Community Entry and Interaction

Through a social network of friends and people who hailed from some of the study sites but who resided in Accra at the time of the study, I was able to “gain entry” into the ‘region35_’.

During a meeting I had with these people in Accra, at which my interpreter was present, I was able to discuss my study and the purpose of it, after which they gave me other new contacts who were both in the villages and in the city. After having gained access to contacts in the villages, I also needed to gain the trust of the villagers in order to undertake the research. It was important for me to become acquainted with at least one influential member or “gatekeeper” who lived in each village, who could serve as my initial contact person. In order to assist me and my interpreter who would assist me at the Togo sites, my contacts in Accra introduced us to a few other members of their families resident in Ave-Havi, Akpokope-Wodome, Alawogbee and Kpetoe36 who were well-respected community leaders and “gatekeepers.”

These people in turn introduced us to other community leaders, especially in the Ghana sites of which a teacher and a District Assemblyman37 were note-worthy. They made credible contacts and elicited the participation of community members during the initial phase of the study, when we realized that people were more open and welcoming whenever any of them accompanied me on the research trips. I took the process of community entry very seriously because I was cognisant of the fact that as members of the research team (myself and the French translator), we were not part of the study area/communities and would, therefore, be

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I denote the study area as a region or an entity for easy identification and reference. By referring to this delineated place as ‘region’ I imply the area, or, province that I sampled out of both Ghana and Togo for the purposes of this study. Part of the study area falls into Ghana side of the border called the Volta Region. It is important to differentiate the study area (region) from the Volta Region, as the former contains only part of the latter and the two entities could mean different things at the same time.

36 _{I aquired contacts for Batume site from relatives of the Kpetoe social network I had met earlier in Accra.} 37 _{The District Assembly system of representation replaced the Local Authority system in 1988. This form of} political representation of the people has become a cardinal part of devolution of power contained in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. He is the intermediary figure, who represented the views of the Ave-Havi local area to government and vice versa. He was a very popular and social person who participated in the meetings of the local assembly and other programmes that hinged on development issues of this area.

82 considered “outsiders”38

(Kanellos and Fabligat 1994).

We met with the community leader or the Assemblyman, and he introduced us to other community leaders and arranged meetings for us with the chiefs and elders of the four villages in turn. Our first meeting with the community leaders happened through the efforts of the community gatekeeper or the Assemblyman at Ave-Havi. It was important to meet with the chiefs, and elders of the villages to obtain their permission and to also be introduced to their communities39. I presented drinks to the chiefs, usually two bottles of alcoholic beverage as tradition demands, after which we exchanged greetings, and discussed the objectives of the research., The chiefs and elders presented a detailed portrait of the socio- economic situation in the area with a great deal of insight.

After having received the approval of the chiefs and elders of the four villages, I lived among the villagers, in order to immerse myself in the life of the villages. I adopted a flexible mind- set and approach, and this was very essential in making the research successful. For example, prior to the trip to Ghana and Togo, and en route to the study area, I thought it would be more feasible to administer all the varied methods of data collection simultaneously in one village before moving to the next village. However, being on the ground, it became clear that it was more feasible to complete one research instrument in all four villages before moving on to the next research method.

This method was more efficient, as it enabled me to remain focused on the research method that was being administered at a particular point in time. Since the research lasted for nine months, I was concerned about “research fatigue” on the part of the villagers. I felt they might get tired of seeing me around all the time and might want their space. As a result I made an arrangement whereby we stayed in the village and worked from Monday to Friday, and returned to Accra or Dzodze, each weekend. This arrangement provided both the researcher and villagers a break from the research process.

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I was aware of the fact that although I am a Ghanaian and can speak the Ewe language very well, my dialect was slightly different from the Ave dialect spoken in most part of the study area. I do not come from the Ave- Ave, Kpetoe and Dzolo (Togo) Districts or the research communities, and was therefore considered an “outsider” by the villagers.

39 _{In both Togo and Ghana, culture demands that one presents at least two bottles of alcoholic beverages such as} schnapps or gin at times whisky to the chief during a visit, as a sign of courtesy and reverence for their position. With the assistance of the Assemblyman and other gate-keepers I presented these drinks at each meeting we had with the chiefs and elders of the four villages.

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