Michigan . . . and can you talk [to her]? And I said, ”Listen here, I’m TIRED of talking!" You get to that point. . . . What benefit will this [research] be to my people? And whereas my answers can benefit you in your dissertation and in your work [at] Partners, what about us here? 69 The preceding statement reflected the views of more than one respondent. This researcher believes that additional generalizations can be drawn from the situation of the women in Belize. Although it may not be possible to ascribe real causes, it is possible to use this sentiment to reflect on possible reasons why this viewpoint, in principle, reflects the views of other respondents. For example, one might question whether inadequate structures for economic, social, political, or cultural development contribute to frustrations, which are exacerbated by persons who come from the outside bearing empty promises. One might question the effect of the general absence or scarcity of opportunities for people inside the country, and not just associate the source of frustration with outside agencies. Competent, capable, highly trained individuals vie for scarce positions of leadership, power, influence, authority, and recognition. Fierce rivalries are evident between men and women with leadership capabilities, and between women leaders. Is the frustration linked in any way to the fierce competition among all people for scarce resources, leadership, and recognition? 'This question and others come to mind when one considers the effects of underdevelopment on human motivation. It is possible that the preceding quotation oversimplifies underlying causes of this respondent’s frustration. Miehigan. The interview period in Michigan was from June 28 to July 19, 1988. Three of the interviews were tape-recorded over the 7O telephone because summer work and vacation schedules ruled out in- person interviews. One telephone interview was not recorded because of an equipment malfunction. In this case the researcher took handwritten notes. The average telephone interview lasted 45 minutes. Eight of the interviews were conducted in person and averaged 45 minutes in length. All of the Michigan interviews were conducted privately. Seven of the 11 respondents were involved in the Michigan Partners organization, and four were associated with Partners as resource persons or participants in technical-assistance programs. mejniean Republic. Interviews in the Dominican Republic took place between August 22 and August 26, 1988. None of the interviews was conducted privately. Spanish is the language of the people in the Dominican Republic. The researcher used a bilingual interpreter in seven of the nine Dominican interviews. One of the Dominican respondents belonged to the local Partners organization. All others were leaders of affiliate organizations. Only four of the respondents were previously aware of Companeros de las Americas--the local Partners organizations. Just before each interview, the researcher, through an interpreter, explained to each respondent what the Partners organization was all about--its mission, goals, relationship to Michigan, and the nature of its work. Then she explained the purpose of the study. 71 Most of the interviews were conducted with small groups of three to six people present. Openness, frankness, and confidentiality were compromised, particularly when respondents worked for governmental departments. The researcher made the best of the situation. Sensitivity to the changed circumstances prompted her to revise the questions. These seven respondents were asked fewer questions. Questions were geared toward respondents’ perceptions of the potential for collaborating with Partners/ Companeros on development programs for women. The principal speaker in the group interviews was designated the "respondent" for the purposes of this research. In most instances, the principal speaker was the leader of the group (administrator, director, and so on) and did most of the talking. Other group members were involved when additional information or clarification of points was needed. All comments were attributed to the. principal speaker, and the ”group" was considered the respondent. The researcher posed a question to the respondent through the interpreter, who would ask the question in Spanish, receive the response in Spanish, and relate the response to the researcher in English. The researcher took handwritten notes during these interviews. Two interviews with Dominican respondents were conducted entirely in English and were tape-recorded. These recordings were subsequently transcribed and subjected to the same treatment as were the Michigan and Belizean interviews. Table 3.3 shows a summary of the interviews by the type of recording method. 72 Table 3.3.--Summary of interviews by type of recording method. Dominican Method Belize Republic Michigan Private, tape-recorded 13 O 7 Telephone, tape-recorded 0 0 3 Private, not taped 0 0 1 Not private, tape-recorded 0 2 0 Not private, not taped 0 7 0 Totals 13 9 11 Treatment of the Data The interviews that were audiotaped (25 out of 33) were transcribed verbatin1 as soon as possible after the actual interviews. The researcher coded typed transcripts and handwritten notes to protect the identity of the respondents. Each interview was coded according to the country, the category of the respondent, and the chronological number of the interview. For example, DA8 represents a Dominican affiliate group representative and Dominican interview number eight. BC7 represents a Partners program participant in Belize and Belizean interview number seven (see Table 3.2). Typed coded transcripts and coded written interviews were subjected to content and constant comparative analysis. Content analysis is a conventional method of analyzing data (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 1980). In general, content analysis applies empirical and statistical methods to textual material . . . [and] consists of a division 73 of text into units of meaning and a quantification of these units according to certain rules. . . . [It is an] objective, systematic, and general description of the manifest content of a text. . . . The content of the text is . . . emphasized (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 337). The constant comparative method involved (1) categorizing incidents, note-taking or writing memos about the researcher’s ideas. The aim of memo writing was to uncover the properties of a category, . . . (2) integrating similar categories and their: properties, . . . (3) delimiting the theory--reducing the categories by careful articulation and integration, . . . [and] (4) writing the report. (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, pp. 342-344) Interviews were read three times. Each reading entailed note- taking on the part of the researcher. Those notes reflect a record of the content of the interviews, to wit: needs identified, topics, methodologies, problems, concerns, recommendations, ideas, and so on. Next, the raw responses to each question were recorded on separate sheets. Every response was listed. The content listings were used to develop thematic categories of needs identified by respondents. General themes were identified from the content- response listings; then comments were selected from the text of the interviews that would illustrate the context in which certain needs were identified. Comments were edited only to enhance readability, when necessary. Responses to the research questions were investigated through content analysis. A collection of average responses was compared in cases where an ”average ” response could be determined. After all the interviews had been conducted, the researcher reviewed the data by country and began to identify general and specific themes for each case. Following this step, the country 74 case studies were developed. Then the researcher compared the general and specific themes in the completed case studies. The results of this cross-cultural comparison are included in the general findings and in the recommendations section of this dissertation. mmar Quasi-qualitative methodology was chosen for this study. The exploratory and cross-cultural nature of the research was directed toward naturalistic inquiry, which allows for data collection that is unstructured by preconceived categories. Data were allowed to flow from the inquiry process and were shaped by the respondent, not by the researcher. The goal of this type of inquiry was to capture the respondents in their own terms. Multi-site fieldwork and unstructured interviews were the primary procedures employed in collecting the data. The information was collected, recorded, and reported as individual case studies. Every effort was made to record and present the data accurately. Precautions were taken to ensure accuracy of the observations for the sake of validity. Reliability was enhanced by tape-recording and note-taking and by examining and reexamining transcriptions of the data. The researcher followed the recomendations of Glaser and Strauss (1967) in selecting the respondents, who were chosen from the population group most likely to provide data related to the problem under investigation. Hence, a purposively selected sample 75 of 33 women involved in development programs through Partners of the Americas was interviewed. Thirteen respondents were from Belize, 11 from Michigan, and 9 from the Dominican Republic. The respondents comprised a racially and ethnically diverse group. Two-thirds of them were considered leaders in their communities. The researcher developed an interview schedule, pretested it, and adapted it for each site. Standard interviewing procedures identified by Miller (cited in Husen 81 Postlethwaite, 1985) were employed. The interview period ranged from May to August 1988. A combination of' Glaser and Strauss’s constant comparative method and content analysis was used in treating the data. Typed and coded verbatim transcripts were subjected to three readings. Extensive note-taking yielded several lists of responses (see Appendix C). However, narrative and analysis reporting are used in presenting the case studies, with detailed quotations providing the context for the data. The results obtained from these narrative analyses are reported in Chapter IV. CHAPTER IV FINDINGS This chapter contains findings related to the researcher’s primary purposes in conducting the study, which were to (a) learn how women involved in development programs perceived their needs and (b) identify differences in the perceptions of needs among leaders, members, clients, and representatives of affiliated development organizations. The results of this study are presented in five major sections. The first contains a composite description of the respondents in Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan. It is tied to Research Question 1. Then the general findings related to Research Questions 2 through 6 are presented. The next three sections are written as case studies and include descriptive information on the respondents’ perceptions of the needs of women. The three case studies contain impressionistic data; the respondents’ own statements are used to illustrate their perceptions of reality. 76 77 General Findings Related to Research Question 1 Research Question 1: What are the selected personal and situational characteristics of members of the four sample groups? A profile sketch of the respondents shows that of the 33 subjects, 26 were married with children, 6 were single, and l was divorced. They were in their late 305 and had a group average of 14.4 years of education. The mean number of persons in the households was 7.5 (Michigan) and 10.0 (Belize). Respondents were mainly employed as professionals. (See Table 4.1.) Michigan and Belizean respondents reported that they were active volunteers in: Belize Dom. Rep. Michigan Church activities 4 N/A 4 Community activities 11 N/A 10 Partners 3 N/A 4 Other women’s organizations 9 9 6 N/A = not asked Eleven respondents in Belize and eight respondents in Michigan reported that they were active in one to four organizations at the time of this study. Table 4.1.--Socia1 characteristics of respondents by site (N = 33). Characteristic Belize (N=13) Dom. Rep. (N-9) Michigan (N=1l) Level of Education Primary/elementary only High school Some college Baccalaureate degree Master’s degree Advanced degree Average educational level TOTAL GROUP AVERAGE: 14.4 Racial Composition Black (Garifuna, 4; Creole, 7) Hispanic White Marital Status Single Married Divorced MEAN NUMBER IN HOUSEHOLD Occupation Full-time homemaker/volunteer Self-employed Paraprofessional Professional Residence Rural Urban #00,“)de O‘NNN (”ONU'I-J—‘O Nii-O \OOIOO GON-J ._a NCO-d N-Hw U'l—‘UNMNO CTN-HM 0301 N/A - not asked * - mulatto 79 Categories for Selection The initial plan was to select as subjects for this study women who fit into the following categories: Deliae Dem. Rep. Michigan 1. Leaders of a Partners WID subcommittee--defined as those individuals who have or have 2 0 2 had major decision-making roles and/or responsibility for WID programs or projects 2. Members of a Partners organi- zation who serve on a W10 2 0 2 subcommittee 3. C1ientele--individual partici- pants in programs, projects, 6 0 6 or activities sponsored by a Partners WID committee 4. Affiliate groups--representa- tives of other agencies, 0 10* 0 institutions, or organizations in the community involved in development programs for women *The Dominican Republic represented a special case in regard to the four categories of respondents because there has never been a WID subcommittee in their local Partners organization. Therefore, in this case, the aim of the researcher was to ascertain whether sufficient interest and resources exist for collaborating with other organizations regarding development efforts on behalf of women. The mix of actual respondents was different from the plan, perhaps reflecting the realities of the local organizations and how they are structured. Although the categories remained the same, the number of respondents in each category was as follows: 80 Belize Dom. Rep. Michigan 1. Leaders, Partners W10 2 0 2 2. Members, Partners W10 1 2 1 3. Partners’ clientele 2 1 4 4. Affiliate or other com- 8 6 4 munity groups Total 13 9 11 The preceding charts illustrate that the researcher expected the bulk of the respondents to fall into the clientele category in Belize and in Michigan. However, most respondents, in general, fell into the affiliate-group category. The researcher believes this is a reflection of the limited experience of the Partnerships in conceptualizing and implementing development programs for* women. She also sees the opportunity to establish collaborative networks with affiliate groups to maximize the resources of all interested parties. Most respondents were not members of Partners. Twelve of the 33 respondents were either members or clientele of a local Partners organization. However, 21 respondents were members of other organizations. In Belize, all but 2 of the 13 respondents were aware of the Partners organization. In the Dominican Republic, only four of the affiliate-group representatives interviewed were previously aware of the Partners organization. All respondents were program adminis- trators. 81 Michigan respondents were all members of or volunteer resource persons familiar with the work of Partners. Of the 11 Michigan respondents, six had experience in Belize and five had experience in the Dominican Republic. One of the Michigan respondents was Belizean by birth. Findings Related to Research Questions 2 Through S Researeh Question 2: What are the perceived needs of the popu- lation groups? The most generally expressed, all-pervasive need of women in Belize and in the Dominican Republic was for income and employment. The women wanted a steady income of their own to spend for personal development and family reasons. Because of the high cost of living in both countries, it was becoming an absolute necessity for many married women to contribute to the family’s financial resources. A large proportion of women in both countries are heads of households (an estimated 40% in Belize; no data were available on the percentage of female-headed households in the Dominican Republic). These women are the primary breadwinners of the family. Many married women thought that their husbands’ incomes were not sufficient to cover more than the bare necessities. The need for money was symptomatic of the existence of other needs. The uses to which the money would be put illustrate this point. The women would use the money for the following: 1. Educatipn for themselves and for their children. Many expressed a desire to send their children to high school or to 82 college. They also expressed a desire to upgrade their own educational level. 2. 1rajning to improve their competence to fulfill family and community obligations, vocational and income-generating skills, business administration and management skills, program-development skills, organizational skills, group-process skills (e.g., conflict management), leadership development, parenting, education, and homemaking skills. 3. Self-getermination and personal-growth opportunities, i.e., to engage in activities that increase the status of' women and recognize their human rights. 4. fined availability--food is scarce and there is little money to purchase it. Nutrition was a concern in Belize, but it was not perceived as a major issue in the Dominican Republic. There the concern was for enough food to satisfy hunger. The women in Belize were more concerned about the quality of the food they fed their families. 5. Water and water resources--village or household water pumps were needed by women who did not have a source of potable water close to their homes. 6. Sanitation and shealth uresuunees--toilets, latrines, and health care were nonexistent in some areas. 7. Reusing, adequate or improved. 8. [ranspprtatipn to end their isolation and give them access to society in general. 9. Energy resource --electricity, firewood, and so on. 83 The data suggested that, beyond the need for income and employment, women in Belize wanted programs and social structures that address their growth needs (i.e., self-esteem and self- actualization). This was the predominant theme of the needs expressed by respondents in Belize. They expressed the need for more education and training, vehicles for the development of capabilities and self-esteem, means of developing aesthetic talents and preserving 1cu1ture, organizational skills, and 'the need for political awareness and social change. They wanted access to land, capital, and markets for goods and services they might produce. They wanted laws to protect them from physical abuse (battering, rape, and so on), and they desired social reform that would grant them property rights, civil rights, and an end to discrimination based on gender. They wanted programs that are educational and vocational, that develop human resources; programs that are holistic, multiphasic, and flexible, which can be executed over the long term. And they desired input into the identification, planning and implementation, management, and evaluation of such programs. The second theme pertained to 'the needs to cultivate productive, noncompetitive, trusting, positive relationships with their spouses, their children, and other women. Hence, they saw the need for regular sources of income, various human-relations skills, parenting skills, group-process skills, and access to material resources such as adequate housing and transportation. 84 Belizean and Dominican respondents perceived a need for women’s organizations and programs for women in other development agencies. Women’s organizations and WID programs were viewed as having an important role in helping poor women develop in ways that they might fulfill what. Samuels (1984) referred to as 'first-, second-, and third-order needs. Those are the needs that ultimately enable an individual to function effectively in society. These findings are very similar to those of Risseeuw et a1. (1980), Hoskins (1980), Huston (1979), Piepmeir (1980), Jenkins (1979), Nelson (1979), and Loufti (1980). All respondents thought that needs assessment, program development, and implementation should take place over an extended period of time and should be conducted by persons who are intimately familiar with the target group. Respondents also thought that new models need to be conceived and implemented for WID programs. These new models ought to contain the features of (a) new fhnding structures, (b) long-term projects (i.e., five year) that are (c) holistic in design and (d) use highly participatory approaches. Respondents in all three sites were generally positive about WID programs. Those who were aware of the Partners of the Americas organization were generally positive; however, they did voice their frustrations about the program-development and -implementation process. In regard to conducting needs assessments, Michigan respondents perceived a need for information to use in program planning. However, Belizean women did not perceive a need for another 85 assessment and expressed their frustration with being overassessed, to no effective end. Dominican respondents were amenable to the assessment but cautioned that language capability is a necessity for Michigan Partners volunteers. Despite the objections from the Belizean sample, all respondents agreed that needs assessment was a necessary part of program planning. Research thion 3: What types of needs do the four population groups perceive? Respondents at all three sites perceived needs of the type Maslow (1970) called basic human needs. He divided the basic needs into two general categories: (a) deficiency needs: physiological, safety, love, and belonging; and (b) growth needs: esteem and self- actualization. Other needs that respondents identified can be typified as instrumental (e.g., money, income, employment), expressive (e.g., aesthetics and freedom), and material (e.g., the need for equipment, transportation, educational materials, and so on. Research Digstion 4: What are the perceptions of the four population groups relative to current WID programs and activities? In general, respondents thought that current WID programs were underfunded, disjointed and sporadic, and focused on narrow concerns (e.g., handicraft production for income generation) without the necessary training to create markets and manage a micro-enterprise. Respondents thought that WID programs were not currently focused enough on the issue of empowering women and that there were serious inequities in women’s access to development resources. Consistent 86 with the findings of Rogers (1979), many respondents perceived the emphasis on home economics training as being too narrow in focus. Although many' women in Belize and the Dominican Republic were concerned about home economics training (largely because they perceived that as appropriate to their gender), many women had concerns that were not related to home economics. These other needs were perceived as more pressing than the need for home economics training at this stage of development. In some instances, home economics and related training were pursued for the purpose of creating micro-enterprises and services for pay. Some women perceived a need for a home economics curriculum. This was especially true in the Dominican Republic. Paolucci et a1. (n.d.) reported that . many non-formal programs for women in Latin America have been based on making a product, that is, the learning of manual skills such as cooking or sewing. In many communities, the males have only permitted the women to attend a meeting when ghey brought home a product as evidence of their activity. (p. Cultural attitudes about women’s roles and the nature of "women’s work" tie women to traditional home economics training, even in the face of few opportunities to use the training for profit. In Belize and the Dominican Republic, women have been trained in skills for which there is no market or for which the market is so small and fickle and the competition so great that the women cannot make a decent living at what they have been trained to do. 87 Beseareh Question 5: Are there differences in the perceptions of need among the four population groups? Glaser and Strauss (1967) recommended that participants in any research study should be selected from the population group most likely to provide data related to the problem area. For the purpose of this study, the most likely group from whom to seek information was women involved in development programs. Women were selected who were (a) leaders, (b) members, and (c) clients of Partners of the Americas or (d) associated with Partners in some way. These four subgroups of the population comprised the purposively selected group of 33 respondents for this study. These leaders, members, clients, and affiliate-group representatives constituted the group most likely to provide the data that the researcher was seeking. The nature of the study did not easily lend itself to discerning differences among the subgroups in the population. This researcher’s overall impression is that the women identified as leaders or those who perceived themselves as leaders were generally more articulate on the subject of the needs of WID than were respondents of the member and client categories. These leaders were able to speak in general and specific terms about the social, cultural, economic, and political factors that affect development. They were also generally more experienced because they had been working for WID for more years and had received more education and training than the respondents in the member and client categories. 88 Differences among countries were apparent. Belizean and Dominican respondents could identify and address the needs and issues in their countries with specificity, whereas the Michigan respondents perceived the needs in the Partner countries in more general terms. The leaders were generally able to perceive gaps in performance of development agencies and WID programs. Belizean and Michigan respondents perceived Belize Partners as highly mechanistic, dependent on formal rules and a small span of control, and generally not supportive of WID programs. Dominican and Michigan respondents viewed Dominican Partners as benignly oblivious to WID. Belizean and Dominican respondents were ambivalent about Michigan Partners, partly because (a) many affiliate-group representatives had no previous knowledge of Michigan Partners and no relationship with their local Partnership and (b) Partners programs are offered sporadically and are too narrowly focused. Research Question 6: What are the perceived problems/barriers to participation in development programs for women? Perceived barriers to participation in WID programs included the following: --1ack of availability and/or access to relevant programs --1ack of information about programs --chronic lack of resources: human, financial, and material --internal conflict; lack of cooperation, organization, and networking --1ack of time --lack of child care 89 --lack of language capability (on the part of technical assist- ants) --fai1ure to understand the cultures of the people, their situ- ations, their needs, their reality --family obligations, disapproving spouses --organizational constraints, e.g., lack of support and under- standing The Deliae Case Study Country Profile Belize (formerly British Honduras) lies on the eastern coast of Central America. It is bounded by Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on the north and part of the west and by Guatemala on the south and the remainder of the west. The eastern coast of Belize faces the Caribbean Sea. Belize gained its independence from Britain in 1973, hence the name change from British Honduras. Belize is divided into six districts: Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Toledo, and Stann Creek. The old capital is Belize City; the new capital is Belmopan, located in Cayo district. The estimated population of Belize in 1986 was 171,000. More than one-half (56.5%) of the population resides in Belize district. An estimated 44.8% of the population is 14 years old or younger. Belize has 225 primary schools, 24 secondary schools, and 5 postsecondary schools. There are no colleges or universities in the country (Atlas pf Deliae, 1987). About 62% of the population of Belize are Roman Catholics; 28% are Protestants. English is the official language of this multilingual country. 90 While over 50% of the population prefer to speak English or its Creole derivative and over 30% prefer to speak Spanish, 62% of the population is bilingual. . . . 38% speak only one language. . . 86% of the people speak English and its variant, Belizean Creole, while 51% are fluent in Spanish (Belize Government Information Service, 1985, p. 30) Belize is ethnically diverse, comprising blacks (Creoles and Garifuna or Black Caribs), Spanish-speaking Mestizos (Amerindian and European mixture), Ladinos (Mexican and Central American immigrants), Mayans, Yucatecs, East Indians, and people of European heritage (e.g., Mennonites, Canadians, Americans, and British immigrants) (Nicolait & associates, 1984). Description of Respondents The women who served as respondents for this study were all involved in development programs for women. They represented various local organizations and Belize-Michigan Partners of the Americas. The women’s responses illustrate their views on personal needs as well as their perceptions of the needs of their various constituencies. Representatives of the following organizations were among the interviewees: Belize Women Against Violence; Breast Is Best League; Belize Organization for Women and Development; Belize Rural Women’s Association; Belize Family Life Association; Women in Development officers (formerly home economics officers); and Ministries of Labour, Social Services, and Community Development. Six respondents resided in Belize district, two in Cayo district, four in Stann Creek, and one in Orange Walk. They were primarily urban (10); three lived in rural areas (see Table 4.2). 91 Table 4.2.--Characteristics of Belizean respondents (n - l3) Number of Respondents Age Range 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ ev 1 f at'on Primary/elementary only High school Some college Baccalaureate degree Master’s degree MEAN EDUCATIONAL LEVEL: 11.8 years Raeial/Ethnic Composition Black: Garifuna Creole Hispanic: Ladino Other Marital Status Single Married Divorced MEAN NUMBER IN HOUSEHOLD: 10.0 Occupational Status Full-time homemaker Self—employed Paraprofessional Professional Resjdence Rural Urban N-h (JON—4N4.” O—‘dOtU'l dd NNNN 92 Of the 13 respondents, 8 were nationally recognized leaders in Belize. Four were officers or administrators of social development programs or agencies. The following discussion concerns how these women perceived their needs during the interview period, May 9 to May 22, 1988. Findings ‘ Need for wpmen’s organizations and prpgnams. Every respondent in Belize considered women’s organizations and programs specifically designed for women to be important, useful, and necessary to their personal and group development. Several, however, qualified their thinking on the subject. Women’s organizations and programs were perceived to be necessary to bring about social change (status, role perception), to develop human resources (skills, competencies), and to enhance the development of self-esteem. The following quotations illustrate how women in Belize responded to this question. Respondent codes were explained in Table 3.2, Chapter III. BA-5 They are important because, um, most of the time the com- munity feels that the women’s role is just in the house or bearing children. I think that women can do so much, like. . . . It is important and useful because when the woman works or when the woman brings in income, the home looks good and there’s no strain on one person. The fam- ily style is better as far as material things or health- wise because, if both parties are working, be it for yourself or somebody, and if a child gets sick, then you know that you have something to fall back on if the child needs a doctor or if the child needs something for school, education, whatever; then money is available to take care of that. BA-ll It depends on what the program was because each women’s association has a different forum for its programs. BA-9 BA-12 93 Okay? Like, for example, for us, I think that the focus of one course is self-development . . . to make women more aware of themselves . . . as having dignity, making them capable of protecting themselves as being independ- ent, as much as we can be in a world of dependency . . . making them feel confident--right? I have seen women starting at the bottom . . . I would say hardly able to utter a good sentence-~I mean a good sentence . . . I mean from the standpoint of--not necessarily giving good information, but in English, in standard English, and giving information related to a logical pattern of reasoning . . . hardly being able to hold their own in a conversation, participate in a dis- cussion or answer questions with any amount of specific- ity. . . . I have seen them come from that to being able to stand up and deliver a speech, which makes me very happy, very proud. And I can call names. For example, there is one who is going off to Jamaica next week who, when she started, she was just, sort of . . . she wasn’t able to stand on her own. For example . . . things like this-~I see from the women we are working with, this self-development has come about. They have blossomed into persons able to stand up and say things, able to do things. They have not, by a long shot, reached the end; but I have seen the pattern of change. And I am happy, knowing that I had a part in that. And I hope that many more people can be brought into the circle where they can seek and develop. So I think that most women’s programs that have a definite focus, looking at the women not only as a human being, but as a person with capabilities--with potential for development-- looking at them with that focus would see women grow and contribute to their community, which they will fulfill over time. I believe they are very necessary because that is the pnly way we rural women could have a little experience and know about other things, right? Because when you live out in a rural area you don’t have a lot of activities, and things like that; and when you get involved in these women’s programs, it helps you a lot, because you learn a lot of thing [sic]. . . . . . We of necessity have to have programs for women so we can bring them to examine those issues that affect them. Just to give them the space to talk about it. I see it happening right here in . There are some women who have been in the organization for a number of years, and we have been trying to assess where we are and see what they are capable of doing, given our limited financial resources. And I have asked some of these BM-lO BM-l3 94 women, "Why do you stay because you have serious economic problems and concerns and is not really meeting that?" And they’ll say that has given a lot more. "It’s given us our self-esteem,“ one woman said to me. ”I have six children; their father isn’t around, but I feel strong having been in this organization, having to cope with that. I am still struggling from day to day trying to put bread in their mouths, but I feel stronger. I feel that I can come here and talk with some of the women here, and they will support me, even if it’s just to commiserate with me." Yes, but . . . I know that one of my sisters-in-law doesn’t want to get into anything that has to do with being a cooperative or anything like that name anymore, ’cause she’s quite negative about it. As she explained to me, it was a person from the coming in and trying to get them going and organizing them. And she felt they were let down in that the government didn’t help them get their supplies or give them any direction. And they just got them together, and they could say they formed a cooperative in the village, and then they left them. And they didn’t know what kind of supplies they needed to stockpile or where to get the kind of thread that didn’t run and how important it was to get thread that didn’t run and that . . . to get their stuff up to market. I mean, they were losing money. Nobody made any money from that venture, and they started feeling . . . I mean, they had been friends or at least acquaintances before they got together, and they ended up hating each other. Everyone thought that the other one had cheated and had copied and, you know, had sold something and hadn’t given them the money . . . all this kind of thing, so . . . (pause) . . . I think those types of programs . . I’m very skeptical about them now . . . the programs for women. . . . Programs for women are useful, important, and very necessary because it’s only through these special programs, identified by women, that we could really work toward upgrading women’s situations. . . . More could be done, but besides having specific programs for women, we have to look at integrating these programs into other national programs because may times money locally is not available to have specific programs for women. Belize is going through an economic crisis; and many times when the agencies start to come in to help with specific programs for women and the duration of help is very, very short and sometimes it leaves the program midway or gets people frustrated or in a chaotic situation . . . especially the programs where women are running programs for themselves, 95 they’re not used to doing this and there are many trials and errors . . . and sometimes people only see the errors or the failures in isolation; they don’t see that it’s a learning experience which people could build on. They’re frustrated or they say, "Oh, it didn’t work" or "It couldn’t work.” And without money to try again, it turns people off, and it makes people think that programs or projects have been set up to show that women are failing. But it’s very important to have specific programs to address specific needs or specific concerns; it’s also important to look at ways of integrating with other national programs as a part of the whole national plan. Integrating it with other agencies and nongovernmental and governmental development programs and trying to work out commitment and making sure that things go well. . . . Barriers to participation. With regard to encountering diffi— culties in discourage getting involved in women’s programs and what might participation, the women in Belize identified the following factors and conditions: --the continual drain of talent and human resources, people leaving the country in search of a better life --the feeling that I am not needed, my input is not needed --fixed, traditional attitudes about the roles and rights of women --friction among women in the group or organization, competi- tion for resources and recognition, sabotaged efforts --1ack of cooperation, networking; lack of interest or commit- ment on the part of women in the community --unc1ear organizational purposes --1ack of political awareness --poor means of communication; it takes too long to get things done --inability to set limits on organizational involvement, over- commitment, burnout --lack of materials, money (funding and income), knowledge, skills, capabilities 96 --inadequate transportation, organizational resources, govern- ment support --family responsibilities, spouses who think women spend too much time away from home or who believe the women might become radical feminists --1ack of confidence or self-esteem among clients --divisions along lines of politics, religion, ethnicity --lack of trust BA- Many times I am discouraged. Many times I am frustrated. I think that I am discouraged by the fact that women historically have been each other’s enemy. One of the problems I see in the struggle is that even though we are supposed to all be working for the same thing, many of us are constantly in some sort of confrontational situation with each other. It is as if we continue that old competition between us--as if competing for a man. It may not be a man as such, but within the movement there is so much conflict between us. We’re still struggling; we’re still trying to find a way to be able to speak with each other honestly about our feelings, our own fears. Two respondents made the following comments on the subject: BA-8 Quite a lot of things could discourage me from participating in women’s programs. When I think of women’s programs in a struggling third-world country, one of the things that discourages me a lot is our ability not to trust each other. I would like to see us spending more time on building ourselves in a positive way, and if there are problems, that we deal with the problems face- to-face. . . . I feel that if women are fully to grow, if you want to be a fully human person, you need to be open, know how to deal with each other; and you need to trust each other. There seems to be a lack of trust and that’s not good. And we need to pool our resources . . . like if I’m going to do something that I think another woman’s organization could profit from, why couldn’t we do this together? Why should I have a workshop all alone when the women I’m dealing with need to know something about [other* organizations’ programs]. . . . Every woman’s organization seems to be grabbing [for themselves]. . . . And I don’t work that way. The success of my program is working with each organization on [related issues]. . . . Until the leaders do that, we won’t move ahead. SAB [probe] Why do you think that is? BA-8 BA-lZ 97 I think it’s culture and also when people are trying to excel, we do. . . . You know there is a saying in Belize, where we say, "All of we, like crab." If we have a bucket of crabs, for one to get out, he has to climb on top of other crabs, then on top of another crab, so some will get crushed at the bottom as long as this crab can get out. I think that is one of the things that really hinders us as women. Again, culturally, if you look at the various ethnic groups, we have great diversity in our thinking and the way we do things. And you can look at each ethnic group. Okay, there are some ethnic groups where you won’t find women wanting to do anything for women--or' women being leaders. But there are other ethnic groups where women are sisters whether they [are related by blood] or not. And you will find that there is a certain amount of bonding between women. And there are some ethnic. groups. where, because of slavery and other things that have been very hard on us, it’s like being crabs. You want to climb on top of each other at all times. So it is a problem when it comes to that [ethnicity, beliefs, experiences]. I’ve always felt that we need to have a women’s organization where all the leaders and officers from the various groups would come together once a month and talk about what we are doing, and let’s coordinate. We don’t share our calendar, our plans; we need to do that. . . . This is where sisterhood [could] come in. We need to defend and uplift one another, support one another, and praise one another . . . yet we seem to be quick to break down each other. We need to get over that. I don’t get a chance to do very much with theatre because--to find a group of people to work with on a regular basis is very difficult. So, for instance, we had a troupe up until 1985. There were 10 of us and in 1986 of the 10 of us, 7 went off to the U.S.--economics, right? and one of them is a colleague of mine who had some training in theatre as well, and he went on to do some further studies. I don’t know if he will really come back. He said he would, but he has been gone three years now. And the others were people that he and I had worked with, given them some training in theatre skills. And gotten them to a point where we felt good enough to be able to work with them on a production and put it on the stage and then all those people were gone. Then there were three of us left. And it’s like every time I want. to ,dp something, I just kind of feel like I’m BM-13 98 starting all over again. And there really isn’t any support for the arts in Belize. I do it for the love of it. Yeah . . . there were many difficulties in getting women’s programs started. Where church programs are concerned, those were going on for many years, many centuries, doing the basic, traditional thing; and selling new ideas to these people was a bit difficult and a bit foreign. Also for some women’s programs, they have been used to a traditional home economics training program which . . . that and the church programs are good, but there are also dimensions. . . . It was rough introducing other development programs, other development ideas pertaining to women’s organizations, and there were only about . . . only a few other individuals, other women who were also doing the same thing--trying to get other new organizations off the ground. And we met with a lot of resistance from men, from women, from policymakers, people in government, all the people who were used to this set, traditional way and method of operation and programs. Other women like myself were branded and many times referred to as trouble makers. . . . There were difficulties at all the stages, working with colleagues on special development programs because of traditional ideas . . . that a woman’s place is in the home and women should be submissive. Many times I was asked if I wasn’t tired of talking, tired of doing things--you know, ”Why don’t you take a rest?" It was a lot of problems; yet, in getting these programs off the ground, when officials from various parts of the world would visit to get information and to share, because they heard something good was happening, the men in the ministries would want to meet these people and take the credit and say that they’re in charge or they’re representing the program as such. When it came to traveling, attending international conferences, looking at women’s issues, it was a problem to get representatives from the government ministries to really partake in these training seminars or conferences to evaluate negative and positive attitudes and obstacles to development and to evaluation. It has been very, very rough going, but at least it’s rewarding to note that other people are coming up in the area of looking at development programs. . . . It’s pleasing to note that various developmental women’s organizations have grown from strength to strength and to maturity, and we are at the stage of forming a network because we realize that unity, strength, and--in order to bring an end to some of these obstacles--we need solidarity. . . . 99 Bdueationsuand training needs. Respondents in Belize were vitally interested in education and training for themselves and for others. This question sought information about their personal learning needs. Their responses were: --how to overcome poverty --how to play a musical instrument, learn to score music, musi- cal composition --human-relations skills --writing (to document folk culture) --how to cope with difficult people --sewing skills, dressmaking --more about business management --how to build self-esteem, develop leadership skills --maternal and infant nutrition, weaning --interpersonal communication skills --preservation of fruit and fruit juices, soap making --business aspects of catering, quantity food preparation --community-development techniques --woodworking --counseling skills --program development --organizational skills Motivation for learning was strong, inspired by economic and social conditions--chronic poverty, lack of access to education, employment, personal growth and development, stable family and 100 interpersonal relationships, and a deep sense of responsibility to those less fortunate. In their own words: BC-3 I would be interested in income-generating projects. I see the need for it, and I will not stop until I will be given the opportunity to develop more skills and teach the women, because I believe in a woman being independent. I have worked with various ethnic groups, and I have been among [various] people, and I have seen where women have been stifled, where women have been abused, where women have been . . . exploited because of not being independent. There are quite a lot of skills that I see that would be relevant to my country, to Belize, here in . I would like to learn to do food preservation and the canning of fruit juices. Mango [season] is coming, and I would like to learn how to make . . . I could make the fruit juice, but to do canning. Canning it the proper way. Make the juice, can it [so] that it doesn’t spoil. That [we] could put on the local market. He import soap. We use a lot of soap here. Apart from that, I would like to learn catering, food preparation. Because with the influx of tourists coming into the country, it’s just the Chinese here taking the role, right? And I don’t see why we Belizeans cannot have something like that in our country, in our district, right? I have some experience. I do it on a small scale, on my own. People ask me, and I have some of the young ladies that I ’m training. I teach catering as a part of the curriculum, as a part of the course here. But I think I need to prepare myself more. I need to learn more. SAB [probe] When you say you need to learn more about catering, BC-3 BM-lO what do you mean? I mean the record keeping, the bookkeeping, the prepara- tion of food in large quantity, different kinds of pas- tries . . . y’know . . . so that I could do international cooking. You could do Oriental, local dishes, and so on. Foreigners come in. They want some food. Most of the time they are not looking out for you to give them the same kind of food that they eat at home. They come here and [we should] prepare the local dish. You introduce that or some fast food and so on. I think those are the things that are needed. Oh, I want to learn a lot of things. The first thing I’d like to learn is to . . . how to really assimilate assertiveness. I read about it--I have a book about it. In the States, one time I went to a six-week 101 assertiveness-training program. I know a lot of the principles of doing it, but I just . . . I haven’t been able to integrate it into my thinking, a lot of it. Also, I would like to be skilled with my hands, as I said. And I’d like to learn woodworking. I’d like to learn languages, like the Mayan language, and I’m trying to learn a little bit more about my language that my mother-in-law still remembers some of--which is Yucatec Mayan. . . . I’d like to learn a lot more about how women cope . . . (pause) . . . I’d like to have an excuse to get to know a wide range of women and to ask them per- sonal questions. You know, I wish I were a priest (both laugh). With a priest, I mean, with a couns . I mean, it wouldn’t be really true counseling in the sense that . . . I mean, I wish I could have something pat to say, like the priest would go, "Say so many Hail Marys," but in the meantime, get to know the women, what their problems are and how they cope, without being responsible for truly helping them--you know what I mean? If I were truly a priest, I could get by with “Say so many Hail Marys," but . . . (laughs) I wouldn’t be accountable ’cause I don’t feel I have those skills. But if I had the time . . . if I could do it, I would go back to the university and I would try to learn a little bit about counseling. I don’t know if I would want to do a degree, but I would take a series of courses and like that in counseling, to know how to keep from becoming too person— ally involved and actually really help people. Personal-development needs. In response to Question 5, "If given a chance to do something different, what would you like to the women in Belize demonstrated that they were self- actualizing, caring, and committed individuals. They perceived the following as their personal development needs and goals: --organize a health conference, find ways to increase dialogue with women --teach other women about breast feeding --establish a factory to employ maybe 400 women in this town --become a trained social worker or community-development worker --travel, meet people 102 --do more creative work in the theater --teach women to become economically independent --learn about the cultures of the people in my country --open a day-care center One respondent revealed that she enjoyed what she was doing even in the face of many disappointments, a good deal of controversy, very little: peer support, and hardly any financial resources . BM-l3 Clearly, this individual was self-actualizing. (long pause) . . . I don’t think I would like to do anything different from what I am doing now (laughs). It’s just that I would like to move into a different phase. Now I’m doing a lot of training, advocacy work . . . (pause) . . . public education, dealing a lot with crisis situations. . . . Personally, I am looking forward to moving to another phase. Like what I said earlier: learning more about putting together curriculums that address attitudes which need to be looked at from an early stage of a child’s development to be sure that they realize their full potential and develop positive attitudes and nonsexist attitudes and . . . this sort of thing . . . so it ties in with . . . the previous questions. . . . Also, working with educators to show how they could make use of curriculum, ’cause many times curriculums are . . . (interruption when people came in) . . . many times, too . . . because curriculum is not an end-all-be-all, because you could have things written in curriculums and people do not know how to present it and it just lies there. So I would like to work with educators in developing the curriculum and also teach educators all over the country how to implement the curriculum. Another respondent expressed the following hopes: BA-2 (laughter) I think I would like to learn how to play a musical instrument. I’d like that because one of these days we are going to have a concert in some part of the world, with Garifuna music and so on, and we’ll need to score those songs, etc., and nobody has been able to do that. He just sing for the love of it. Even our composers are considered gifted or touched by God. Nobody--there is no Diana Ross or Quincy Jones in our culture. We go to a party and there is a song. I ask, BA-lZ 103 "Who composed it?" They say, "So and so." I think, "I didn’t know he could compose." But he dreamed it, and he cannot write it down. He can just wake up and sing it almost immediately, so that others will learn it; otherwise, he’ll forget it. Now we . . . now that we have a tape recorder, we have been taping some songs, etc., but nobody can arrange a concert. We don’t have any musicians who is [sic] trained. . . . I hope that one of these days, I’ll be able to write. I think there is a lot that needs to be written. I am an English major, and so it’s kind of funny to say I would like to learn to write, because I should already know how to. But I think that when I have a meeting with the group and many of them are women, it is important to document our lives, our culture, storytelling, our ritual. is our Garifuna religion. There are the customs, the beliefs, the religion--lots of things we want to keep. I would want to take off from my teaching duties and my community work and go tour. I would like to tour the islands. I would like to do some research. I am fascinated by our language, and yet I have met several African friends who do not recognize anything in our language that is similar to theirs. We have an Amerindian-Caribbean base, and I would like to travel in Surinam, around the Orinoco. I would also like to travel to West Africa, just to go and see and touch base with those people and see what linkages . . . what we still hold here [of our African heritage]. He still use drums a lot in our music. I would like to take a look at those things myself. So I think there has to be on-going programs for women. I think the thing that concerns me is that many times when development experts come in and they want to develop programs for women, they perpetuate the old traditional system. They frequently just put money into them-~that is just being involved in some sort of social welfare type activity. Like the craft thing, for instance. I am really concerned about whether crafts can really make money for women, but a lot of people seem to put a lot of money into it. In Belize, for instance, you go to the Belize Council of Churches and the women are there doing lots of little craft things, and it’s not making any money for them. At the same time, there isn’t an on- going program that’s getting them to address the realities of their lives; asking them the question, ”Why? why are we poor? I work hard. I am an honest, hard- working woman. th is it that I am poor? Why is it that I can’t make ends meet? th is it that I can’t provide the things that my children need?" I think the programs 104 must ask, "Why are we in this situation?" I don’t think one can simply say there is a need for programs for women and take the women and put them some place and give them some money to do some sort of project. I think there has to be that consciousness [raising] aspect to the program. Whether women will move from there to a point where they feel empowered, where they feel more ready, more capable to make decisions for themselves rather than having those decisions made for them. So, to answer your question, programs are necessary, but they have to be of a particular kind. Physiological, safety, and growth needs. Respondents strongly believed that the women they represented were overwhelmingly concerned about the basic needs that Maslow (l970) termed deficiency needs: physiological needs for food, water, health, sanitary conditions, and shelter; safety needs; and freedom from anxiety over where their next meals would come from or how they might manage to afford to educate their children through high school. Respondents expressed that unsatisfied growth needs (e.g., for self-esteem and self-actualization) were a reality for themselves and for their various constituencies. Samuels (1984) designated these growth needs as a combination of first-order (those that exist within the individual), second-order (those that exist because there is a group and enable individuals to function as part of a group; for example, organizational and human-relations skills), and third-order needs (those that enable individuals to participate in society, like income-generating, leadership, and administrative capabilities). BA-l2 Bread and butter. . . . Women need to feed their children and themselves. . . . Consciousness raising has its place, [but it] can’t be done alone . . . must be done in conjunction with income-generating/economic liberation. BA-2 I think most women are concerned about their daily bread. I think that food and shelter. . . . Here in people 105 do try to find food for the children and for themselves. And the second basic need I notice is for a roof over their heads. We do not believe in renting for a long time. You may walk around and you may see houses made out of wild cane or bamboo or boxes that we have on the farm. That’s a start. After that they will remove those walls and they will put wooden walls; after that they put brick or cement. But no matter how small it is, they have a good feeling when they can say, "This is my house." They may not aspire to build a big one at the beginning because even if it is tiny, it is theirs. The land may not be well drained; it may be swampy. I would not want to go and live there, but they go and they come to the beach every day and get buckets and buckets of sand, and they spend years filling the land, you know. Oh, yes . . . hard-working people. It always makes me feel so proud. BC-3 'These women are most concerned about generating income. That’s their most concern. There are a lot of NGOs here that come in and maybe take the women to another place, pay their transport, give them lectures, and so on. But when they come back, whatever they learn, it’s gone. I ,want to see--women want to see results. Women want to see that they can go and learn, and when they come [back home] they could make these dolls; and when these dolls are finished, they can sell these dolls. They want to know that they can make something, and when they finish there is a market for it. If things can go that way, then I can assure you that women will be fully partici- pating in whatever income-generating project that is offered to them. They need practical things, practical things. Income generation, a safety need, was the second most frequently mentioned need. Growth needs dominated the perceptions of the Belizean respondents. In some cases, the community residents were not necessarily aware of certain needs. One community leader perceived a need that was not necessarily considered a need by others in her community. BA-Z . . . a program that I’m interested in about water and sanitation. I know that here in _____, for example, we don’t have good facilities to dispose of our feces and so on. We still have people who use the buckets, and they will go to the beaches in the morning. I hate that. I BM-lO BA-8 BA-4 106 absolutely hate that. But, yet, I know that many women don’t think there is anything wrong with it, because it’s . . it’s almost like a cultural thing. That’s the way they were brought up. It doesn’ t only happen in the Garifuna culture; the Creoles in Belize City do it, and also the Indians and so on. People can go for generations with an outhouse and don’t see any need for putting in indoor plumbing. Yet I think that when a six- or eight-year-old girl has to go every morning with that, after a while what happens to her self-esteem? And then there’s sanitation, and there is pollution as well. So I feel that if a group were organized around issues of health . .. . where they can be taught what is sanitary and unsanitary about their health, the payoff goes in several different directions because the community becomes cleaner, people become healthieru 'The children will have more self-esteem. And even the women will have more time to devote to other things, because they won’t have to be worrying about these things. The women will then pass these values on to their children. Men also need to be educated. . . . opportunities for adult education for all these women who didn’t finish primary school or didn’t go on to high school. And by education--yes, the basic things-- for them to be able to read more comfortably, to do figures, especially so they don’t get ripped off--you know, the basic math and all of that-~on a basic understanding of. . . what society is made up of . . more of a social understanding of where they belong in the world. The greatest need is feeling "I’ 111 OK" for women . feeling in charge, like they have some control over their lives. Opportunities for men to grow along with women. I think I have been insisting from the start is education and training and trying to get people together to work in unity. Because I think unity is strength. Without a lot of people, you can’t do it. And we need all these people to pull together and not pull apart. Well, I think I need more training. More whatever skills you could learn, but I basically think training is what we need for individuals or groups, training is what we need. Because some of us didn’t even have the chance to go to high school. So I am always interested in training. In home nmnagement and bookkeeping and secretarial training, because we always need good secretaries for whatever program we try to form because without a good secretary. . . . You need a good secretary to keep your BA—9 BA-8 BM-l3 107 books. You need a good treasurer. You always need a good counselor. But these should be good educated people who know how to take care of these things. So that our program never fails, we need to know how to take care of our books. We need to know how to go about in our meet- ings; we need to know how we could get together and generate a little income so we could make our own money for whatsoever we would use the money for. So I always look at education and training. The greatest need in my community right now is water. We lack water. Most of the houses is [sic] far away from the riverside, and then they put up the hand pump outside, and they no last long [sic]. Sometimes as they put in [install it], they broke it, and then it takes a whole three, four months before they come back and fix it, right? Then all the time, you--the women in particular--you have to go and get water for the children to keep them clean and things like that, to cook the food. And water like that [is] not good drinking water. It very heavysome [sic] and rusty and things like that. It is the very, very most important thing we need in our community. We lack electricity and things like that, but then you can do without things like that, but you can’t live without water. I’m talking about the country of Belize. The women that I’ve trained and worked with. . . . What I see them most concerned about at this point is their own [personal] happiness. They want to find happiness; they’re seeking fulfillment of self. It [the concern] varies from district to district; and it varies from person to person. A lot of them talk about finances, money. And one of their biggest dreams is always having good, healthy children. I want my children to be good people. I want them to be healthy. These are basically the concerns that keep coming. (pause) . . . They are concerned about education. Many women feel that they did not get the chance to go to high school or maybe even to finish primary school, or they did not finish high school. Some of them have finished high school and they would like to move on to college or universities . . . and they are hindered mainly because of the money-—financial reasons--or of family responsi- bilities. But most women feel that they need to educate themselves as highly as possible, either to command a good salary or be ready to earn money to help with their own personal development and their family responsibilities. I think making money is the second thing they see. Educating themselves both formally and BM-lO BA-4 BL-7 108 informalky at whatever level--just upgrading their educational status--that will help them personally, they’ll be able to command more respect, and they’ll be able to be self-sufficient. Many of them feel inade- quate. They feel left out because of their educational status. I feel that they need to get access to education. I think that . . . (pause) . . . from the time that they’re small, there’ve been unequal messages passed on to boys and girls about what they can do with their lives, what they’re capable of. I think that a girl has to be excep- tional in her school work to be encouraged to . . . to have ambitions, even the ambition of finishing primary school and the ambition of trying to get a scholarship for high school. Whereas, a boy can be mediocre or less and not question the right or . . . not question finish- ing primary school and trying for high school . . . if he doesn’t even want to, and this angers me very much. And I know that in Belize, particularly in some of the rural areas, but also in the poor urban areas, even the bright or exceptional girls in some families . . . even they are discouraged about continuing their education. (M: if a family has scarce resources, the boys have the priority, are given the priority. I think that . . . in Belize, it’s not as bad as in a lot of other countries. The women are most concerned about doing something for theirselves [sic]--y’know, learning something for theirselves. As I have been saying is trying to generate income so they could bring home so they could help. Especially sometimes depends on the amount of kids you have to deal with. You have children that go to high schools, and if you have seven, eight, five, you really [need] sometimes to help the husband bring in some more [money/income] . . . whatsoever you could do, even if it’s growing a little garden with some vegetables. We really need to eat right. We need to start feeding our kids the right food. So I always be lookin’ at that point. Even us, the mothers, need to be educated. We need to learn more how to feed these kids and not feed them just one type of food--feed them the right, basic food that they should be eating. While visiting many villages in January, there are women talking about building [a] house for clinic; and they are working toward sending two persons to be trained--one as a nurse and one as a midwife. They see the necessity of that. They are building buildings to house a preschool or kindergarten. Others are looking at water systems, and some are thinking of starting a small business on 109 their own. What I can see, what our women have been learning for the past years, and we have been showing them where they can start a business for themselves, they are really going into it. Some of our women have become good caterers, good seamstresses. . . . They are aiming for many, many things. They even want to have adult education and learn how to read and write and improve their vocabulary and things like that. Those are things that make me more . . . encourage me more to continue working with them, because I can see that there is something that they need. From our department, we are trying to see what we can do. This was our research; now we have to plan something for the year. BM-l3 Personally, I would say the greatest need for women is education because from my personal experience, pertaining to myself . . . experiences I have had with women at village-level meetings or district-level workshops and talking to people on an everyday basis is that, whenever they’re a part of an educational program, they feel as though they have learned something, and it has made a difference in their life. So we need to have more educa- tional programs, more educational opportunities . . . specific training . . . these things . . . be it formal or informal. Once a woman realizes or has access to- information, she will use this information in a self-help basis. She won’t be needing people to lead her around by the nose; she can talk from her guts, and she can talk from her heart. As she can do things, she will be more decisive. Her experiences will increase, and it will come from her own self-conviction that I need to do this for myself. This is the way changes come about because unless we have people changing individually and making decisions individually and having access to education on an individual basis, we’re not going to get anywhere.- People thinking for themselves and doing things for themselves . . . you know . . . so, personally, I feel that education . . . once a woman has education, it opens the doors for many other things to happen--financial returns or whatever . . . better communication with her husband, with her children, with people . . . better understanding of herself, of her surroundings, about happenings in the world. Leaders of women’s organizations were also very concerned about being able to assist adolescent mothers and female heads of households. 110 BA-ll We are too few, trying to help too many because we see the need. But we cannot do it all. And sometimes we cannot get others to help. . . . We work with what we call the "grass roots." Women who are at home for one reason or another--either they started early in family life or they didn’t get a chance to go to college or, you know, or they met with a poor relationship in marriage or with their spouse in some way, and so their lives have become a kind of fighting existence. They want to develop--they want to improve their status within the community, but they don’t know how. Some of them, because they lack the basic skills for doing anything, whether those skills be from an academic standpoint, whether they be financial, or whether they be physical-- sometimes it’s physical, too. And I think these are the women we would learn to help. They have been abused some way or misused, misguided, or misfortuned in some way. However, we embrace all women, all types. ’Cause all of us need to learn from each and every one of us, so we. Perceptions of development programs. The respondents perceived the development activities of Belize Partners and other development organizations (government and nongovernmental) as sporadic, ill- conceived, and inadequate to meet the needs of women. Three of the respondents had not previously been aware of the Belize Partners organization. Respondents who were aware of the Belize Partners WID activities pointed out that there was no WID program, per se, and that there was very little organizational support for WID programs. Belize Partners was perceived as a closed organization, directed for years by the same people, mainly men, who want to protect the programmatic benefits for themselves, their colleagues, family members, and friends. New members are not encouraged. One Belize Partners WID subcommittee member commented: BM-lO . . . so I knew a little about Belize-Michigan Partners when approached me. She asked me if I would be willing to serve on the committee. I said that I’d think about it, ’cause--juggling all of the things in my life 111 --I wasn’t sure I would have time, until the first meet- ing of the committee. Even after that time, I told her I would think about it. I told her I wanted more information about what the organization was about and how things got done and what the possibilities were. And she told me that she wasn’t sure of all the details, but that I could go ask the executive director. So I tried. I set up an appointment with him. I went. I was a little bit late for the appointment, and he wasn’t there. Then a few days later, told me that the executive director had said I had no right to go and talk directly with them, that we always have to operate through the committee chairperson. I told her I hadn’t even decided to be on the committee yet; I wanted more information before deciding, so he had no right to say that! I just wanted information, that’s all I wanted. But that incident made me . . . challenged me, in a way . . . what was going on . . . can’t be right. In a way, that made me want to say, ”Okay, let’s . . . if that’s the way it works, okay, let’s learn more." So I started working with the committee that way. And about the difficulties I encountered, that was the first difficulty. And once our committee started working, we encountered a lot more difficulties. And . . . I had . . . my expectations when I started working on this committee weren”t as high as when I started working with because of this experience, which had been negat'Tv'e-f But I did think that during the year, if we really organized ourselves properly and made an effort to have good programs, and it seemed that the other committee members were very willing to work, I thought that we could get more done than we have. When activities were undertaken in support of women, through Belize Partners, they were almost always home economics and handicraft oriented. Also, activities tended not to be developmental in nature (i.e., not oriented toward the development of human resources or any consideration given to having a multiplier effect). Activities tended to start and end with an individual participating in training. The training was frequently aimed at crafts production (i.e., quilt making). No follow-up support was planned as given to participants in training activities. This frequently led to frustration and 112 disillusionment. This practice was based on the assumption that Belizean women wanted and needed this type of training. The data from this study do not support that assumption. This is consistent with the findings of Rogers (1979), Risseeuw et al. (l980), Muchena (l982), and Hoskins (l980). Another reason for this state of affairs is that the Belize Partner directors apparently do not network or collaborate with other development-oriented agencies and organizations. Hence, their understanding of development and the concept of women in development is limited. Belizean respondents offered the following advice to people who would assist the development of women through adult education programs of governmental and nongovernmental agencies and organizations. These comments have implications for needs assessment and for program development in international, cross- cultural development organizations. 85-? I think we need to get into developmental-type things. People will join Red Cross and they will join Belize Family Life and Women Against Violence, but that is only taking care of one aspect of their lives. And there are some people who don’t see a need for that. I think that we have to look at their needs--they need money or they may need education. If their perceived needs are their real needs, I think that they will work with the program. Also, some of us are fearful of failing. We feel, "Oh, they are promising us this again” or ”They are organizing us again" or ”This one has come down here and said that she tried to do this or that." I pretty much felt the same when said that so and so is coming from Michigan and can you talk? I said, ”Listen here, I’m tired of talking." You get to that point. But I think that even if you had a pilot project where if the markets are secured, all these other things are worked out, and then people are also made aware of the fact that it may not be an astounding success at this time, then SAB BA-2 113 they will be satisfied with small successes. But if you came in here and worked on something like--OK--you know there was a 4-H project here. And out of Michigan State, and that year everything was rearing rabbits and barbecuing rabbits. We saw rabbits as pets, and no matter how quickly they propagated, people did not change their eating habits. And that program failed. I feel that sometimes projects are imposed on people when they are not the ones who are interested in that program. I would really like to see a project here. . . . We have fruits--citrus and mangoes. We have so many mangoes it is pitiful. And yet we don’t know how to can mangoes. If I have guests and it’s the mango season, I will serve mango juice-—people could make juices out of the fruits. Very few people know how to make the juices out of these fruits. They know how to make juices out of limes and out of the citrus fruits. I feel that the people would need a whole educational project. Because it also has to do with your taste buds. You have to adapt yourself. Yet they love to eat mangoes. The women just don’t know that you can make a juice out of it or that you can can it. . . . Maybe there’ll be a market for it because after August, then we don’t have any more mangoes. The same thing happens with tomatoes. It is just disgusting to see tomatoes going at $.25 a pound now, and in the next six weeks we will be importing tomatoes from Mexico. . . . People don’t know how to can. And even though the social-development home economics department gives lessons on canning, the jars are expensive. So what do you do? You probably have to find some reusable jars. Yet there is a lot of wastage. The women also need to know about nutrition. . . . What do planners need to know before they can be of assistance to women in your community? I don’t feel that they need to . . . I believe that they need to study the women more. I don’t think they can come with their missionary spirit. I think they will need to live with us and perceive the way we do things and maybe how they can be improved or improved to--I don’t want to use the words ”improved to our satisfaction" in that what we’re doing is right, but I mean that we’ll see that this new way is going to be better than our old way, so there is not the idea of total rejection because of the foreign one imposing ideas on us. So I think that if someone were willing to be with us and study and just see how we live with what we have. . . . Some people are very happy. There are some people in our community whose lifestyles will not change because they are happy doing those things. BA-4 BC-3 BA-8 114 If a person could spend some time and analyze and so on, out of that could come the ideas [for programs]. And maybe just listen to the people because you will hear them talk about their dreams and ambitions. I advise people like you and to try and work along with these people and see how you could get training programs for them so they could be trained; and see how you could get funding so that these people could be helped to start on their project. Whatever project they are doing. And then help them to organize. Help them to see how they could find markets, so they could go on so that their projects. would never fail, so that their projects would be a success. Because once they see success, then they can continue--they want to work. They want to continue working on and on. But if it’s a failure, then some of them get discouraged and things like that. But if one group or two group [sic] or three group start and be so successful, then some more groups and some more people would just want to join the group and then get it even more stronger [sic], y’know? I think I would advise that they be open with people. Tell them your objectives right away and try to find out the goal or the end result of what you are trying to pass on to them from the beginning. If there is going to be something beneficial for them in the longer haul, show it to them. Don’t try to put on a front as if you are doing something when in reality you are not doing anything. People want to see results. Okay, if you’re going to take them somewhere and teach them something, show them that what they are learning and what you are trying to show them--that they will benefit from. That maybe their family will benefit from it, or maybe, um, at the same time it will make life worth living. ‘That they are a part of the community, that they have self-worth, self- esteem. Give them that kind of confidence from the beginning, and I think by that way things will be more smoother [sic] and then people can have that confidence in you and you in them. My major advice is that you don’t try to develop a program for women. You need to work with existing programs and work with women who have proven that they are doing something for women. I’m kind of sick and tired of seeing people open a nice, beautiful building, highly furnished, and say, ”Okay, now we have a center for women. Come in and we’ll serve you in some way." It doesn’t work; it flops after awhile. If you’re going to develop a program for women, it has to be a program that BA-9 115 the women have started on their own, from scratch with nothing, like having that meeting under a banana tree or wherever . . . the ideas need to come from the women. We started meeting in houses, then in classrooms, and, eventually, an office, a small office. We have grown slowly, slowly over seven years . . . we have a solid foundation and growing support. We started in a village and now we have expanded countrywide. The advice that I give is, um, you have to be a person that. whenever* a time is set down, a goal or to do somet’ing--to try and let it work. Especially when working with rural women, whenever time they get two or three fall back [disappointments/failures], they always get discouraged. So if anyone have [sic] the interest to put through a program, I would advise them to give women enough time. Be realistic. You [planners] would have to know about me--my situation and how to get along with me. I believe that is the most [important] thing to know about. SAB [probe] In what sense? BAf9 BM-lO BA-l BA-S You have to know my situation. First of all, could I attend your meetings, and things like that. I feel that women need access to programs that take a lot of time and a lot of money . . . very long-term programs. . . . Must understand their language--the culture, their whole way of thinking . . . help them connect with other women in their country. First, whatever program [is developed], it has to be something that the women want, like, or feel like they can get something out of. It doesn’t have to be finance, but money makes the mills run. Most women, or people in general, go into things because they want something out of it. So I think that whatever program would be available, or whatever project, I think that, too, you have to get the women who really need it for the program to really develop. Most of the time people get into things and find they don’t really need it and then the program sometimes falls apart. In other words, start with the grass roots people. It will take awhile because those people . . . maybe because of their ethnic background or where they come from, they are sort of ignorant about a lot of things, and you’ll really have to start from ABC with them until you get to a point where you feel, "Well, yes, I can introduce this to them.” I think this would work. 116 SAB [probe] Have you had any experience with NGOs or other groups/organizations coming in for short periods of time? Do you feel that any efforts you’ve been involved in have been given sufficient time to work? BA-S A lot of times that happens, you know? I believe that a lot of times that discourages people [re: short-term projects; not being given enough time to get to know people, assess real needs, and develop/implement programs or projects] because they don’t have long-term sort of thing [sic]. I always tell my boss where I used to work. I’d say, "You know when working with these women, you have to realize that I am working with my mother." And because of the way Belize is set up, because of the colonialism, my mother probably did not reach what you would call the tenth grade. So that you have to go right back from ABC with them. And it will take a very long time for them to cope with what is happening now, the way things are being done. And if you don’t do that, if you just come in and say, "Listen, let’s start this project. This is what I have; this is what I have," it won’t last. Because then, maybe if it’s something practical, of course the women will probably do it, because it’s easier; but then if you don’t give them the basic training and if you are only here for two years and then you leave and these women weren’t properly trained, after you leave the thing just dies a natural death. And most of the time that is what happens. Consistent with the theories and thinking of Knowles (l975), Havighurst (l952), Antrobus (l980), Muchena (l982), and Piepmeir (l950), what Belizean women desired above all else was action and, from that action, meaningful results. In l98l Mary Tadesse, director of the African Training and Resource Center for Women (United Nations Commission on Africa) told a U.S. audience, ”Please, we’re tired of studies. . . Let’s have some {action!" Scholars and practitioners alike share her sense of impatience, yet most would also deplore action in the absence of adequate information, or action based on irrelevant or incorrect information. Today’s emphasis on including women fully in development planning highlights a dilemma. The preoccupation with gathering information is understandable and to a point laudable . . . but how much information is enough? (Charlton, l984, p. 38) 117 Charlton went on to suggest that development planners and prac- titioners curtail the needs assessment and get on with the business of developing and implementing programs to enhance women’s social, economic, and political capabilities. This sentiment was expressed by at least two respondents in Belize: BM-l3 . . . Since the decade for women, people have been coming into Belize and finding out what it is that women want. You know, speaking to the women, speaking to people at policy- and decision-making levels . . . and I think this should stop and people should really document what they have--come together and put together all information that they have so they could say, "These are the needs of women, and we will try and fulfill those needs." This eternal assessment of' needs is an internal problem, too. Right here in Belize, for instance, when I was at the women’s bureau, we spent several years gathering information, documenting information. You know, as I said before: visiting people at village level, having district-level workshops, having national contributions. Yet . . . after I left women’s bureau, the second director went back and did the same thing. After the second director left, the third director went back and did the same thing. And people were just rebelling. I remember when the third director visited a certain district town, nobody showed up for the workshop. So this tells a story, I think. We have enough information about women and women’s needs, and we need to really compile--make a big compilation . . . you know, develop a set plan of action and just work on that. BA-2 As I told you before, you know, lots of people come and they ask questions. And I wonder (sigh), ”Is it going to be this one? Will you be the one to stop talking and asking questions and make something happen?" I also ask, "Of what benefit will this [questioning, this research] be to my people?" Whereas, my answers can benefit you in your dissertation and in your work . . . with Partners, what about us here? Can we look to some assistance from Michigan in the future? The researcher then must ask, Is needs assessment a necessary evil? And what is the best way to obtain information of guidance value for program development in situations where people believe 118 they have been taken advantage of or think that their needs have been overassessed with little to show for it? Surely, it is a dilemma for program development, for, as Nesman (l98l) pointed out, There is much evidence that many projects have failed due to a neglect to accumulate concrete background information before they were started. It is not possible to base a serious program on such impressions as "I think that it ought to be this way” or ”It seems to me that this is the way things are." Any project started in such a manner will not continue very long. (p. 99) Clearly, an important need of the Belizean women is for action and meaningful results. The Dominican Republic Case Study Country Profile The Dominican Republic is a beautiful country located on the eastern side of’ the island of‘ Hispaniola; to the west is the Republic of Haiti. The Dominican Republic was formerly a Spanish colony and attained its independence in l844. The island is in the Caribbean, with Cuba on the west and Puerto Rico to the east. The country covers an area of l8,700 square miles and has a population of 5,600,000 (Adames, l986; Fernandez, l984). ‘The Dominican Republic has a very young population, of which more than 83% are under the age of 40 and about 75% are under 25 years (Fernandez, l984). Two-thirds of the Dominican population is Mulatto--a mixture of people of African, Central American, North American, and European extraction; 22% are black, and about ll% are white. For the majority of Dominicans, life is conditioned by the economic deprivation that they suffer. Up to 90% of the entire 119 Dominican population belonged to the lowest economic sector [in l966]. While the country has many wealth-producing resources, an elite (three to five percent of the total population) controls the wealth. (Brown, l985, p. 322) Education in the Dominican Republic is inadequate to meet the demands and, by law, is compulsory up to sixth grade. However, the law is not enforced. At all levels-~primary, secondary, and postsecondary--the demand exceeds the capacity of the government (Franklin, l984). The economy of the nation is basically agricultural, largely dependent on sugar. The main problem of the Dominican Republic is the lack of energy resources. Unemployment and underemployment are pervasive (Brown, 1975; Fernandez, l984). The rate of absolute poverty exceeds 40%, and the country has not been able to grow enough food for its inhabitants. In short, the country is experiencing an economic crisis. Cardoso de Byam (l986) and Brown (l975) reported that the role of the Dominican woman is circumscribed by her social class, racial background, and educational level. Up to 90% of the total population is poor. The plight of a poor woman in the Dominican Republic is a sad one; she is generally dominated by the culture of machismo, isolated in the home or fields, uneducated, and frequently deserted--left alone to raise her children. Despite such encouraging prospects as tourism, the overall condition of the Dominican economy remains unstable and the prognosis grim. Inflation has been estimated at 40%. . . . The aspirations and expectations of the Dominican people are beginning to outstrip the capacity of the government to respond. (Kearney, l985, p. 36) 120 The conditions that Brown (l985), Franklin (l984), Cardoso de Byam (l986), and Kearney (l985) spoke of worsened in l988. Economic instability in the Dominican Republic is threatening the political establishment. In light of existing crisis conditions, "no individual or organization can be relied upon to look to the long term. For that matter, few public organizations have the institutional memory to effectively plan for the future" (Kearney, l985, p. 38). A great deal of uncertainty exists in the Dominican Republic. There is evidence that people are taking the short-term view and living for the present. They prefer not to invest in the future at this time; it is too expensive. Descriptjpn of Respondents The nine Dominican women who were interviewed for this study were involved in development programs through government agencies (five), a private voluntary agency (one), a university department (one), and a church—related organization. One individual was an artist who volunteered her expertise to micro-enterprise development for poor women (see Table 4.3). Respondents represented the following organizations: Centro de Investigacion Familia (CIF), Central de Rehabilitacion, Programa de Mujeres Campesinas (PROMUCA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mujeres en Desarrollo Dominicana (MUDE), Universidad Pedro Henriquez Urena, and others. Three of the women had previous knowledge of/experience with Dominican Campaneros (Partners) as members and/or volunteer resource persons. 121 Table 4.3.--Characteristics of Dominican Republic respondents (n a 9). Number of Respondents e 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Marit Stat Single Married Divorced Rac'al thni Com osition Hispanic: Mulatto White Non-Hispanic white Oecupational Status Full-time homemaker Self-employed Paraprofessional Professional Residence Rural Urban o-a-cno 0010.: (”ON-1 \00 Three of the women spoke English, and their comments were taped and are excerpted in this case study. All of the other respondents spoke in Spanish, and their answers were translated into English. The researcher attempted to capture their words in her handwritten notes. Seven of the interviews were conducted with small groups of people present in offices or en route to field sites. In such cases, the researcher identified a principal speaker from the group 122 and designated that individual the respondent for this study. Pseudonyms were used to record the responses of the nine Dominican respondents. The researcher learned that perhaps the best way Michigan Partners can assist Dominican women at this time is through networking with professionals in WID agencies, to provide information, training, and professional support to counterparts. To do that, however, Michigan Partners must have language skills. The Dominican interviews took place between August 22 and August 26, l988. The following is what the women shared in those sessions. Fin 'n s Rosa was a government official who worked closely with the Dominican Partners organization. She was interested in establishing a training center for rural women, which Partners would manage. Rosa hoped that if start-up funds were made available, rural women could come to the center and participate in income-generating projects. Projects might include raising rabbits, chickens, and pigs; farm management; food production and preservation; and leader training. The women would come to the center for one week at a time and learn skills on site, and then return to their villages to implement the new practices on their own land. When the researcher left Rosa, she was still looking for support and resources for this training center. She also expressed on behalf of rural women a need for access to water, sanitation practices, and health facilities. 123 One respondent, Lisa, saw a need for voting rights, a university-level nutrition curriculum, and community-level nutrition programs. She was searching for ways to involve the community in a food and nutrition program that was developmental in nature and that provided a service while leaving people’s dignity intact. Although she perceived a need for nutrition education throughout the country, Lisa was realistic about the economic situation. ”The economy is bad . . . very bad here. People have no money. We can’t teach nutrition to people who have no money to buy food. They would not listen. Can you blame them? No!” She went on to add the following. LISA . . . What we could do . . . we could teach the agents, the extension agents we have at ODC [Officina Desarrollo Communidad--Office of Community Development] and they could do the work. What I don’ t know is what we could . . what project we could come out with to get the funds for those people because it’s not like we’ re going to ”give" them, but it’ s just something--a project so that they can get the money to get the food. Something related to nutrition, I don’t know. Everything here is soooo . . . if you want to do something here, everything is so difficult. For example, I went--Josie and I went to La Romana; we went to visit a little village. They have an installation for raising swine or chickens or something like that. And it’s abandoned because they don’t have the money. They owe a lot of money to the government for that project, and they are not using the structure. Now I’ve tried to talk to the people at the university to find out WHAT they could do there. The problem is that the food for them there is imported, and we have to pay that in DOLLARS and the dollar is going up. There is [sic] a lot of problems when you would like to raise hens. So we have to get together with these people from ODC and some people from some churches or the Jaycees, maybe, and then think of something-~because we have to involve the conmunity directly to be able to get the funds from Kellogg. The people aren’t going to pay any attention if we don’t give them solutions to their problems. We could do 124 something like, maybe, um, plant tomatoes and vegetables in their yards or something like that. I was talking to Jaycees to the girls [sic], and I think they can be trained at the university to take the program ERIB [Eating Right Is Basic, a nutrition education program of the Cooperative Extension Service at Michigan State University] to the families around the area, and they’re interested ‘N1 that. But the vice-chancellor at the university thinks that we need to help them create a project where they can get some funds, some money . . because if they know what they want to eat but they don’ t have the money to buy it, it’ s not worth it. It’s difficult. . . . And then we don’t have, um . . . when I was in Kalamazoo, Josie went, for example . . . when a family needed something for a meal, they went to a place. They had there a lot of food. If Josie was going to cook something and the family didn’t have the ingredients, she went there to get the cheese, the flour, and then went to the house and cooked. But we don’t have that here. There is just no place like that. ODC is something like extension. They have extension agents, social workers. And the people are very enthusiastic because if we have a program they could add the nutrition component to their education. And when they go to talk to the people they can also teach them a little about nutrition. So they could do the work very nicely. I don’t know how the people would receive just the education. Income-generating projects is the key. The problem is here that we raise sugar cane here. And you would suppose that we wouldn’t have any problems getting sugar --it’s amazing; we did not have sugar just a few weeks ago. And people from the government CEA, Consejo Estada de Azucar, the sugar institute here, said, ”Well, we sold the sugar." So what did people do with the sugar? They took it to Haiti; they put the sugar I don’t know where and caused this aberrant situation. So we have to deal with those big organizations or those people who have a lot of money and can buy a product and keep it off the market, can raise the price, and then earn a lot of money. This situation is an example and people are soooo frustrated. It’s a big problem. Now in they raise chickens. Now they have to import the feed they sell. Now when the sellers don’t want to sell the feed, they don’t sell the feed. So if you are raising chickens and you don’t have the feed, you go broke. Chicken feed cannot be produced right here in this country because we don’t produce enough protein-- soybean and things like that. We have a lack of basic products, raw materials. We have to import corn, flour, 125 wheat--because the weather here is not good for wheat, soybeans--everything. [Other needs/services needed] With Partners there are a lot of little things going on sporadically. There is a lack of continuity. That is the big problem with Partners’ projects. There’s a problem with managing the D.R. Partners’ program. They need a paid staff here. In the States, you have everything you need; it’s easy for you to do voluntary work. But here people get involved because they want to get something--to go to the States or to get training or . . . you know. And if we start a program or project, I don’t see that it goes to the right people. We have to find our way--what will work for us. [Methods] I think we could reach people through the clubs that usually exist in those rural areas. Working directly with the community organizations. They decide what they want, and we try to get them the skills, work directly with them, get in touch with the people that really need the help. [Comments] There are so many problems here. There is something I see here. There are a lot of women who, even if they have an education, they don’t know their rights about a lot of things here. I think we could work on that. For example, right in my house--my mother and my father have both been working for a long time. She’s been working very hard. But when it comes to the point of making a decision on something of importance, I see it’s only his opinion that counts. And that is an attitude; it’s accepted. 'That attitude . . . I don’t think women--not only with their husbands--it’s a general attitude concerning salaries, concerning positions, concerning women in government--there are very few women in government here. So I think we should alert women here. Consciousness raising would be difficult here even among the women. There would probably be resistance from women and men. I don’t think that’s radical feminism; it’s just a matter of human rights. The next respondent, Maria, had directed a church relief society for five years and was in charge of program development for women. The current program included classes in sewing, knitting, stitchery, macrame, vegetarian cooking, and food storage. Every year, an assessment was conducted among the church women. The 126 results of the survey were used to make programing decisions. Maria saw a great need for the following: --income-generating projects --more academic preparation for urban women and more education for women in general, whether formal or nonformal --greater understanding of the socio-political situation because many women didn’t understand what was happening in the country’s economy, yet they were feeling the effects Maria thought that the preferred methodologies for training and technical assistance should include demonstrations and practice, fairs and exhibits, television, and small-group activities involving 5 to 20 people. Maria recommended that development workers become close to the women and work more closely with them. "They are eager to learn and to do for themselves. They don’t want handouts.” Josefina represented Mujeres in Desarrollo Dominicana (MUDE) (Dominican Women in Development), a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization. MUDE’s constituency is rural women, and its staff comprises technicians whose work is similar to that of extension workers. Technicians, male and female, work with women in the countryside, teaching leadership development, decision making, handicrafts, broom making, and food preparation. They also have an ecology education program, through which participants become involved in reforestation activities. Josefina was interested in initiating cultural projects to document the traditions, beliefs, and practices of the rural farm people. Theatre groups, choirs, and folk music groups might be outgrowths of such a project. I'MUDE," said Josefina, ”does not try 127 to impose projects. . . . [It] tries to allow women to set their own goals--to self-actualize. We don’t encourage dependency." Josefina thought MUDE staff might be interested in working with Partners. They would prefer that technical-assistance exchanges be made between technicians from the Dominican Republic and Michigan, and m between clientele. MUDE’s staff would also like to make greater use of ecology networks. MUDE has some exciting rural development programs and would be happy to send a representative to Michigan to teach concepts of rural development and extension from the Dominican perspective. They are also willing to receive visitors from Michigan. Gracia’s constituency was handicapped women who needed skills training, home-management training, and self-sufficiency skills. She was interested in training for herself and the staff at Centro de Rehabilitacion. Short courses were the preferred methodology. Gracia advised technical assistants coming from Michigan that the ability to communicate well is essential. They would need Spanish- language capability. They must bring useful information and be flexible to the local situation. She perceived Dominican Partners as very supportive. ”The training that Partners arranged for me in Michigan makes things easier for me in my job." Aura worked for Programa Mujeres Campesinas (PROMUCA) (Rural Women’s Programs), a section of the extension service in the Ministry of Agriculture. She perceived the following to be needs of PROMUCA clients: small business administration, managing bank accounts, and women’s need of land from the land reclamation 128 schemes. Aura envisioned Partners members collaborating with PROMUCA to write proposals for short- and long-term projects. PROMUCA needs training materials in Spanish on the topics of leadership and management. They also need someone to train the trainers. Patricia was the spokesperson for Centra do Integracion Familia (CIF) or the Center for Family Integration. CIF is a private, voluntary organization, founded in l983, which offers vocational training for women in the following areas: cutting and tailoring, machine embroidery, hand embroidery, weaving, hairdressing and beauty culture, cooking, pastry making, floristry, wristwatch-strap making, beltmaking, and macrame. CIF also offers social services and training in the following areas: nutrition, oral rehydration, maternal lactation, venereal diseases, personal development, human relations, processes of child development and adolescent communication, and family and the education of children. CIF has an established curriculum and trained teachers. Patricia. reported that, CIF’ graduated l,30l women in June l988. Outstanding graduates are often employed as teachers at CIF. CIF receives no federal funding; their annual sale of Christmas cards is the primary source of funds. They also occasionally receive funds from other organizations to support a teacher’s salary, for example. Patricia was a member of the elite, an upper-class woman who, along with a group of friends (wives of wealthy husbands, women with a social conscience), decided to do something to help their less- fortunate sisters. After many years of trial and error and finally 129 finding a facility to house their workshop, CIF was successfully launched. Patricia stated: Conceptually we define ourselves, our organization as a human solidarity agency, and we express that by extending our hands in love. All of us are volunteers who have decided to participate in the transformation of the socioeconomic conditions and the quality of life for the masses. It takes an open mind, lots of flexibility, the ability to listen well, and to draw upon the resources of ourselves, our husbands, and our friends. The needs of the women weren’t what we thought at first . . . and in the beginning our name was ”information" center. Now it’s ”integration” center. . . . It’s not just talking to the women, telling them what to do. We have to Leech them. . . . We are reacting to reality in a proactive way. . . . The Dominican woman who is poor has the desire and need for employment and income. She is proud, and she is capable. We give her the skills to make a living. Ada Balcacer (her real name) waived confidentiality and anonymity. She is an artist of national and international renown. She is single, a mother of two, and a grandmother. She is also handicapped. Ada calls herself a painter and is very outspoken. She is an energetic woman with considerable feeling for the women in her country--for the social, economic, and political problems Dominicans face. She spoke at length about her concerns. Her responses are included almost in their entirety because she spoke to the heart of the issues. First, let’s divide the information into two parts, which would be the leadership situation of the women--for me, that is very important. You see our position as leaders not as representing men groups, but representing women groups because I am suffering. I have been suffering very badly [in] my performance as a leader of a women’s group, to the point that I have been so discredited with the work that I have done, with everybody at all levels, that nobody can use me. I am useless. I am useless in this country as a women’s leader. And I created one of the most successful women’s projects that you can think of, because it was a project that could have been able to attain self-sufficiency in a short period and that had 130 an integrated service horizon that permitted assistance to women in very different levels. And, as the institution was gaining its strength, its credibility, and was doing better, it was destroyed because this institution did not belong to a class apparatus, did not belong to a political apparatus, did not have a government support. It was REALLY a women’s program, but it was also involved in production in a most difficult area of development that we have in this country, because of lack of resources and lack of investment funds and also because of the lack of skills and a lack of vision of the whole thing. I tried very hard during eight years, but finally I had to give up because it was fairly threatening not only to my health but also my status as a painter. Then I tried to . . . I made an agreement with a congregation of sisters from Rome, that I specialize in marginal women and I have been working with them and practically [hands-on] for instance, the performance of the agencies--trying to tell you what to do with the programs--the lack of credibility of making a Dominican project. The imposition of terms that do not meet cultural . . . cultural knowledge of the people and cultural behavior of the people. And also, then, the middle-class technicians that have no social sensibility toward this kind of work, the competitive class situation between middle-class people--all these made such a tremendous block against the growth of the institution that I am practically out of it. And I don’t know if the institution is going to go on because, you see, I was the creative part. You see, I was the leader, I was the public relations, I was the technical coordinator, and I was the designer. You see, as an artist I made an experiment of cultural and creative methods applied to the development of women. You see? There is a lot of teaching involved, a lot of understanding involved. But when it came to the point that it had a loan from the Inter-American Bank of Development--oh, my God! They started seeing it from the point of view of the loan, from the point of view of the money and NEVER from the point of view of the people which is really the situation that does NOT develop these countries. And in [making this statement] I am being very political. You see? The monetary situation, the money-making through the bank--the money has become an alive representation. Before money was dead, but today money walk, money talk, and money do--money does. And the thing is that when you go for these loans through international banks, the important thing is to pay off the loan. They don’t consider if the women have the time to develop the real abilities. You see, here I am talking about the truth and the make believe. You see, I will always react to the make believe. The truth is that a person needs certain time to be able to acquire certain skills, but the people that give the money want the money back quickly. So you can make 131 believe. You can have then two or three middle-class technicians having a lot of promotions on make believe with a false efficiency which is not true, but nobody thinks that if a man has the loan--if it takes time for him to get the skills . . . can you imagine a woman? That is having two things against her--her position outside of mainstream society and the need to get the skills. But, you see, the thing is that the only agency--and we work with all the agencies--we work with two very good agencies, which are the Inter-American Foundation in which they have officials with a deep, deep understanding of what the problem is, and the other was UNIFEM. UNIFEM really created the environmental project situation. But then the other agencies are really not in the position to handle women in development situations. Now' what is the problem? We really don’t have the investment funds in this country to develop anything, and they don’t want to believe in women in development. It’s just a way of getting some money inside the country. But I don’t think here the leaders of this society--whoever they are--pe11eye in women in development programs. And I can tell you this because it is like Georgia O’Keefe said, the great American painter. She was always told that she was the best wpman painter. She was not one good painter, because the best painter was a man. So, you see, we are always second best. You see? So this is to me the crucial situation. First, to bring a woman to the point of wishing or believing in her own development takes TIME. And from there [that point] you just begin to talk about development because do you know what you’ll find? That you invest all this money, all this time, all these skills on women, and the women at the end don’t believe in it. I have seen this. Because, you see, the problem is that really women in development . . . comes out of the second-best situation. You see? Women have been growing more aware, and I think men join us to really stop it. That is the feeling I have. Now it is for us to really make a go of it. On my personal side, I am not bitter or anything like that. I am not. 1_em_e_gpyker. I am not a hero. No Virgin Mary. I am a working woman. I am an artist. I don’t get better because, you see, I can always say, well, it was an essay on society. But let me tell you, the two basic things that you have to keep on your mind is the dual structure. The structure of (l) who do you want to benefit? and (2) who will be the ones to provide the basis for that benefit? I know education is very important. But then, in my experience, I have found that even the investment in that has to be very limited. And it is better in the very beginning to establish a very clear-cut compromise than to create the idea of ”giving." The problem is, how can you avoid the idea of giving things when you are living in a paternalistic situation. $0000, for instance, I have numbers, very serious numbers. We have dealt with about 3,000 women. Of those women we were able to 132 develop--I’m talking about women at the very basic levels, women that didn’t have a sixth [grade], elementary school education. I saw women stay in an institution for seven years and reach to go to university and have a profession. But what did we find after that? That the women have developed themselves economically and socially, but then now they will have all the vices of the social strata. And then another type of work has to be done after that. So it’s sort of an endless situation. I do believe that what is needed is a specific funding mechanism for women’s programs. But this funding cannot be organized in the same way that it is organized for other types of programs because we are working with an element that has to be convinced, moved into a situation. Probably everybody joins thinking that they can get involved with it; but then at the end, what they do is, instead of creating something for themselves, they strengthen the traditional situation. This is what really . . . has . . . you see? Instead of really creating an opportunity, a real opportunity for women, what I have found is the best result reinforces the traditional norms. It integrates women into the old class situation. To me that is really what is happening now. What will happen after this? We have reached this point. We have developed projects; we have been successful with projects. Um, not always can projects become institutional. That’s something I learned. For instance, we did a successful project, but the institutional apparatus has been very hard to develop because as a women’s institution, it has to suffer all the problems that any other institution suffers. For instance, with a production problem, how can a poor woman produce if she has no light, no energy, and no water? She has to spend three hours a day to get water, and she only receives energy [electrical energy] for four hours. And she has a machine purchased on the loan to sew. You need machinery for most of the products that there is a market for today. That’s another thing. You have to develop according to the market situation. Now here there is [sic] good markets for textiles, good export marketing. But here in this country we do not have regularity on light service for three years now. So can you imagine the problems of an institution that has created a production project? I mean, really, it’s survival. You see, this country right now is fighting for things so basic. It’s as if we went back five years. Five years ago, we were not in such a tremendous crisis like it is now. People are looking for water, looking for energy, and looking for food. Now I ask you, do you think that that vision could fit any pattern of projections if there’s a woman’s rights [movement]? Am I making myself understood? If you want to program, you have to do it at the right time. Timing is important. If you’re going to assist, the problem right now might not be assistance in terms of how might a woman get a job 133 in order to buy her food, because we did that. Now the woman has the loan; she can’t pay the loan because she can’t produce. Moreover, nobody’s buying anything. We’re living at the minimum. Middle-class is going to hell. And then you have some people making a lot of money on the monetary gambles with the money they have saved. Or if you are a rich foreigner or somebody in tourism--everybody is getting their money out. But the other people-~now it is very difficult to move people now into projections for the long term. I’m telling you this because when you get a program . . . it is a tendency not to tell the truth. I’m telling you the truth. It’s real. In the institution that we had, two years ago we had a center with the silk screening. We had women working; we had women dyeing. We had a staff of 50 people. But why can’t we keep them? If you’re hoping to do exports, you need dollars to buy raw materials that can be competitive outside. Because in this country you don’t have raw materials. We specialized in textiles, beautiful textiles, screened by us. Now, the dollar jumped six to one. Now, transportation--we had to put the women out of the plant no later than 5:00 p.m. because when it gets dark in the neighborhoods, it’s risky. The women never can get to work at 8:00 a.m. They come at 8:30 or 9:00 because there is no public transportation service regularly. Then they come to the plant to work, and then there’s a light shortage. Now, in a social-development program, are you going to invest money on a generator? This is not a physical plant business; this is social action. These women have all these critical things--to leave the kids. . . . I’ll tell you one project that would be good for women if you want to have them working in a production facility--there must be a place to mind the children while the women are at work for any woman who wants to work outside of the home. What I am telling you is that eight to ten years ago, a production program was good. But right now I don’t think that’s good, because we’re dealing with BASIC problems, problems of water, energy, food, shelter. . . . Women who come from the countryside to look for a job in the free-port zone--where are they going to sleep, huh? Health problems, how to control prostitution, and . . . I mean, this is very big here. See, if I would have to create another institution, it would be a very different one than the one I did before. Because now, what the woman needs is different; the problem now is not to integrate her into production--no, no, no, no, no. The problem now is to give her resources so she is healthy and capable to be herself because . . . let me tell you one thing: The great majority of the women are mothers alone with children. The men are leaving the country. All men that can work and are skilled are taking a boat!! We have people in New York, people in St. Croix, in . . . the imigration is high. So women are the ones who can’t travel 134 because they have two or three kids, and I know women who have seven. Second, in the rural areas, for example, I’m gonna give you a case. We work with a group of women in a place called , which was part of the farming--sugar cane farming for the government since the government sold the land to Dole-~you know, Dole pineapple Dole? So then, a half of the men left because the Haitians are the only ones that will work for the salaries that Dole is paying. The government sugar council used to give the women a piece of land for them to plant rice and sell it, and the money from that made better the situation of the family. But the Dole company took over that land, so the women no longer have that. Now you have a lot of women there with tremendous problems with their families and a lot of those women came to live in Santo Domingo. I know this because we had 47 women that we were assisting, and right now it isn’t worth it to go there because we don’t even have 20 women left, and it is so expensive to go there. It’s 88 km from the city. It’s too expensive to go to provide service for less than 20 women. Situations like this. . . . This is just to show you the precarious level in which we have to exist. So I feel that you have to develop programs of health, basically. Nutrition-- which was a big problem in the l9605--we’re gonna have to go back to that, I’m telling you that. And awareness of the situation, plus some sort of help to give facilities to those that are able to get jobs, because the women who come to the free-port zone do not come from the area where they are presently living. They come from all over the country, like, you know, in La Romana you have women from San Juan de La , only in Santiago you might have. . . . They travel. The social status is very insecure, tremendously insecure, because the living situation changes from day to day. The cost of living changes from day to day, and men suffer these misfortunes in an indirect way. But in this country, it is the women that handle everything that has to do with the household. Traditionally, the men just give some money and go out. And he gives what he wants. I’m not talking about middle-class families. I’m talking about the Dominican regular family, the people. The man gives what he has or what he wants, and she has to do the rest. And a lot of insecurity is created because there are no steady prices. I mean, you can pay for an egg 20 cents today and tomorrow you’re going to pay 35. If the transportation people want to raise the price five cents, they raise it five cents. What we have here is private transportation and public transportation. Most of the people move with private transportation. So before they paid the same, but let me tell you what they do now--they give you a shorter ride. So before you used to go like 8 km for so much, now you can only go l km for the same price you once could travel 8 km for. So for a woman to come to work--so you see, you can also help in transportation. The needs are basic. 135 So when I was talking about developing abilities to develop crafts, right now that is obsolete, because it is an artistic product that has no market. You see? It only has a market outside of the country. But then to get to a market outside of the country, you need so much sophistication. And that sophistication costs a lot of' money because now the technicians will ask for more money. Where once you could get an artist to design for one price, now it costs five times more. So I feel--if that is what your question was--how to guide the situation [what advice]--I will tell you very frankly, guide it to the basics. It’s a return, that’s it. There’s no other way about it. I mean, I’m a painter, but it’s crazy in this country. I have no materials. I can’t work at night [no electricity]. You don’t become a painter painting eight hours a day. You become a painter painting l4 [hours a day]. No serious painter paints eight. So if you are going to have a lifetime service to work, you know what is the problem? It’s not enough. So I’m producing much less, but also it’s, uh . very difficult because the investment is very high. We are paying for everything five times more than we used to pay. It’s . . . it’s . . . it’s . . . professions are very difficult to develop here. But in terms of Women in Development, 1 think we have to really, uh, become very radical on the consensus, because when you are talking about basic needs in today’s world, you are already radical. And that is what you have to tell your fellow friends. It is not that you are radical, ; it is the situation which is radical. It is not you or me. I am presenting myself as a very radical person right now, but I mean I am telling you the truth. When you are dealing with basics-~needs, you are radical! Because today the world is not dealing with that. In this country one cannot even create decent-paying jobs. We try to develop strategies through creative services. And I know why now it is so difficult. It’s because the timing is wrong. When timing is wrong, it is wrong. . . . Anything I can help you with, fine. I am very good at writing projects. I am . . . I have a little bit of experience, l0 years’ experience now. It is experience I feel sad about because I am not using it now. Being a woman I was weak; I am a single woman with my own children. I only have as my family my mother, who is 80 years old. I am a handicapped person. You would think that in this community I would have a little bit of consideration and respect. No, no, no, no, no, no--not that. Tremendous. The consideration that I have is outside of this country, you see. It has been very difficult for me. I call myself a survivor. I am a survivor. Very little support, very little help. I work very hard and it’s hard on my art work. It’s hard on all the areas. I tell you, I wish sometimes that I wasn’t born that talented, you see? If I can give you my experience, I would be very happy. Right now, my own project is in intensive care. 136 People say Dominican people are lazy. They are NOT. 1 say the Dominican people will lose the habit of working in an organized form [i.e., for an employer] because the minimum wage is lOO pesos per week. The cost of living fluctuates so much that people are forced to make their own jobs, cleaning patios, driving taxis at their own rates, etc. A home economist in the Ministry of Agriculture makes 600 pesos per month . . . Mr. , after 30 years of working with the Ministry of Agriculture, earns $l50 U.S. per month (900+ pesos). There is a widespread belief that to make something successful here you have to have a lot of money, which is also false because if it’s supported by the money, that doesn’t mean it’s working. You see projects that are functioning here now are those that have money, but that doesn’t mean they’re working that well just because they have resources. They were lucky to get enough money. Because you see the situation of the woman is highly critical. One of the things that is very, very sad is that they have to move; families are moving from neighborhoods; people are moving a lot in the city. The other thing is, uh, men are leaving the country; and every time a man leaves, a woman is left alone with the family. So the family is in danger. I don’t know . . . the women stay with the children, or the mother takes care of her family and the families of her daughters. The papers don’t say these things, but if you’re working with women like I am, then you know. It’s very critical. So it’s a heavy weight on women. Women are carrying the big load here. I don’t know about anyplace else, but here women are carrying a big load. Anything that can be done for women now is very important. So don’t forget. Don’t think of sophisticated ideas. Don’t put money on investigation. I am very clear about that. We’re talking about problems that we can resolve with a minimum of resources. For instance, we don’t have a shelter for women in any city. And we have free-port-zone development programs. How is it possible that the free-port zone doesn’t have a place for women to stay overnight? Like a YWCA? Something like that? They also don’t have children’s care in the free-port zone. . . . We don’t even have counseling programs for working women. So what I’m talking to you about is that you have to think that you are gonna make programs that assist women to improve the conditions they face now. Or are you going to assist women to redefine themselves? Let me tell you, it is . is something that has to be thought of. 137 _he,Michigen Case Study State Profile Michigan is a state in the north-central region of the United States. It is primarily an industrial state and extends across two peninsulas, the mitten-shaped lower peninsula (where 90% of the population resides) and the irregularly shaped upper peninsula to the north. The state is touched by four of the five Great Lakes (all but Ontario). Automobile manufacturing and agriculture are major industries in Michigan. More than nine million people reside in the state, nearly three-fourths of them in urban areas. Michigan has l2 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas. It has a large population of European immigrants. Michigan’s citizens are ethnically and culturally diverse, especially those living in urban areas. Whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans make up the population groups. A growing number of Asian imigrants is attracted to Michigan, as well (Michigan Partners of the Americas, l986-87). Michigeinertners of thesAmerices Michigan Partners is a private, nonprofit organization composed of members who are committed to fostering closer ties with Belize and the Dominican Republic through agricultural, cultural, and technical exchanges of equipment, people, and knowledge. Michigan is one of the 58 active partnerships in the United States under the National Partners of the Americas program, which links U.S. states with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Partners 138 program uses the skills and expertise of private citizens in both the United States and Latin America, who work together on mutual self-help projects at a grass-roots, people-to-people level. The projects carried out by volunteers in the Partners organization range from sending badly needed cancer equipment or braillers to expanding a quail project to provide protein for the people’s diets. These projects are supported through donations of materials, volunteer consulting, and private and public monetary donations (National Association of the Partners of the Americas, 1987). Description of Respondents The women interviewed for this study were either members of Michigan Partners of the Americas (eight) or had been volunteer resource persons for Partners programs (three). Three of the Partners members presently held or had previously held leadership positions within the program subcommittee structure. Respondents were well-educated and racially balanced. One respondent was Belizean by birth. Respondents were almost evenly divided between urban and rural areas. All but one of these women were married, and all were actively engaged in the labor force or in voluntary activities. Respondents ranged in age from their early 305 to their mid-SOs (see Table 4.4). The Michigan women shared their perspectives ("1 the needs of women in Belize and the Dominican Republic. They felt isolated from the women in the Partner countries by distance, lack of cultural 139 Table 4.4.-—Characteristics of Michigan respondents (n . ll). Number of Respondents Age Renge 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Level pf Edpeetien Primary/elementary only High school Some college Baccalaureate degree Master’s degree Beyond master’s degree AVERAGE YEARS OF SCHOOLING: l5.7 years dag-[d dWNWNO Racial thni om osition Black 3 Hispanic 1 White 7 Marital Status Single 1 Married 10 Divorced 0 Occu ational at 5 Full-time homemaker Self-employed Paraprofessional Professional O‘N-HN Residenee Rural Urban 0101 understanding, pressures on the time they have to devote to Partners’ WID programs, and organizational constraints to program development. They spoke about themselves and their need for 140 personal growth to make them better resources to their southern counterparts. They also shared their perceptions of the opportunities and flaws in past and current practices of development agencies and in the Partners of the Americas organization. The following statements, excerpted from the interviews conducted between June 28 and July 19, l988, indicate how these women perceived various needs. Findings The need for women’s programs. Michigan respondents saw a real need for pmograms specifically oriented toward women in the Partnership countries. They also recognized a need to move beyond gender-specific programs at some point in the development process. However, the respondents generally perceived women’s organizations and programs as necessary for women to develop the attitude and capabilities needed to cope with their personal, family, and community situations. Respondent codes were explained in Table 3.2., Chapter III. MA-8 Yes, I go through stages. In my own personal feeling, on the one hand I think women’s groups are important; but in my own particular interest would be a professional, intellectual stimulation that I come to want an integrated male-female kind of group. I find that with my own job that if I belong to Zonta that is good, but it closes me off from half of the leadership of the community. My view is that women’s groups are certainly important and that I hope sometime we will get beyond that. As far as another country, I think women’s groups are the only answer because the cultures that I have worked with are very masculine; and if a woman and a man were together in a group, I think I would know who would have the problem. I think probably women’s groups are necessary to get women to the point where they could, if 1411-10 MM-G MA-5 141 they chose to, be an integrated group and have equal power. I guess it is extremely important. First of all, women’s groups offer social contact, very important. The groups I’m thinking about are not educated women, the peasants. It gives them contact with others. And depending on the social contact and depending on the function of the group, they get education from it. Groups out there which are involved are most educational. So they get to learn from them, and it does a lot for self-esteem and for personal identity. I see a great deal of hunger for information that would improve their lives. They are very appreciative of information that would help them--either how to eat better, have a healthier lifestyle, or how to earn some money, very practical things. I see that as a way of getting information to them. It also creates awareness between communities that there are groups and these women have some sort of identity and power. I think that is a function of the group, especially in developing countries. They can, depending on how they operate, be an agent of change if they can take something that is already going on and change the focus of it to make it truly developmental. [In the Dominican Republic] 21 think that programs fOr women are even more important there because of the economic situation and because there’s such a lack of skills there, but there are so many areas, anywhere from nutrition to parenting to job training and career awareness . . . many areas. Helping women and children there is very difficult. There is no official structure for helping. . . . I’m sure there’s a lot of spouse abuse, but women have no place to go. How do you get across to people that organization is important? The women that are home, the women who live in rural areas, don’t have anything to do, and there is not anyone to support them from their government. So, yes, I see the possibilities of a lot of things being done. But then you can’t start big either. You can’t go down there and present a great big project because it’s not going to happen. You’ve got to start in a corner, whether it’s in the north or the south. You’ve got to start somewhere. That’s been my aim, to do a little something in every corner so that you can begin building. A lot of our programs take place just in the capital. Yes, but there is a reason and a need at some point to move programs to be less gender-specific, but there are needs unique to the female audience that need to be 142 addressed and need to be addressed in a context where women are comfortable dealing with those things. Some examples: Women need to understand as much about their own development, issues that relate to them, so that they are able to better relate to the world. If they are still floundering and wondering, there is no way to relate to them. I guess I compare that to racial issues or the issues where you’re looking at black female/white female. The question has been raised, ”Why do we separate black female issues from white female issues?" Well, there are some unique things that deal specifically with black females. In the same way, there are some things that relate to being female that need to be dealt with separately and apart from things male. There’s a time when you do move into genderless kinds of discussions of program development. I think there’s a danger that if women’s programs are separated out, they could be easily wiped out. But one other reason for having separate women’s programs dealing with women’s issues is that it helps women from many walks of life to focus on commonalities and hopefully from that comes strength and unity of purpose. So that hopefully when they are trying to defend themselves to "male-dominated society” in terms of access to dollars, women can speak in unity, with a stronger voice. And when they are able to articulate this to the right men or the larger women’s organizations that their position has strength. I think that is important. If you come from too many diverse backgrounds to . . . we’ve got to be able to come to some common ground. Women’s programs clarify some of the goals toward which women may choose to work. It also helps to build leadership in women which is needed to move not only women’s issues forward, but family issues and economic issues. And it helps in the socialization of our men and our children, particularly in developing countries where males are some of the largest barriers to development [of women]. If women had more of a role and more of a leadership role, some of this can be. . . . A long-term goal would be to combat some of this. I have seen some instances in the countries I’ve visited or in visiting with people from other countries, at the AWID conference, where the focus was on women’s issues. Had this coming together not been possible, a lot more might not have been possible. Programs could . . . there’s a term we throw around called "empowering women"; and I guess that takes in a variety of focuses or foci, but it is a process that equips women with some of the tools that they need to move toward their goals--one of them being access to information. One being access to entitlements. I’m MM-Z MA-4 143 looking at, in this country, owning and operating businesses, comparing that to developing countries-- owning land or at least having access to loans to develop the resources that they need to advance. By giving. the programs can open up access doors to women and that, to me, is important. It also provides leadership. 1 think most women’s programs will give some attention to leadership and that leadership term can be very, very broad. And again, going back to this thing with children, it helps to socialize the children a little bit differently, particularly if women are perceived in a more subservient, back-seat role (initially). I think that a well-thought-out woman’s program is going to be a long-range program; and if a program is effective, it will have a dimension of long-term goals and objectives. I think basically they are important, useful, and necessary, but I think we have to be very careful so that we don’t . . . that women’s programs don’t become the traditional women’s programs. Like in many countries we need to look at giving women an equal status as with their male counterparts, and in different parts of the world that varies greatly. And I think that that’s the part that we have to be concerned about to make sure that programs are relevant for the women in that country and that’s . . . sometimes people see women’s programs as only family type things, and I don’t see it that way at all. I see they' need training, help in 'training to become physicians or engineers or whatever it may be that that country needs in order for women to gain some power and be treated as an equal person. So, y’know, just like here; I think there are times when women have been so far behind in some areas we have to help bring them along, help them move into the mainstream. And I think that sometimes people need encouragement like, ”Yes, you can do it." Programs do for women. . . . They are beginning to show that they do have some power and that they can make some changes in their lives and some changes in their countries, too. Whether it’s here in the U.S. or in other countries [programs can do this]. . 0h, definitely. As long as there is sexism, there needs [sic] to be programs for and about women and led by women. Because I believe that whenever women are mixed in with men, their issues are never addressed. Their issues become somehow secondary or are perceived as not as important. So women need to get together and continue to get together and look at their issues. MM-ll 144 I’ve kind of been involved through Integracion Juvenile working with the street children, and we have found that not only do we need to work with the street children, we also need to work with the mothers because the mothers are the stabilizer. Very few of these situations have a father on hand; there is an on-hand male sometimes, but he usually isn’t the father of the children or of all the children--or of any other children in the home. We find that the best thing we could do is to educate the mothers before we can really educate the children. ‘Their goal right now is that we send the children out, y’know, to earn . . . be the breadwinners per se for the family. And then they do things like begging and things like that and stealing, and don’t get educated as far as school or any skills, and we see that there is a big need. Integracion Juvenile educates them mainly in self-esteem, hand crafts. They do have a small gardening project. We took ten sewing machines down in February, and we have started a class with some of the mothers in the barrio, and they are working on learning their own language, learning English, and learning to sew. They work two or three afternoons together a week, y’know, like l0 or l2 together in a little house. They kind of tie in with the field staff, which are mostly social workers that work with the children. Berriers to oartieipetipn. Michigan respondents perceived barriers to participation in development programs as being related to the lack of information on needs, adequate understanding and support of short-term WID goals, insufficient time to develop a program, the nature of technical-assistance assignments, misconcep- tions of the organization’s role in development, and inadequate leadership. MM-G Their own words follow. To be very honest, the problem I perceive is lack of follow-up on both sides. Too much time can pass between deciding on an idea and putting ideas into action. And it is too expensive to try to monitor things. And . . . remember we’re talking about volunteers. . . . I find that if we’re going to develop anything in the Dominican Republic for WID, there has to be a lot of follow-up. I think that anybody that we want to work through or with in the Dominican Republic for WID is going to have to be someone who will help us a great deal. And because people work so hard down there for a living . . . we’re MA-8 145 not going to be able to pick just anyone we want because they may not have the time. They may be working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. hasn’t been made aware of the possibilities of WID--t he things that we can do. And because isn’t aware, there’s no real interest, except, ”Yea h! We’ ll pick a woman or two for this or that. . . .' But that’s not a program. It’s not development. It’s a real hard situation. There are so many people just having to scratch and make a living and work two and three jobs that the days are gone where we can go down there and they wine us and dine us and do everything for us, often going out of their way-~and they pick up the tab. Maybe they never did it fully in the past, but they certainly aren’t in the position to do it now. There’s a tendency for our Dominican counterparts to get burned out. They are also looking for some benefits of this development [assistance], and it has not happened for them as they’d expected. They lose interest and enthusiasm. . . . It’s too much work for what they perceive as benefits to them. . . . Also, never have I gone down there and said, "I’m going to get you a trip to Michigan," yet I’ve heard say, "It would be good to bring so and so up to Michi1gan. If it’s okay with , we’ll invite The trips [between Partnerships Ia are often used to reward people for favors or for hospitalities they’ve extended or because they are a friend or influential contact--they feel they have to get something out of their involvement. Not that they have a real purpose for coming to Michigan, nor will they do anything with the information they get while here. If something concrete cannot be found for people to do, they should not be encouraged to use the resources in that way. I think people should be encouraged to travel if they are going to do something. When Michigan people travel there, often they are wined and dined and treated well; but when they come back, what do they do? They won’t even have visitors to their house. What does that accomplish? We don’t have Michigan people willing to reciprocate on that level. What does that tell you about what’s really going on? It’s not development. Well, there is one problem that concerns me with international development working with groups and Partners and extension and the whole bit, and that is the problem we have working in other countries with stable leadership. For example, the doctor I worked with in the Dominican Republic is gone, and so a lot of what I did went with him. The women that I worked with were sort of a transient group, so they are gone. Another challenge that I see in working in international development is the MA-S ML-3 MC-7 146 whole thing of change of people in both ends and how to have continuity and what is appropriate if you have the constant changes of leadership and people. To me that’s a real challenge because so much of the time is spent developing relationships which you can have with an exchange and what happens when whoever was working in extension is gone or whoever is at the other end is gone? That whole process of comunication is changing all the time--makes it extremely challenging. The one thing I think could discourage me most would be a limited or fragmented amount of time to spend. As I have looked at women’s programs/issues in development from the perspective of my own involvement in organizations like AWID, USAID, etc., it is an enormous amount of work to do. It is, has to be an enormous comitment of time. And not being able to spend the amount of time necessary to do a good job, to me, is frustrating. I would like to be free to spend as much time as necessary in a long-term commitment. Two weeks is not enough; four' weeks-~not enough. A long-term commitment would give me time. So if I really couldn’t spend enough time to really get in and do the kind of job I’d like to do in a concentrated amount of time, I may say no to some things. The other thing that might discourage me is if I could not see an end to some of the barriers we must face. For instance, in some developing countries one of the barriers is that women do not have access to land, credit, decisions--and some of the programs we would like to develop further are thwarted by insensitive men-~ignorance on the part of men. If I didn’t think that those barriers could be overcome, it would be almost like a brick wall. How often would you bat your head up against the brick wall? But a thing that is encouraging is that I’ve seen some good examples --but I can still see the fight, the struggle ahead. Well, I’m really dedicated to women’s programs but sometimes I get real [sic] discouraged by lack of their acceptance--not the women, but more the program administrators and board members who hold things up. I could see why it’s discouraging for other women (MAEH members) who want to participate because they would like to know where they’re going and what they’re going to be teaching and how what they teach will fit in [to a program], and it seems like it’s so hard to get concrete information back and forth ahead of time. Lack of enthusiasm on the part of the people I was working with, and the support that I’d get from Partners. ML-3 MM-ll MM-2 ML-3 MA-8 147 What I guess we weren’t prepared for was--which is typical in extension homemakers--the programs that the people in charge thought were needed were not necessarily the programs that the women in the villages wanted. But, um, we kind of . . . well, we didn’t have any background really for' workshops. We had some ideas that they thought would be beneficial, but we kind of had to wing it part of the time. Of course, the home economist had been [there] prior to our visit, so they had some ideas of what was needed. We did some things in leadership--they really liked the hands-on types of things--the rag rugs. They liked using their hands and having something useful to take home, something they could take pride in. . thought. at one time that they needed things on food storage, but that really wasn’t something that we--we weren’t familiar enough with their homes and their types of things that we could . . . we quickly dropped that. Lack of organization . . . that’s the main thing. When I get into an organization, I usually last a long time. I’m not a floater. There are usually weak and strong times within any group that you’re in. It just depends on the participation you have; if you’re enthused, you usually can get other people enthused and you can have a good group. But sometimes you get someone in there who is a procrastinator or a complainer. . . . I think if you can get past that hurdle--those kinds of people usually don’t last too long. But I think that’s as discouraging as anything to any groups you get in are the ones who want to run it and have all the control over it and, um . I like to work as a team. One thing would be if I see that I’m not really helping or that programs aren’t really helping. I like to see the broad base all the way through. I wouldn’t be interested in working in one little area, one narrow area . unless we can say that that is what we’re emphasizing "right now.” To me, my observation-- especially in Belize--is that many things needed to be done, not just one thing. I really wish that we could get different women’s groups in Belize involved. I love the village women’s groups, but Belize is so diversified that I think it would be good to get a lot of different women’s groups involved. The one thing I found out is that time is important. If I were asked to participate in women’s programs on a short-term basis, I would question the value of that because I found women’s groups, especially in third-world MM-lO MA-S MM-ll MA-l 148 countries . . . you have to have time with individual women. You have to get to know women and their families, know who’s related to who, be on a personal basis with them, kind of a friendship thing. Otherwise, you’re perceived as this kind of know-it-all, college type who comes down and tells them what to do, and they just turn you off. I find that I am most effective if I’m given time to develop a relationship with people, so they can know who I am. Because if we don’t know each other, that would be a barrier to getting things done, to learning what to do. Time, a short period of time can be a barrier. . . . . . . About the only thing is lack of time to devote to this international program. I’m putting in lO- to ll- hour days now and working on my doctorate. Right now, I just don’t have the time. . . . I’m not sure that I have encountered any difficulties. But from a personal perception, I think that the availability of some relevant programs is a problem. Problems participating? Most of it is the financial stress. There is little money to pay for goods, but we found that even if they pay a peso, then they have more pride in it--then it’s theirs. We try not to make it a hand-out type thing, and that’s the way they want it, too. They all participate. It’s just that you have to keep it organized and keep somebody in there to keep it moving. They’re not too much self-motivated. It’s not because they can’t be; it’s just because they haven’t been taught how to be, or don’t know how to be. I hear a lot of discouraging things from other members. The fact that Belize is in Central America-~to them, that is a hot place; politically, they think we shouldn’t go there, we may get shot at or kidnapped. I guess I can understand the fear, but then they don’t, if they haven’t been there. To me, it is a lot like going to Mexico. You could go back and forth to Mexico all the time. You have to watch out for your own safety, but I don’t think it is as bad as they think it is going to be. I met someone there who was a Peace Corps worker, and I told them [sic] how in one village no one came to the meeting. He said, ”Well, we Americans come down here, and we think we know so much; and we say, ’Here we are; come and learn; see what I have brought for you.’ They are not impressed sometimes.” So you might sometimes wonder, ”Why am I doing this? Do they really want me here? Do they really need what I am bringing to t em?" 149 ML-3 We seem to have done a lot of tourist-type things when we’ve had visitors up from Belize, but I think they could share more. For example, took her visitors to ll schools where they talked about their country and the cultures there. We need to think more about how Belizeans can help us in Michigan. They need to be expected to do something. We shouldn’t just think of them as tourists. MA-l I see a need that when they come here, if they are not a professional, if they are a volunteer, it seems like we are just not giving them a chance to teach us things.‘ We take them shopping, go out to dinner, have a potluck; and we haven’t taken advantage of what they could share with us. That’s an error in planning and in informing the hostess what she might do. MA-5 In all three partnerships we need support for women’s programs in the administration of Partners, in the government, etc. I mean, real support--not just paper support. . . . I see a need for more of structure to what it is that we can offer from this side. I have not been terribly impressed with the structure and the attitudes of some of the people who have the ability to influence the outcomes of our cross-cultural and international programs. It is NOT a vacation to go to Belize; it is not a token exchange. That it is [can be] a substantive effort on both parts, and it can be strengthened . . this is the kind of thing that I rely on, feel hope for-- a higher level of participation from the U. S. [Michigan] to Belize. And that there would be some focused effort to strengthen the connection with the Belizean side so that there is truly a partnership for learning and development. Education nd trainin ne . Michigan respondents perceived their own education and training needs to include knowledge and expertise in how to implement and maintain programming internationally, leadership and group-process skills, cultural awareness, the preparation of volunteers for assignments, language development, and the process of transferring and adapting information and technology. MA-S MM-6 MM-ll MM-lO MM-8 150 Good question. [pause] Something new, something that would help me personally? or professionally? In my mind right now, I’m thinking that a skill or an ability that would enhance my effectiveness is . . . I would want to learn languages. My visits out of the country also created a need on my part to sharpen and deepen my skills. I think one of the rudest awakenings that I had going into the program was that our role was supposedly to go over and help those poor unfortunate people; but getting over there I saw a very strong, creative--maybe latent creative--personality in the international woman. There was a heck of a lot that we could learn from them, that I learned from them. So that, I think, in looking at how I could pursue working in development-oriented programs, I had to go in with two thoughts in my nfind. That, yes, I would do my best to be effective and that I would have an open mind to learn from them in as many ways as I could and expect that I would learn from them. How to implement and maintain programming. I’m not necessarily saying my leadership, but how to work internationally to implement programming, make it effective. How do you do that without having to go down there all the time? It’s hard. I would like to know the secrets, some strategies about working cross-culturally and internationally. . . . How other countries make projects effective. 93 is that asking for something that really doesn’t exist, that I find in Partners very often? Are these projects that say that they are doing something for people--are they real projects or are they embellish- ments? Can they make these claims, realistically? I think the leadership aspect . . . how do you get other people involved? . . . Leadership skills-~how to work with other people. We need training--how to conduct a meeting, how do you organize a meeting? The ones I’ve taken part in have been very useful to me. I’m interested in a number of areas. I think I would like to learn more on the culture. We were down there, and we were involved with the bi-national center and, of course, the parents and students involved there tend to be from the upper- and middle-income families, so you don’t have the total perspective of the culture. And I would like to learn more about the family structure, the parenting skills--those types of aspects. I don’t know if it is appropriate for Partners, but I feel that Partners’ members and other people or agencies that want to work in foreign countries need language skills. So I’d like to learn languages, because no 151 matter how competent you are as a professional, you’re extremely limited if you don’t speak the language. I’m also interested in learning about the transfer and adaptation of information and technology . . . the process . . . how countries take in and use information. erson l- v men n . Two Michigan respondents identi- fied their own personal-development needs, which, if fulfilled, would enhance their competencies as development practitioners. MM-G MA-S I would like to start a project in a rural area and stay there and work--like the Peace Corps, heh? And build a center, help people with gardening, social work, etc., and see what I could do with people over a period of time. They need water. I would like to have the money to go in there and do whatever kinds of projects are needed. I just want to see them--rather than being on their knees, stand on their feet and be able to do for themselves, without having to finagle every single day . and for me, it’s being down there, getting to know the people, having them come to me with their problems and being able to help them solve the problems--whether it’s water or the plastic tubing to bring water to them or a transformer, a pump . . . water for this general area, this community. I would like to be a part of a project all the way through, start to finish. . . . See, I could take time out of my life to do something like that if I had the liberty to, say . . . the means . . . say, $l0,000 and. . . . We sear; projects down there all the time, but they' don’t succeed because there isn’t anybody around who’s trained to help the people to follow through with projects, their problems . . . and then somebody else comes along and they begin again with something new or they take from the people and the money goes and no one knows where it goes . . . it’s graft. I would like to spend an extended amount of time on a development issue or program. As it stands now, I have the opportunity, but it is short term, and it’s integrated with a lot of other things where I really can’t see as much of an impact, or I really can’t target as much of my efforts there. I would like to . . . either take a leave or take an assignment where I’d have six months to a year or two years in an area. I would like to personally be involved in following through with a project. Right now, my interest is in leadership and parent education or community development. Those issues. I would also be interested in writing grants that would further somebody else’s interests. h sio 152 i l t n e e d f women i l' e and the Dominieen Republie. The following are coments related to Michigan respondents’ perceptions of the basic human needs of women they' had worked *with and observed in Belize and the Dominican Republic. SAB MA-8 MC-2 MM-6 SAB MA-8 MM-6 What do you think is the greatest need in [the Dominican Republic or Belize]? I would say [I was there twice] my overall feeling is that there is a need for political stability. That is a very big concern of mine because the economy is in such terrible shape and a lot of it has to do with balance of trade and the whole bit, relationship with the U.S. So I would say the whole political/economic situation to me is a backdrop that everything else is based on. And I saw that kind of instability kind of filtering down through the whole system. I really think if something isn’t changed, that country is going to be facing serious problems of political and economic instability. Economic stability--the economy, everyone was concerned about that. And the education of their children. Greatest need—-I want to say nutrition, access to nutritious food. I could say that they need independence or to be liberated, but that is not true. The society is so different . . . able to take on a project, have the money to do it, the . . . I don’t know if I can identify ak greatest need . . . I don’t know--organizational s i ls. In your opinion, what are the women in [the Dominican Republic or Belize] most concerned about? That depends which women you are talking to. I will clarify your . . the people that I worked with at and these are peasant women . . . what concerns them— most are day- -to- -day survival, getting by without having food. . . I say family would be their concern, the well- -being of their family, the nutrition . . . or if you had water to drink, school, kids healthy; if there was money enough to buy rice, just day-to-day family survival. Exactly what we’re concerned about--how am I gonna feed my kids today? They worry everyday, "Where am I getting MM-ll MA-5 MA-l 153 my food today? How am I going to pay for it?” and it’s increasingly becoming a worry. Money to live on. Cost of living . . . even professional people worry about paying the rent. Price of beans has gone up to fifty cents a shot. . . . Yes, we have people here who are poor like that, but here . . . at least they have social service agencies to help. They don’t have anything like that in the Dominican Republic. Everything you do down there, you scrape to do it. I think that’s why there is so much graft. I think just plain survival right now. Birth control is not a part of their religion and culture, though that would probably help them out a lot. The devaluation of the dollar is so drastic, they are just grasping for today. I don’t think they can think much past today--key goal is eating. Again, I have to preface this remark with the statement that I’ve had limited exposure [to Belize], though I’ve had some experience with hosting . . . though it appears that the women are very concerned about their kids, the future of their kids. It appears that they are concerned that so many of the young people are leaving Belize, and because of limited opportunities to apply their talents and abilities to developing their country . . . because without the ,youth and their input, their creativity, their enthusiasm and energy--it does stifle the growth of a country. It appears that now they are concerned about drugs--as a threat to society. They are concerned about the quality of family life with respect to male-female relationships and the stability of home life as a result of some of the problems being encountered. I think we might be looking at two different levels--the everyday homemaker and the women who are in leadership roles. Homemakers’ concerns--I think that concerns the leaders is that there is a certain amount of apathy in trying to address some of the problems. I think they are concerned that there is not the supportive . . .. support for some of their leadership efforts so that they can continue to grow and expand, to make a difference and to have the resources necessary to dent the problems. . . . I think another concern is the influence of the developed nations, particularly the U.S. . . . its negative impacts. Those are the things I can think of right off- hand; with a little more thought, I could probably think of other things. One thing I didn’t mention--the women are more and more wanting to be able to supplement the income of their families. We’ve been encouraging them to use their own MM-9 MM-ll ML—3 MA-4 MM-2 MM-9 154 natural resources. It seems that maybe the' men are looking at that--the ones in charge--and thinking, "The women are getting too independent." I don’t know if that’s a part of it, but there is a need for it because, when I’ve been there and wanted to take something home for gifts, there hasn’t been anything. I think that would be great for the country if they could follow through on creating Belizean artifacts. . . . Greatest need is to feel equality with men in the sense that they are contributing as much as a man. Need to be able to be more independent of men . . . so they can realize what they are capable of doing themselves. Men dominate . . . women need to realize that they are not secondary people, that they have needs and talents that they can develop, too. I think first off they need to have self—respect. I think they feel at the bottom of the pole, and they don’t really feel good about themselves. It’s a self-esteem issue. I think they’re concerned about the same things that we are--their families, income, education. Economic wealth--enough to take care of one’s family adequately. And also it’s important to make opportunities in the country open to all people. And not have it divided between the sexes or between the races. Because . . . who knows? Every time you open up the opportunities, you open up the possibilities that their economic livelihood will improve. They need dollars. They also need some power. There are lots of women with several children, and the male just goes off to another woman, and this goes on and on, and the women are left with the full responsibility. I felt really [bad] for the children. What kind of future? . . . This may be a male problem as much as a female problem. Forty' percent of households are headed by women. . . . Also, there are so many young people in the country, and they are LEFT there. Women have tried to work and hold it all together, and they’re elderly and their health is not that well. They’re trying to take care of the kids. I think it’s hard to identify the one greatest need, because I see dollars, power, knowing how to get the resources, and again education and training or s i s. Job-training skills [how to write a resume, how to interview, etc.], appreciation skills [good books, good 155 movies, etc.], political-awareness skills, exercise [physical fitness, a physical outlet], diet and nutrition, health. [Lots of women have hypertension and don’t take care of themselves properly. For instance, when they feel good, they don’t take their medicine; this is not the proper way to care for high blood pressure.] MA-4 I think they’re concerned about their families, trying to have intact families and have some peace in their homes. I think the women are also concerned about economics, and I think that they would like to not have their families so scattered. It seems that so many of the people that I met with had relatives in the U.S. I think they are concerned about having the types of economic opportunities for their families right in the country. I was concerned about women knowing about their bodies and how they function and about choices like birth control--I know that’s a hot topic down there as well as sexually transmitted diseases and just having a sense of their bodies . . . how to take care of their bodies--that was something I think they feel a need for. I don’t know what kind of program they could have to make this happen, but I would like to see something like that. MM-9 Still mostly concerned with their homes and their families. In making sure that kids are loved, receive a good education [this is very important] and that they are able to provide comforts at home. ML-3 Self-esteem and self-worth. . . . A lot of them do have that, but . . . um, of course, their economy is . . they have a lot of financial problems, um . . . and yet there is recognition of women in Belize; it is not a totally male-dominant [society]. There are several instances, too, where told the women that Belize people have it up here [pointed to her head] and they don’t need any help from you [Americans]. After the workshop, he thanked the women for coming and said how great it was and he concluded with . . . ”Now go home and be good wives and mothers.‘I [laughter] Y’know, I mean . I laugh every time I think of that. He didn’t have expanded opportunities for women in mind. Program-development needs. Michigan respondents were asked, "If you could design a program for women, what sorts of things would you include?’ What kinds of subject-matter topics, skills, or 156 experiences?" Not every respondent answered the question, but those who did had the following to say. MA-5 MA-4 MM-ll I guess . . . can I focus my responses on outcomes? [Response: Sure!] One would be that women would have the sense that they are important contributors to their society: enhanced self-esteem, leadership skills . some need to address issues of women for a common understanding of what these issues are, why they are relevant, and why we need to deal with them, so that there is some base, some background. I would think that there would be some educational effort designed and carried out by the women targeted toward the men of the society or that there would be men integrated in the learning with women. And that the effort could be continued over time. . . . I tend not to favor short-term or one-shot types of activities. And then, I guess, finally, I would like to include exploration of avenues that would ensure that women’s programs could continue if necessary . . . some way of generating resources over time that would sustain the effort. What gee be done to elicit more support from men relating to the development of women? That question, I think, is crucial because the men need to share in the whole development picture. They have access to resources; they have systems that they use effectively that can translate very well into issues, problems, concerns, and programs focused toward women. . . . So we’ve got to be able to draw the men in. What are some of the ways we can do this? I think this question deserves a lot of thought. How can men contribute to the development of women? We don’t need adversarial fronts. I’m not sure, but I’ll throw out some ideas . . . [prac- tical opportunities to develop] self-esteem, self-defense . an Opportunity to do some brainstorming and to lead some sessions themselves [leadership, group-process skills], teaching skills. . . . Deal with issues of an economic nature, learn about money--how best to invest it for themselves and their families. Those are real [sic] important, but there are other things like feeling comfortable giving public presentations . . . also, looking at issues such as what it means to be victimized and how to deal effectively with victimization. . . Let them tell us what their needs are. Y’know, I don’t know what kind of program I could sit down and map out for ’em. I think you’d kind of have to live there and be one of them and really feel how they feel and 157 really get to that desperate point before you can really know what it’s like to be in that position. That’s a hard one to answer because my idea and your idea--and being from here--is much different than there. And I think this is where so many times we make mistakes in program planning. Y’know we do it the Michigan way or the Lansing way--our way, and it just doesn’t fit their needs. And I don’t know if even living near, you can come to feel what they feel--each area is so different. They are just in such a dire poverty . . . something’s got to work around that. MM-6 Leadership training . .. . I don’t know the culture well enough to say definitely. Perceptions of eevelopment planners. One of the major subjects of discussion centered on the kind of advice the Michigan respondents would offer to development planners and practitioners relative to program development. Most of the respondents made statements pertaining to the approach or posture that development planners should assume. A few of the respondents--those with very limited expertise in programming--had vague notions about how practitioners might approach programming. Their comments covered a range of themes from participation and needs assessment to a genuine commitment to human development. SAB What advice would you offer to people who want to develop programs that address women’s needs, based upon your experience over the years? How can development planners help women to help themselves? MA-8 Well, if you are talking about a foreigner going into another culture, I would say that the first thing that they have to do is know what they are doing and have some experience. Take the time to get to know who it is they are working with personally because in this society personal contact is key. The people have time to make relationships with their neighbors; they don’t have anything else to do. Personal contact is important; and if we want to be effective, we have to have the time to get to know the people, their culture, know them personally before we plow in there with programs. I MM-ll MM-2 MM-lO 158 would just say get to know who these people are first and find out what they want. It may not be what you want at all, but it might be what they need at that time. Realizing that the women, although they may be extremely poor or extremely intelligent, they are not simple and have dealt successfully so far with what they are doing, and they have got a lot of information to share and, I guess, show a lot of respect for them so that whatever develops, they have a part in it. I think first of all you need to talk with the women you’re gonna try to organize something for. They have to have input . . . tell you what they would like. They have to be part of the planning of it and really, maybe, the organizers of it. Or maybe you could steer them [facilitate, be a catalyst] into the different processes and let them feel it’s really their program and that they’re doing it with some techniques that you know which can help them. You really can’t go in and do it for them; you can’t go in and have ideas and have those ideas be strictly YOUR ideas or American ideas because the minute you’re gone, it’ll be gone; they’re done with it. [pause] And this is why I see so many programs failing in these countries because . . . AMERICA in our minds is God, and we have all the answers, and we go in and just kind of shove the answers down their throats; and that’s something that they fight and they just don’t deal with it. Planners need to know--to talk with a variety of women in Belize. I think that is necessary to get a good representation of the feelings of the women . . . from different organizations, working through committees there rather than a group of people going. . . . I’d try to find out what THEY need, and I’d be the legs for them. I think there needs [sic] to be some sessions set up where meetings or going into homes or having group sessions to determine where the needs are. Often people aren’t aware that they have a need. Their daily routine has been such that they don’t know what’s available. I think there needs [sic] to be some kind of awareness sessions and open and frank discussions. I wish we’d had more time to do that when we were down there because I know that from the staff, there seems to be a frustration for the staff at the binational center--at the way the hierarchy was set up, and they had little involvement in decision making. Their curriculum was mandated; they had no input in that. Most of the things I saw had to do with education and some problems there. MA-4 MM-6 MC-7 MM-9 ML-3 MA-5 159 The important thing would be to understand that women everywhere have a need for self-determination. Women have intelligence, and you can’t just sit down and create a program. You offer your assistance in creating programs, but the women there know what they need and how they can best get it done. And what planners can provide is some technical assistance from past experience, but not the idea or the "way to do it.” That’s real [sic] important. I think you also have to be real [sic] in tune with the cultural differences. For example, it was real [sic] apparent to us when we were down there that the women in that country don’t have as much power as women do here. You have to be real [sic] sensitive to that because the expectation is for the women to be like we are. Know what they need . . . don’t go down there thinking that your really good idea is going to help them. Don’t go and give them a program that m think is good and will be successful. Give them what they need, because if you don’t, it won’t work. You have to involve the people in the design of programs in order to make them relevant, help them solve their problems. You have to give people what they need to make them successful, and then you have to follow up with supports. Educate women as to how they can help themselves. Start small; help women to organize. They need fellowship. Lots of programs here in Michigan that would be good must be tailored for Belize. Visit and talk with Belizeans. Plan together . . . people must have input regarding the suitability of programs to themselves and to their circumstances. KNOW what programs exist already in what [geographic] areas, what have been the successes and problems that people run into before starting up new programs. We need to know the power structure and . . . uh, well . . sources of funding because all these things take money, and Partners is limited in what they fund and the amount of money that they have for funding, so I’m sure that knowledge about grants and those types of things . . . identifying people who will give of their time and talent to help us. First of all, the motivation to be involved in women’s needs can come from many different directions, but one main ingredient that I see is that of being genuine in your interest to assist or relate and work with women. 160 One has to be very comfortable with one’s own identity-- whether a male or female. One should be resourceful-- able to seek out and tap resources from wherever they might come from and to be able to integrate that into an effort. Being able to really amass resources and use them is very, very important. Having access to dollars is very important. Being able to understand the difference between a program and an activity is something very important . . . um, it’s a good thing this is not being videotaped [laughs]. If it is to make a difference, a program has to be well thought out and well planned and able to go from point a-b-c in some form so that it makes a difference and you can evaluate efforts. If you compare some of the interventions for urban [extension] programs for clientele, people become D-A-R-N tired of this group, that organization, this church, that program, this whatever coming in, supposedly to help. By being resourceful and networking with other agencies then, the people who are developing programs need to be aware of what else is plaguing people’s lives and be able to work with those kinds of things. To integrate them so that there is not a lot of agency bombardment and overkill and then--short-lived activities passing for programs. People get tired of that, and then they turn off even the good stuff, so one has to be sensitive to what people are experiencing and try to make a difference with the time and the resources that they have. That kind of sensitivity is, again, a very crucial element. It’s a real sensitivity kind of situation. I mean "do-gooders" can kill a good effort because they tend to turn off people and turn them off to the good things that may come along. I think in developing countries or in urban areas [re: urban extension programs in Michigan], one really has to be aware of that feeling and that potential danger to program development. Planners need to know about the audience. One of the things I feel is crucial is that an orientation or training session is necessary. In that they should try to learn as much about the audience or the area, the geographics, the systems that are at work in the country so that what they bring in to the picture are integrated things. These aren’t always new things to be brought in but could be an enhancement. And planners have to be able to know the difference--what is a new thing or what is an enhancement. So that if you know something about the audience and the situation, you can come in and start at a certain point and maybe hit--if you come in assuming some things that may not be true, you are really at ground zero for success. Does that make sense? 161 Even if you have to deal with a short-term assignment, then the selection of the personnel becomes crucial. That person would need to very quickly assess and begin to move . . . must really be able to relate to people where they are. You can’t go in assuming that you’re the hero or the angel of mercy and will be doing such good things. You have to realize that people existed many years before you got there, and somehow they have used skills, developed abilities to get them to this point. You then need to find out how you can work with them . . . must be able to work WITH people to help people meet their own needs. mmar To summarize, the findings were presented in two ways. First, descriptive information of a general nature was presented on respondents at all three field sites. These findings were related to each research question. Second, case studies provided further descriptive information related to respondents’ perceptions. Detailed narrative quotations of the respondents were preceded by a brief analysis of the findings by case. The detailed quotations were offered as supportive evidence of the findings and also afforded the reader insights into the context within which statements were made. Each case was preceded by a country or state profile, followed by a description of the respondents and, finally, the findings. Recurring themes among the findings at all sites were the need for income and employment opportunities, ways and means of addressing desires for personal growth and self-actualization, and a yearning for change-~change of a positive nature. The women reported that they were eager for action and were willing to make sacrifices to make their dreams a reality. 162 Dominican respondents most frequently identified basic human needs for food, shelter, clothing, health, sanitation, safety, security, and freedom from anxiety and chaos. In Belize, respondents expressed a need for self-esteem and self-actualization opportunities. Michigan respondents perceived themselves to need additional skills in program development cross-culturally and in the management of international programs. Michigan respondents also perceived the needs of women in Belize and the Dominican Republic to be similar to the basic human needs identified by the Belizean and Dominican respondents. Respondents from all three sites perceived a need to fulfill the basic human needs discussed by Maslow (l970). The relative gaps in basic human needs and satisfiers of those needs became evident in the country profiles and in the analyses of the data by site. Beyond the basic needs, other needs were identified. These needs can be classified as instrumental (resources that can serve as a means to an end), experiential, and material. All respondents perceived women’s organizations and programs to be vital to women’s growth and development. Likewise, respondents tended to agree that current levels and foci of programs are inadequate to meet the needs. No meaningful differences were found among the population subgroups. However, respondents with leadership responsibilities were better able to articulate the needs of women and related issues than were respondents in the other categories. 163 In each case study, a distinction was made between the data analysis and the presentation of data. There was considerable agreement among respondents from each site about the needs, in general. Except in the case of Belize, respondents offered few specific, concrete ideas about how to address the needs through programs. However, all respondents agreed that they needed more appropriate skills, knowledge, resources, and processes to effect needed changes. CHAPTER V SUMMARY, MAJOR FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53mm Women in Development programs offered through Partners of the Americas in Belize and Michigan lack direction and organization. The program-development process has not been guided by needs-based data. Michigan WID subcommittee members and women members of Partners in the Dominican Republic are interested in initiating WID activities and establishing networks with other development agencies in the Dominican Republic. The needs of women involved in development programs in Michigan’s Partnership countries have not been understood. To rectify this situation and to direct future program-development efforts toward activities regarded as important to women, their needs must be made known. Hence, a needs assessment was required. The researcher’s purpose in this study was to identify the perceived needs of women involved in development programs in Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan. The results of the assessment would be beneficial to the development of programs for women through Partners of the Americas, a private voluntary organization. 164 165 This study was designed in response to requests from Partners’ general membership and WID subcommittee members for information to guide program-development decisions. The study was exploratory in nature and was designed to solicit views. Participants were a purposively selected group of 33 women who were leaders, members, and clients of, or otherwise affiliated with, Partners of the Americas. Data were collected at three field sites: Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan. Each respondent was interviewed and questioned about her perceptions of the needs of women. Mejor Findipgs Six research questions were posed to guide the research process. In the following pages, each question is restated, followed by the findings for that question. Research Question l: What are the selected personal and situa- tional characteristics of members of the four population groups? Respondents were typically well-educated women between the ages of 25 and 55. Most were in their mid-30$ and early 405. They were primarily trained professionals or paraprofessionals; five were homemakers. All were active volunteers in their conlnunities and held a variety of leadership roles and responsibilities in community organizations. Researeh Question 2: What are the perceived needs of the four population groups regarding women in development? Respondents perceived needs for employment and income, as well as opportunities for personal development, education, and training for themselves and for the benefit of their families and society. 166 They also perceived needs for self-determination, food, water, health and sanitation facilities, improved housing, transportation, energy resources, organization, and greater networking opportunities among women in organizations. es arc u i : What types of needs do the four popula- tion groups perceive? Respondents identified needs of the type Maslow (l970) termed basic. human needs: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Expressive needs for creativity, aesthetics, and cultural development were also identified. Instrumental needs (e.g., to develop income-generating skills and employment) were paramount. In addition, respondents generally perceived a need for skills in the following areas: organization, group process, business management, finances, consciousness raising, advocacy, leadership development, teaching, networking, assertive- ness, and parenting education. Research Question 4: What are the perceptions of the four population groups relative to current WID programs and activities? Although they were generally positive about the need for WID programs, respondents were dissatisfied with current programs. They thought that programs were too few, too narrowly focused, sporadic in occurrence, and lacking holistic design and sustainability. From this finding, one can conclude that there is a need to expand the subject-matter content, technical skills, and technologies beyond the traditional home economics curriculum. To do this, volunteers in the WID programs must represent a greater variety of disciplines. 167 In Belize, the Partners organization had a negative image. The Dominican Partners organization had no image among the women interviewed for this study. In Michigan, Partners of the Americas was perceived as having a good image but one that could be improved. Beseareh Question 5: Are there differences in the perceptions of need among the four population groups? The researcher was unable to discern any meaningful differences among the population groups. Respondents generally perceived the same needs. Perhaps this was because few individuals in the actual population belonged to the member and client categories. Respondents were overwhelmingly leaders and members of other women’s organizations. Research Question 6: What are the perceived problems/barriers to participation in development programs for women? Lack of information and awareness of Partners’ programs, lack of access to programs, and a lack of relevant programs were perceived as barriers to participation. Other problems or barriers included a chronic lack of human, financial, and material resources; internal conflict; lack. of time to attend classes; child care; language capability; failure to understand the cultures of the people and the~ context in which programs are developed; family obligations; disapproving cu“ unsupportive spouses; and organizational constraints such as lack of understanding and appreciation of WID goals and objectives. 168 Conclusions In conclusion, the findings in this study indicate a high level of agreement among respondents about the perceived needs of women involved in development programs. Also, the findings suggest that planning for WID programs might be improved by data derived from participants’ input. Self-assessments of the needs by participants might enhance programming decisions. Further, changes in policies and procedures are needed in order to overcome organizational constraints that restrict women’s access to opportunities in Partners. Orientation and training for volunteer leadership, directors, and staff should be seriously considered. Information on the subjects of general development goals and the goals of WID should be thoroughly incorporated into such training. New people with new ideas should be sought to work with Partners. New methodologies should be highly participatory. New contacts should be cultivated and maintained with WID leaders in Partnership countries in order to develop wider and more effective networks. Changes are needed to overcome organizational, structural, and cultural constraints that restrict women’s access to development opportunities. Changes in volunteer leadership, staff, policies, operating procedures, orientation, and training programs should be considered. Partners needs to improve its program-development process for WID. Constricting resources, growing frustrations, and program failures make it clear that past practices cannot continue 169 and be productive. Changes in the program-development process should be put into effect as soon as possible now that empirical data supporting this are available. Comments about problems of and barriers to participation led the researcher to conclude that relevant WID programs must be made available to women in Partnership countries. Additional sources of human, financial, and material resources to assist WID programs and networking capability must be found. Methods of reducing and resolving conflict within the organization must be discovered. The nature of WID programs must be broadened beyond the current emphasis on home economics and handicraft production, as indicated by the findings. Program content must be organized around information, process and technical skills, and opportunities to apply learning. One final conclusion can be drawn from the study. That is, to be effective in Partners and in other development organizations, policy makers, staff, and volunteers must continually check their assumptions about development activities and their motives for par- ticipation against the realities facing their counterparts and their resources. It is critical to effective functioning of the organiza- tion that Partners know what they are doing and why, and that they know how their efforts advance or retard the situation of women. Implicetions The interviewees were those who were in positions to effect change in organizations and programs. Hence, women with leadership 170 roles are perhaps the groups to which Partners’ efforts should be directed. Many of the needs these women identified were not the types of needs that can be addressed through programs of Partners of the Americas. However, much of the information can be used to guide program planning and volunteer orientation and training. Women in developing countries might perceive informal needs-assessment procedures more positively than formal procedures conducted by external agents, and these informal procedures might be best conducted by indigenous leaders. Perceptions of need do not imply a demand for service. The respondents shared their views and their hopes, but they also inquired about the nature of assistance that Partners could provide and what the possibilities were. The implication is that Partners’ volunteers and programs will be expected to produce tangible results and that the Partners’ WID volunteers need to expand their networking capabilities and professional and technical resources. Change agents or volunteers in technical assistance should be well-oriented to the country, the culture, and the situation of women before they can expect to assist in program design. 'RJ be accepted, they must have intimate contacts in the target community, and they must be willing to learn about past experiences and current resources in the community. Also, they must have access to resources that will make a difference. 171 W Based on the research process and the study findings, the researcher offers the following recommendations: l. Partners of the Americas in Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Michigan should work with other organizations with similar concerns regarding developing the resources of women, especially those organizations with solid leadership. 2. Program developers should give high priority to self-help programs of training and education that have a potential for affecting more people than those receiving the training (e.g., train-the-trainer activities, group-process skills, and so on). 3. Partners’ volunteers in technical assistance should be given an orientation to the country’s culture, socioeconomic conditions, and so on, as well as training that differentiates between programs that are "development" rather than "welfare" oriented. 4. Future research should focus on women’s information or for- mal networks and how they contribute to upgrading the status and roles of women in community structures. 5. A longitudinal study should be undertaken on the effect of development programs on a selected group of women. 6. Partners should consider using participatory methods of program planning, evaluation, and research that cultivate the talents and capabilities of women in developing countries and of technical assistants from developed countries. 172 7. The leaders of Partners of the Americas should recognize and support WID programs and activities, and the concept of enhancing life options for women should be incorporated into the programs of other subcommittees. 8. Methods should be developed to monitor and assess needs on a continuous basis, and such methods should become an integral part of the evaluation and feedback process between and among counterparts in the Partnerships. APPENDICES APPENDIX A INTERVIEW SCHEDULES 10. ll. 12. 173 Interview Sehedule (Original--A) Tell me about yourself. How would you describe yourself? Have you been involved in women’s programs? Why did you decide to participate? Did you encounter any difficulties? What did you expect to get out of it? Did the experience meet your expectations? If yes, how? If no, why not? Were there any particular problems? Do you think programs for women are useful, important (or necessary)? Please explain. What are women’s programs doing for women? What could these programs do for women? What are these programs doing for you? What would you like them to be able to do for you? If given a chance to learn something new, what would you be interested in learning? Explain. Why is that important for you? If given a chance to g9 something different, what would you like to do? Explain. Tell me what could discourage you from participating in women’s programs. In your opinion, what are the women in your community most concerned about? What advice would you offer to people who develop programs for women? How can these people or programs help you to help yourself? How can these programs help other women in (country)? What do you think development workers need to know before they can be of help to you? What do you feel yep need to improve your life a. for yourself? b. for your family? c. for your community? What do you think is the greatest need? If you could design a program for women, what would you include (subject-matter and non-subject-matter ideas, topics, kinds of experiences, etc.)? What are some questions you thought I should have asked that I did not ask? 10. ll. 12. 174 Interviey,SchedulesIRevised: Belize--B) Tell me about yourself. How would you describe yourself? Have you been involved in women’s programs? Why did you decide to participate? Did you encounter any difficulties? What did you expect to get out of it? Did the experience meet your expectations? If yes, how? If no, why not? Were there any particular problems? Do you think programs for women are useful, important (or necessary)? Please explain. What are women’s programs doing for women? What could these programs do for women? What are these programs doing for you? What would you like them to be able to do for you? If given a chance to learn something new, what would you be interested in learning? Explain. Why is that important for you? If given a chance to g9 something different, what would you like to do? Explain. Tell me what could discourage you from participating in women’s programs. In your opinion, what are the women in your community most concerned about? What advice would you offer to people who want to create programs for women? How can these people or programs help you to help yourself? What do you think development workers need to know before they can be of help to you? What do you feel yep need to improve your life a. for yourself? b. for your family? c. for your community? What do you think is the greatest need? If you could design a program for women, what would you include? Are there any questions you thought I should have asked that I did not ask? 10. 11. 175 Interview Sehedule (Revised: Michigep;-Cl Tell me about yourself. How would you describe yourself? Have you been involved in women’s programs? Why did you decide to participate? Did you encounter any difficulties? What did you expect to get out of it? Did the experience meet your expectations? If yes, how? If no, why not? Were there any particular problems? Do you think programs for women are useful, important (or necessary)? Please explain. What are women’s programs doing for women? What could these programs do for women? What are these programs doing for you? What would you like them to be able to do for you? If given a chance to learn something new, what would you be interested in learning? Explain. Why is that important for you? If given a chance to dp something different, what would you like to do? Explain. Tell me what could discourage you from participating in women’s programs. In your opinion, what are the women in Belize/Dominican Republic/Michigan most concerned about? What advice would you offer to people who want to help women develop? How can these people or programs help women to help themselves? What do you think development workers need to know before they can be of help to women in (country)? What do you think is the greatest need of women in (country)? Please explain. If you could design a program for women, what would you include? Are there any questions you thought I should have asked that I did not ask? 176 Int rview S he ule R vi ed: ominican Re ublic--D Tell me about your organization. What is the nature of your programs for women? Who are the clientele? What services do you offer? What kinds of services do you think rural women need? How can Partners of the Americas help? If you could identify the greatest need(s) of Dominican women, what would it (they) be? What methodologies would Dominican women respond to favorably? Are there any questions you would like to ask me? Any comments you’d like to make? APPENDIX 8 CONSENT PROCEDURES AND FORM 177 n n Pro re Just before the interview, the researcher will explain the purpose of the study in the following manner. I am a doctoral candidate in Extension Education at Michigan State University. I am also the current chairperson of the Women in Development Subcommittee, Michigan Partners of the Americas. I am interested in learning what women feel they need to improve their lives. I’d like to get some ideas about what women need and what women think will improve life for themselves and their families. I am collecting this information to help people who develop programs for women to make better decisions. It is important for the people who make decisions to have good information. If it is all right with you, I’d like to tape record our conversation. We will probably talk about a lot of different ideas, and I wouldn’t like to miss any important points. However, taping will not take place except with your permission. If you prefer, I will take hand-written notes. Do I have your permission to tape record this interview? yes no Your participation in this interview is strictly voluntary. You may decline to answer any question or decide not to participate at all without penalty. If at any time you would like to discontinue, please feel free to do so. I assure you that your identity will not be disclosed at any time, either orally or in writing. The tapes will only be used for the purposes of this study and will be destroyed upon completion of this study. Before we begin, do you have any questions? (Answer questions, if any.) Now, I’d like you to read this consent form; and if you agree with all of the statements on it, just sign your name at the bottom. (Give respondent the consent form. After signature, start tape recorder or take written notes as appropriate.) The researcher will explain to respondents and make clear that their participation in this study in no way implies that the researcher or the Partners organization can effectively address all the identified needs. The information gained from the study will be shared with decision makers. However, the researcher cannot assure that the needs identified can/will be equally addressed programmatically. 178 At the conclusion of the interview, the researcher will thank the respondent. The researcher anticipates no risk of injury to respondents. Adult volunteers are the subjects of this investigation. No minors will be interviewed. The consent form does not include exculpatory language. 179 Consent Perm I understand the intent of the interview in which I am now serving as a respondent, and all questions which I have concerning the procedure have been answered to my satisfaction. I realize that I may freely choose to discontinue my participation at any time. I understand that all results will be treated with strict confidence and that my name will not be used in any reports or discussions of this interview. I understand that I will be able to obtain any reports which include reference to the interview in which I am participating. I understand that the tapes of my interview will be destroyed upon completion of the project. I hereby freely give my consent to participate as a respondent in the interview. Signature: Date of Signature: APPENDIX C LISTINGS OF RESPONSES 180 Reasons Cited for Perticipating in Development Programs fpr Women Mieh. Belize Qom. Rep. Interesting, useful programs Interested in people in different parts of the world Encouraged by another person to get involved Thought I had something to teach/share Interested in travel and hosting Long-time interest in international concerns Needed to fill a void in my life Easy to relate to other women Looking for a new growth experience Participation in an international workshop sparked an interest Interest in the geographic region As a result of consciousness- raising activities 4 High personal interest, saw a need, took the initiative 6 4 2 2 —l—J—J—l ._a_.n.p w M and—l To learn income-generating skills For the satisfaction of seeing women develop their potential Initially recruited by a Peace Corps volunteer To make friends, to ”belong" To try something new Because I care 1 d—l—l In response to the question, "Do you think programs for women are useful, important, or necessary, nine Michigan respondents replied affirmatively. Two Michigan respondents and one Belizean respondent had mixed feelings. Mich. Belize Dom. Rep. Summary of Responses: Yes 9 l2 9 No 0 0 0 Mixed feelings 2 l O 181 Some of the reasons most frequently given of 25 separate responses were (similar items have been grouped into themes): Mich. Relize Qom. Rep. Women’s groups are necessary: for women to build self-confidence and self-esteem 5 l5 6 for women to gain knowledge and develop skills to improve their lO 24 9 lives and the lives of their families Makes women less isolated 9 ll Programs have the potential to empower women to make positive changes in their lives Affiliate with others, make friends, establish contacts Foster cross-cultural understanding Creates greater awareness of women’s issues, unity Leadership opportunity Travel Women have special needs Enhances personal identity Agencies of change Because women have been excluded from other development programs l 4 (fl 0" 01 HNNHNN NW “N N05 N03 If you had a chance to learn something new, what would you be interested in learning? The top six responses were: Mich. Belize Qom. Rep. Developing and managing a small business (income generation) Leadership principles and techniques, e.g., how to encourage participa- l tion, recruit other people Conflict-management techniques Food preservation (canning fruit, juice making) How to provide opportunities for youth in district, e.g., documen- tation of culture How to implement and maintain pro- grams cross-culturally and inter- 3 nationally, especially when leadership changes frequently Novena-101 182 If given a chance to d_p something different than what currently occupies your time, what would you like to do? ‘This question was designed to elicit hopes, desires, and aspirations as an indication of personal needs. It elicited the following responses: Mieh. Relize Dom. Rep. Provide opportunities for Southern Partners to provide technical assistance to Michigan people 4 Involve a broader range of women’s groups in Partners exchanges 3 4 Start a long—term project in an area of a Partner country and stay there and work with it over a 3 2 period of time--start to finish Learn how to start and maintain a small business 2 Travel and do research on Garifuna cultural linkages, all other devel- opment programs; learn about advances in cassava production and 3 preparation; document Garifuna culture Improve communication between Partnerships How to manage and host visitors Become a political activist for WID Build on the results of this study Teach parenting skills, nonviolent disciplinary techniques 2 Initiate greater parent involvement in the schools l Study the process of change as a participant-observer; develop l 1 materials for programs/groups Organize a women’s health conference l Travel Teach other rural women new skills Establish a factory; employ 40 women Become a trained community- development worker Quit my job; open a day-care center Use theatrical training in popular education l Take an overseas course in chil- dren’s literature l Learn, perform, and document folk music; share Creole folk traditions l No response/can’t answer l l dddd —J-—l 183 What could discourage your participation in women’s programs? Rieh. Belize Qom. Rep. Fear and misunderstanding of politi- cal unrest in Central America l Uncertainty about what’s needed; if what we’re teaching is needed Inconvenient meeting times and locations Lack of enthusiasm/cooperation/com- mitment of target group l ll Inadequate support from local Partners’ group Lack of organization, unclear purpose Difficult people, conflict, controversy Irrelevant/unimportant programs; purely social programs Inexperience in program development Little/no opportunity for follow-up Partnership sends people who have no interest in building a program; trips abroad used as "rewards" Unnecessary delays; lack of understand- ing of WID goals, objectives, and potential; difficulty communicating between Partnerships People who put up false barriers Insufficient time to spend on a project Barriers to/lack of information and other resources Too many other commitments Lack of adequate funding Poor/limited means of communication Lack of transportation Divisions along lines of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity Competition from television Finding alternatives to group meetings Lack of business experience, lack of training Lack of trust Lack of coordination and networking between women’s organizations Husband thinks I spend too much time away from home l Finding time for job, family, and voluntary activities l Nothing 2 Assumption that the volunteer ethic is the same here as it is in the U.S. 2 OS N-‘N ch-HN d“ _o _a_.l N-a m —a—aw U'INU'INM «#1 awn h w MOO-J 184 In your opinion, what are women in (country) most concerned about? Mieh.* Belize Dem. Rep. Food, something to eat; proper nutri- tion; maternal and infant nutrition Family health, healthy children Being good mothers and homemakers Family and child development Leadership training Communication skills Group-process skills Ability to provide comforts at home Employment; having an income; money, economic independence Quality of family life, family stability The economy/cost of living Education of their children (availa- bility and affordability) Just plain survival Birth control Water and safe water Health; availability of health-care services, medical facilities in the villages; first-aid training; train- 3 5 2 ing for nurses and midwives Rising juvenile delinquency, drug use, crime rate, adolescent pregnancy Self-esteem How to care for their bodies, female health issues Their children’s future Male-female relationships 4 Environmental sanitation Shelter, financing for housing, affordable loans Spouse abuse Getting results from the time and energy spent in training Education and training for themselves, adult basic education, literacy Personal happiness, self-fulfillment No response/can’t say l (AFN—‘01 de U103 13 wwNm 0540 (A, NddwNNN-h w—a—aa NM 0" 01¢ com (I) 01 _a_a —'N «hN —-'NU'| w «hN NIONN w-fi N *Michigan responses indicate Michigan respondents’ opinions of what women in Belize and the Dominican Republic are most concerned about. 185 What advice would you offer to people who want to create programs for women? How can these people or programs help women to help themselves? What do development workers need to know before they can be of help to you? Mien, Belize Bom. Rep. Find out what people want, what the needs are 5 6 2 Maintain open communication with pro- gram participants l l 3 Provide good orientation and support for volunteers and tech. assistants 2 l 4 Find out what’s been done before, pre- vious successes/failures Tailor programs to the local situation; visit and talk with people; allow people to have input, to structure programs to suit their circumstances Plan together Know what programs, etc., exist already; work with existing programs Include self-help and group-process skills, problem solving, leadership Opportunities for fellowship Facilitate, be a catalyst Americans don’t have all the answers Include experiences, activities, oppor- tunities to enhance self-esteem and critical-thinking skills Know the power structure; be able to amass resources, funds, human resources Don’t create programs "for” other people in your head; create "with" people; provide technical assistance to ideas, programs that come from the people Be attuned to cultural differences Have a genuine interest in the clientele Understand the difference between a pro- gram and an activity Be sensitive to what people are feeling/ experiencing Incorporate various methods of needs assessment; avoid bombardment and overkill Carefully select program/project per- sonnel, never be patronizing 2 l Allow opportunities for open and frank discussions l Take time to get to know participants, built relationships/respect 4 ll 4 An understanding of the language, cul- ture, ways of thinking is a must 7 3 0.1 N NSC—‘0'! N N m N 01 ‘1 01 w 0) N -—' N N N N “N w «Uh-D 186 People want results Don’t misrepresent programs; be realis- tic about benefits Make provision for transportation Provide for adequate resources and support, e.g., money for supplies and equipment, how to do marketing More long-term projects, allow suffi- cient time for programs to work 3 3 Build in flexibility, allow adjust- ments/changes in direction l 5 01-5003 What advice would you offer to people who want to create programs for women? How can these people or programs help women to help themselves? What do development workers need to know before they can be of help to you? Mich. Belize Qom. Rep. Provide funding directly to local community leaders Consider the fear of failing Make small successes possible early on, then build on these l Always include education in programs/ projects, employ holistic approach Make available low-cost loans, revolving loan fund Involvement 2 Respect women as having capabilities and potential to do/become many things 6 ll Training re: WID project potential for all Partners, members, and boards of 3 l directors -'N “(JO-h on What kinds of development programs would most assist you (the women you work with)? What would improve your life? Mich. Belize Bom. Rep. Organization skills 1 Additional education/training (self) l Money/economic independence 2 High school education for my children Financing for my business Community-based implementation More youth programs (social, educ.) More scholarships for youth Opening a business for myself Training in group process Assistance in program development, proposal writing, developing plans of work N—J—lNddeg (A) NM ._1 ocean: 187 A training center for small animals, vegetable production, farm management No response Not asked 8 —I What do you think is the greatest need? we Income, income generation, economic independence, micro-enterprises 7 Trained counselors (for adolescents) l To feel equality with men 2 Self-esteem, recognition, improved status 5 Political awareness l Women in the professions l Power/empowerment/self-determination 3 Education/training 2 More structure to WID programs 3 Nutrition 1 Organizational skills l Opportunities to express creativity l Political stability in the country l Housing Opportunities for men to grow along with women Training, conflict management Water l Ask the women Consciousness raising 3 Trust--to trust each other To overcome fear of change, open up society Sanitation Health Voting rights Continuity in social programs Vocational training Food production Ecology/reforestation Marketing skills Small-business administration, micro- enterprises Land (rights to) Materials in Spanish (on leadership, management) Someone to train the trainers Belize ll G300 N00 HWN Qom. Rep. N01 N0) (JON # —'N NU! UWJSOJNNWDJ APPENDIX D CORRESPONDENCE 188 PARTNERS with Belize and Dominican Republic MICHIGAN PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS _ Michigan State University 103-C Center for lntemational Programs East Lansing, MI 48824 February 15, 1988 Ms. Dorla Bowman PO Box 1190 Belize City Belize, Central America Dear Dorla: Hi! It was so good to hear your voice over the phone. I received your letter the next day. The information you requested regarding Learn and Lead, College Week and the International Federation of Home Economics will be forwarded under separate cover. Today, however, I am writing about another matter. As I mentioned to you sometime last year, I am interested in carrying out a study of the perceptions of the needs of women who are interested or involved in programs for women through Partners of the Americas. This study will fulfill two purposes. The primary purpose is to assist the Michigan Partners Women in Development (WID) subcommittee to design programs, policies, projects and establish networks that would benefit both partnerships. The secondary purpose, but of equal importance to me, is to fulfill the requirements for my doctoral dissertation research. As you may know, there is a dearth of literature about the perceptiors of need of women involved in development programs. Such information is greatly needed to inform decision-makers and guide planners in designing programs relevant to the needs of women, as perceived by women. The study I propose will be cross-cultural in nature -— involving respondents from Belize, Michigan and the Dominican Republic. To my knowledge, this will be the first study of its kind conducted on behalf of a non-profit, private voluntary organization. You and I can co-author and publish articles based on the results of this research. I realize that you conducted a needs assessment among your clientele last year. I am hopeful that what I propose to do will not overlap, but rather enhance the work you've already done. Enclosed is a brief proposal which explairs the purpose and intent of this study. I would love to discuss this with you when you visit Michigan in March. I will need your assistance in identifying ten women who would volunteer to be interviewed for 45 minutes to I hour (yourself included). I would like to tape-record the A Member 111' The Natl-mal Aundalilm "I llw Partucn nf Ilw Arm-til .u. 189 interviews. However, I'd like to assure all respondents that their identities will be held in strictest confidence. Their responses to interview questions will not be attributable to any individual in the written report. All respondents will receive capies of reports which include references to the interview in which they are participating. Reports will also be shared with all organizers and leaders of Belize Partners. The best time for me to come to Belize to meet these women and collect the data would be from May through July, 1988, unless there is a better time for you to receive me. Dorla, I certainly would appreciate your support in this endeavor. Please discuss with the appropriate persons and advise me at your earliest convenience whether this will be possible. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincere , @4th "Sharon A. Browne Chairperson, Women in Development Subcommittee Michigan Partners of the Americas SB:Il/Bowman enclosure cc: Bill Skeen Joey Belisle Jim Kielbaso Mary Keenan 190 PARTNERS with Belize and Dominican Republic MICHIGAN PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS Michigan State University . 103-C Center for lnternational Programs East Lansing, MI 48824 March 26, I988 Ing. Agron. Fernando Badia Executive Director, Campaneros C-Respaldo Proyecto N o. 27 El Portal Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Estimado Sr. Badia: Quisiera presentame a usted a través de esta carta. Yo soy Sharon Anderson Browne, Directora del Subcomite para Mujeres en Desarrollo de los companeros de las Americas en Michigan. Tambien soy una estudiante de post-grade y candidata a doctorado en el departamento de Extension y Educacion Agricola del Colegio de Agricultura en la Universidad del Estado de Michigan. Le escribo para solici/tar su asistencia en la realizacidn de un estudio exploratorio entre Mujeres con relacion a las percepciones de sus necesidades relevantes a los programas por ser realizados a través de los companeros de Michigan y La Republica Dominicana. Este estudio tiene dos propositos. El principal proposito es asistir subcomite de Mujeres en Desarrollo de los Companeros de Michigan a disenar programas y regulaciones que vayan a beneficiar ambos companerismo. El segundo proposito es llenar los requisitos para mi disertacion de doctorado.. El estudio que propongo sera de naturaleza cruz—cultural incluyendo participantes de la Republica Dominicana, Michigan y Belize. Para mi conocimiento este sera el primer estudio de tal naturaleza conducido en representacidn de una organizaci6n privada y voluntaria. Esta clase de informacion es inmensamente necesaria para orientar a quienes toman decisiones y preparan guias de programas que sirren a las poblacidn femenil. Me gustaria viajar a la R. D. del 20 de Julio al 4 de Agosto de 1988. Espero poder viajar con La Ingeniero Agronomo Celina Wille quien conducira su propio estudio en el proyecto de Codorniz entre las mujeres de la Romana. Celina habla espafiol y esta de acuerdo en asistirme en conducir y traducir las entrevistas. Tendremos 5 dias para cada una para conducir nuestros estudios respectivos. Especificamente necesitamos su ayuda: A. En identificar (IS) quince Mujeres que esten de acuerdo en ser entrevistadas de 45 ininutos a l hora. De 4 a 6 Mujeres que tengan habilidades de liderazgo y de 6 8 l0 Mujeres clientes del programa de Mujeres en Desarrollo de compafiéros. A Member "I The National Associatimi «I the Partm'n «I Ihr Amt'rit'us. 191 B. Hacer arreglos para nuestras estancias (para Celina y para mi) del 20 a1 28 de Julio en el area en donde realizaré Ia mayoria de mis entrevistas y del 28 de Julio a1 4 de Agosto en La Romana. Por favor incluya Mujeres que sean miembros de companeros, algunas que no lo son y Mujeres de otras organizaciones/agencias/instituciones que tienen intere’s en la situacion de las Mujeres en su pais. Me gustaria conducar tres entrevistas diarias minimo (de Julio 21 al 27) Con esta carta estoy incloyendo una propuesta que explica mas ampliamente eI proposito e intencion de este estudio. Cuando esta investigacio’n sea finalizaga, voy a enviar copias del reporte final a todos los participantes organizadoes y lideres de companeros. La identidad de quienes sean entrevistadts va a ser mantenida estrictamente confidencidal. Las respuestas a las preguntas de la entrevista no seran atribuidas a ningun individuo en particular en el reporte escrito. Su apoyo en este esfuerzo sera grandejnente apreciado. Por favor establezca comunicacion con las personas apropiadas y aviseme tan pronto como Ie sea posible de los arreglos que ud pueda hacer. Mi direccion es: Sharon A. Browne 4300 Tacoma Boulevard Okemos, MI 48864 U.S.A. Telefono (casa) (517) 349-1824 Telefono (oficina) (517) 355-0115 Le anticipo mil gracias por su ayuda y espero amiosamente noticias favorables de usted. Sinceramente, flu 0 Sharon A. Browne, Directora Subcomite para Muj eres en Desarrollo SB:Il/Badia 192 PARTNERS with Belize and Dominican Republic MICHIGAN PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS Michigan State University 103-C Center for lntemational Programs East Lansin Ml 48824 March 2 , 1988 Ing. Agron. Fernando Badia Executive Director, Campaneros C-Respaldo Proyecto No. 27 El Portal Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Dear Sr. Badia: Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sharon Anderson Browne, Chairperson of the Women in Development Subcommittee, Michigan Partners of the Americas. Iam also a graduate student and doctoral candidate in Agricultural and Extension Education, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University. I am writing to request your assistance in carrying out an exploratory study among women, regarding their perceptions of their needs related to programs which might be carried out through Michigan and the Dominican Republic Partners. There are two purposes for this study. The primary purpose is to assist the Michigan Partners WID subcommittee to design programs and policies that would benefit both partnerships. The second purpose is to fulfill the requirements for my doctoral dissertation. The study I propose will be cross-cultural in nature -- involving respondents from the Dominican Republic, Michigan and Belize. To my knowledge, this will be the first study of its kind conducted on behalf of a private voluntary organization. Such information is greatly needed to inform decision-makers and guide planners in designing programs for women. I would like to come to the Dominican Republic July 20 - August 4, 1988. I expect to travel with Mrs. Celina Wille who will conduct her own study of the Cotournix project among women in La Romana. Celina’s native language is Spanish and she has agreed to assist me in conducting and translating the interviews. We will each have five working days to conduct our respective studies. Your assistance is needed: A. In identifying fifteen (15) women who would volunteer to be interviewed for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Four to six should be women with leadership abilities and six to ten should be women who might be clientele of Partners WID programs. Please include women who are already members of Campaneros, women who are not members of Campaneros, and women from other organizatiom/agencies/ A Member "I The Natimial Association" «I the Partners «I the American. 193 imtitutions who are concerned about the situation of women in your country. I would like to conduct at least three interviews per day July 21 - 27. B. To make housing arrangements for Celina and me for July 20 - 28 in the area where most of my interviews will take place, and July 28 - August 4 in La Romana. The attached proposal provides an explanation of the purpose and intent of this study. Once the research is completed, I will prepare and send to all participants, organizers and leaders copies of the final report. The identities of those interviewed will be held in strictest confidence. Responses to interview questions will not be attributable to any individual in the written report. Your support in this endeavor will be greatly appreciated. Please discuss with the appropriate persons and advise me at your earliest convenience of the arrangements you can make. My address is: Sharon A. Browne 4300 Tacoma Boulevard Okemos, MI 48864 U.S.A. Thank you in advance for your consideration. I anticipate your resporse. Sincerely, ., .4.) flefiwzlw haron A. Browne, Chairperson Women in Development Subcommittee SB:Il/Badia cc: Jim Kielbaso Mary Keenan Josie Taube Gan Porcella, President, Campaneros (Dominican Partners) Efrain Baldrich Celina Wille APPENDIX E LETTER OF APPROVAL FROM UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS 194 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH INVOLVING EAST LANSING 0 MICHIGAN 0 48824-1046 HUMAN SUBJECTS (UCRIHS) 238 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING (517) 5554186 April 25, 1988 Sharon Browne Coop Ext. 48 Ag Hall Dear Ms. Browne: Subject: "IDENTIFYING PERCEPTIONS OF THE NEEDS OF WOMEN INVOLVED IN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING THROUGH PARTERNS OF THE AMERICAN CASE STUDIES £88414" The above fproject is exempt from full UCRIHS review. I have reviewed this project and approval is granted or conduct of this project. You are reminded that UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar year. If you plan to continue this project beyond one year, please make provisions for obtaining appropriate UCRIHS approval prior to April 25, 1989. Any changes in procedures involving human subjects must be reviewed by the UCRIHS prior to initiation of the change. UCRIHS must also be notified promptly of any problems (unexpected side effects, complaints, etc.) involving human subjects during the course of the work. Thank you for bringing this project to our attention. Ifwc can be of any future help, please do not hesitate to let us know. hair, UCRIHS JKH/sar cc: D. Meaders MS U is an Allin-alive Aaron/Equal Opportunity Institution BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Adames, I. (l986). The Sierpe prpjeet' A experience of rural i n . n development in the mountain; of the ngjp ee Republic. Unpublished paper. Antrobus, P. (1980). Homen in development: The issues for the Caribbean. Cpnvergence, 1§(l-2), 60-63. Atlas of Belize. (l987). Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize: Cubola Productions. Axinn, N. N. 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