Report

In the summer of 2004, I completed an internship with the international non-profit organization, World Vision International (WVI). I worked in Lota, Chile, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, five hours south of Santiago de Chile as a consultant with two community centers sponsored by the organization to create a proposal for economic development for some of the families served by WVI.

Lota is a former coal mining town, whose mines were closed down by the Chilean government in 1997. Since their closing, Lota has suffered from extremely high levels of unemployment and virtually no economic development. My goal was to find a possibility for economic development and a source of income for some of the families which compose the two community centers in Lota.

The first steps of my investigation included a review of secondary sources on the region, its economic history and dynamics, its politics, and its social history. I conducted numerous interviews with key professionals who worked with development in the town and the region, which helped me catch up on the development work that was being done in the community. While I received a lot of information, I often found that opinions were emotionally charged and lacked objectiveness. I held focus groups with the representatives who served on the economic development committees for the two community centers. Understanding the mentalities, abilities, needs and desires of those families (habilitated by talk with their representatives) was my foremost need to create a plan that would be plausible and efficient. The greatest challenge of those focus groups was trying to maintain momentum and bring out the required information in the meetings. The structure set up by WVI, which is intended to “empower” the representatives by giving them the final and official say on all matters, often results in creating “overpowering” leaders and a centralization of power. The focus groups still proved to be very beneficial, but were not broadly representative of all of the families involved in the organization.

To counteract the domination in our focus groups, I conducted written surveys at the beginning of some of the meetings which would allow all members present to voice their opinion on important matters in a confidential manner.

This internship was a great exercise in methodology and theory-testing. I feel that I grew greatly as an anthropologist and a sociologist and in my knowledge and understanding of the field. Through my internship I realized that I lacked much in understanding the history and social dynamics of this culture. I believe that a longer internship would have yielded even better results for the organization in the capacity that I was serving.

The experience was very enriching and focusing for me. I believe I am now much more in tune with a new reality of development which I had not known before. I believe that any frustration I felt helped me to learn more about working in development with a distinct culture. I am very grateful for the opportunity that was presented me and hope that my efforts will be useful for WVI and their families. The experience definitely deepened my abilities and knowledge as an anthropologist, hopefully making me more effective for the development work I hope to one day realize.

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