Fieldwork Wrap Up

Over the last three days we have continued conducting interviews with moms from various villages in Iganga. Wherever we go children greet us with big smiles and waves. They shout out “muzungu” (foreigners) as soon as they see us and more children come running. Within no time there is a small army assembled around us curiously observing our every move. Their interest in our project and involvement in their siblings’s upbringing has motivated us to consider ways to include them in the neonatal monitoring process. Our largest audience formed when we conducted our interviews under a large tree next to a school. Hannah and Kaveri played tag with them as the the team was getting organized. Ryan, Brielle, and Sneha enjoyed a brief soccer game with a huge group of children while they were on their afternoon break from class.

The team spoke with fourteen more mothers and six Village Health Team members over the last three days. As if orchestrating an interview with various prototypes through a translator wasn’t hard enough, the team has welcomed the opportunity to jump in and help take care of the babies who have attended interviews with their moms!

In addition to speaking with the stakeholders who would directly benefit from NeMO, the team spoke with local organizations focused on improving public health in rural areas. We are eager to continue the discussion and learn more about their experiences. 

We have so much feedback to take back home and consider before choosing a direction to pursue for the rest of the year. Our evenings are spent either recording notes from our day in the field, strategizing for the following day, or playing several rounds of card games – all equally productive for the creative process! Our days certainly leave us tired, it’s a good thing we have our cuddle buddy NeoNatalie with us.