My Project

On Monday, I embarked on starting my third Ingram Scholarship Project. Because this is my third project, it is a little different than those I conducted in Uganda. The major difference is that I am not working for an organization but rather collaborating with many through the faculty fellowship program. Thus, to understand my project, it is essential to explain the players. .

Professor Sharon Shields is a member of the Human and Organizational Development department. She also happens to be my advisor and serve as an advisor to the Humphrey Fellowship Program, a State Department program that “brings accomplished mid-career leaders from developing nations and emerging democracies to the United States for an academic year to study, gain professional experience and foster cultural exchange.” This year Cathy Arendse from South Africa came to Vanderbilt to study the inclusion of people with disabilities. Professor Shields was her faculty mentor. Together, they began brainstorming about how to make connections between Vanderbilt resources and South African partners working on disability.  In the spring, they brought the inspiring Nicky Abdinor to campus. . Nicky was born with shortened legs and no arms. This has not stopped her. Not only is she accomplished in her fields, but she also drives! Thus, she has started an organization called Nicky’s Drive to increase accessibility to devices that assist with mobility for people with disabilities in SA.

In February or March, I met Nicky and Cathy on a Saturday at a dinner hosted by my good friend, Ben Scott. I learned about Cathy’s relationship with Professor Shields. I thought to myself, “This would make a great Faculty Fellowship summer project, but I will never be able to put it together in time.” Then, on Monday, I ran into Professor Shields getting lunch at the Commons Center. Two hours later, I was in her office planning, and now I am here.

My role in this project is to assist Nicky, Cathy, and Professor Shields by researching public policy toward people with disabilities. More specifically, I am examining higher education for and employment of people with disabilities.  In addition, I will work on program development with both Nicky and Cathy.

For the first three weeks, I am strictly conducting research independently. This is challenging but also exciting because I am responsible for planning my time and finding people to interview. This week has illustrated to me the power of knowing people that love and understand a community. I have received contacts through numerous sources. I gave myself three goals for the week. First, I would gather contacts and schedule meetings for next week. Second, I would review public policy toward people with disabilities in SA. Third, I would do what I could to get acquainted with the culture of the city and SA.

In this post, I am going to focus on a speaker I heard on that helped me understand a bit more about the job market in Cape Town and South Africa in general. I will discuss the rest of my week in relation to my project in a post later today or tomorrow.

On Tuesday,  I had the privilege of joining a group of Vanderbilt graduate students to hear two speakers at University of Cape Town. I found the first speaker particularly helpful and insightful.

He discussed the differences between formal and informal business and how that plays out in Cape Town. Formal business is regulated while informal is de-regulated (As I write this, I realize I should have asked the speaker what Wall Street would be considered … Just kidding). Formal business would be a grocery store like Kroger or in Cape Town – Pick n Pay, Shoprite, or Woolsworths. Informal business would be a spaza shop, a convenient store usually in someone’s home with limited items. These are likely to be found in townships. The argument of the speaker was that informal business is a major player in the South African economy, but that the government focuses strictly on formal business when it comes to policy. The one way that governement interferes is by occasionally shutting down informal, especially “shabeens,” which are unlicensed liquor distributors (Fetal alcohol syndrome is a major issue in South Africa, especially in the Western Cape. This of course relates to disability.).

 He also showed how areas of poverty and more upper class areas are organized differently. People living in poorer areas with more informal businesses have access to less transportation, which means that businesses need to be in closer proximity.  Thus, shops pop up in homes. In a sense this relates to the problem of food access in poor areas in the United States, which is exasperated by people not having proper transportation. The speaker also discussed the reality of foreign nationals taking a grasp of informal business. This is a topic for another blog post as it relates to one of the issues potentially facing Uganda as well.

This lecture caused me to think about my task in a new way.  I will now considered how living with a disability that effects mobility would mean different challenges depending on where someone lives.  Even more, I have a better understanding of how people that do not have jobs in the formal economy find ways of making money. The issue of mobility and employment is deeply related, and I look forward to exploring this relationship. My computer is about to die so I must stop here. Feel free to send me questions for clarification! Expect a new post soon.

- Feldman