The people. The places.
The moments behind the work.

The work brought together enumerators, community case workers, implementing partners and community-based organisation teams. We reviewed records and reports, checked consistency and coordinated the daily assessment work.

I developed a Power BI dashboard connected to KoboToolbox to help us follow the team’s progress each day. The technology supported the exercise, but the collaboration behind it is what this photograph captures: people with different responsibilities working towards a shared standard of reliable information.

I joined the conference as a panel speaker, sharing experience with GIS-enabled digital micro-planning for health programmes. Away from the presentation, there were opportunities to exchange ideas with colleagues working in different settings.

The group photograph, cultural activities and time spent with other participants were memorable parts of the gathering. Those moments matter too: they give technical exchange a human dimension and make it easier to keep learning from one another.

I led the development of the OVC Data Quality Assessment Protocol with my team and supported the training of Federal and State Ministry of Women Affairs staff. We focused on verification, validation and consistent reporting during the transition.

What stayed with me was the level of participation: questions, experiences from different states and a shared determination to make the exercise work. A protocol becomes useful when the people applying it understand it and have the confidence to put it into practice.

The visit coincided with a monthly Situation Room meeting at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. It was an opportunity to show how routine analysis, reporting and discussion support the use of programme data.

My work included preparing analysis and visualisations and supporting ministry staff through ongoing capacity building. The conversations during the visit added new perspectives to that work and reinforced the value of exchanging practical experience across teams.

Each day involved following enumerator progress and checking in with data managers across the participating states. The work brought together government representatives, implementing partners and other stakeholders around the practical demands of a national survey.

Between those responsibilities, time spent with people in Shelleng reminded me of the lives behind the information we were collecting. Those conversations and ordinary moments of connection remain an important part of how I remember the exercise.

I joined games with the children and took time to speak with families. These were simple encounters, outside the formal tasks of the day, but they left a lasting impression.

Fieldwork is also about being present and listening. I remember the warmth of the welcome and the reminder that our professional responsibilities sit within communities with their own experiences, priorities and everyday lives.

Sharing games with the children brought a different energy to a demanding working day. Those moments offered space to connect outside interviews, schedules and reporting responsibilities.

Looking back, the memory is about more than the logistics of the visit. It is about taking time to engage with the people whose experiences give the work its meaning.

Working with an interpreter, I helped explain the planned activities and listened to questions and expectations. We adapted our engagement to the community’s customs and discussed how to approach households respectfully.

The experience reinforced something I carry into systems and assessment work: good information starts with trust. Taking the time to listen, explain and agree on an approach is part of the work, not a step outside it.