Name: Oni Thornell
Social Justice Group: Women and Education
Date of Fieldwork: December 13, 2017
Name of Organization: WEP: Women’s Education Project
Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Danielle Fazzolari and Zoe Timms
Type of Fieldwork: Interview
What I did:
For our interview with Danielle Fazzolari, we went to the Gowanus in Brooklyn. We went to a building that is called the Gowanus Bond. The Gowanus Bond was a large building whose purpose was for companies and other businesses that wanted or needed a place to work. Inside, the building was very old but it also has some modern aspects like bold solid colored walls. The walkways were dark blue and turquoise and would follow a path around the building. When we first walked in we went straight to the front desk and asked for Danielle. As soon as we said that Danielle had walked behind us and had asked if we wanted tea or something to drink. Once we went downstairs and got situated we began to talk about why Danielle was interested in women’s education. From then on we could really tell that Danielle was passionate about what she does. Although we only really got to talk to Danielle it was still extremely informative.
What I learned:
Throughout the interview, we were really shocked to find that there is still so much that people don’t know. Something that I learned that really stood out to me was that when charities give money or donate it is only fixing half the problem the other 50% is psychological and emotional problems. These girls and women feel alone and feel that they are fighting a battle by themselves when really they aren’t. So just to send money while it is helpful doesn’t fix the problem. The emotional support is such a big part of a community that that is something that needs to be focused on, not just the money aspect of it. Which leads me to something else that I learned. Danielle told us that in order for a community to grow and learn you need to educate the women and girls. I think that even though it should be obvious many people like to ignore this and then ask themselves why they can’t grow and excel.
What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
WEP (Women’s Education Project) has been working in India to help and educate young girls. I learned that the way they go about this is to invite these young girls whenever they can to go on field trips or just to learn at one of their centers. These centers are safe places where girls can read, learn and make friends without being reprimanded for it. These girls begin to go out on trips that are almost like conducting a social experiment or teaching and educating others. Here is a little excerpt from Danielle talking about what she the centers and how they have an impact on these young girls. “We provide a safe place and space for them to come and get to know each other and to become lifelong friends and to support each other. In life and that’s very important. So that’s something you always have to remember, you can give a girl as much money as you want and you can give her as much opportunity in education but that’s only half of it. The other half is that emotional support. It is that encouragement and I think that’s what the centers provide. That’s the most rewarding thing. Knowing they have that, they have a place to go if they’re ever scared. When they graduate from college, when they leave the WEP center, they can also come back. The doors are always open. They can get a job with us, they can come back for support, to talk to the center directors. Each center has one director, the director is like a second mom to these girls. So, yeah, just knowing that they might feel a little safer and that they have people to turn to is great.”
