EXAMPLE

Storytelling as It Was Done

The storytelling methodology was effectively used by the Multi-purpose Community Telecenter (MCT) in the Philippines in evaluating the effects of the MCT in two rural communities. Below is a summary of MCT’s experiences. (Read the complete report in http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/practitioners/reports.shtm or in the accompanying CD of this manual.)

FINDING ITS PLACE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES

INTERVIEW: WHAT IT TELLS US

Kirlyn Baconguis presented sample interviews from the two communities which were used for discussing storytelling as an evaluation methodology.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Community members were asked to share their experiences through storytelling and by keeping diaries. They presented how they felt about being interviewed while the MCT volunteers shared how they felt about keeping a daily journal.

All said storytelling was a good exercise; it gave them a way to express themselves in their own words. One MCT volunteer who kept a journal because it was mandatory said it eventually helped him organise his thoughts about the MCT and raise issues about how it was being run. Edilberto Limare of eDevelopment Initiatives for Civil Society Organizations, Inc. (eDI) who was tasked to gather and write the stories of the community members shared his experiences. At first, he did not feel confident collecting stories, thinking he did not know what questions to ask. But it did not take him long to establish rapport with the interviewees who shared their stories with him. Though successful in gathering stories, he also said it was important to note that the stories be written from a third-person perspective. But to him, it would have been better if the community members themselves wrote their stories to avoid misinterpretation.

INPUT ON HOW tO ASSURE THE GENDER NUANCES ARE ADDRESSED IN STORYTELLING

Cinco presented the materials available in the GEM Tool on Storytelling and Asking Questions. The highlights of her presentations were:

the importance of informed consent - that evaluators must make it clear to the community members how their stories will be used;
that storytelling should probe into basic gender issues such as gender roles, decision-making, and how the respondent's stories and experiences are affected by their gender; and
the importance of selecting which stories and from whom, which should include stories from members of the community who do not directly benefit from the MCTs (non-users) because there is a lot to be learned from their insights, too.

DISCUSSION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STORYTELLYNG AS AN EVALUATION TOOL

After the input, the group discussed the value of of storytelling in evaluating the MCT project. The participants agreed that storytelling was an effective method of gathering information and responses because it allowed the respondents to express themselves and to process their experiences.