The Interviews Begin...

Today was the scheduled day for our interviews with two of the appointments made by the Chissano Foundation. After visiting the US Embassy and getting our certification for observing the elections, our translator, Lucio, met up with us at the hotel and we traveled into the city. The first was supposed to be a meeting with an infectious disease physician from the Ministry of Health. When we went to the infectious disease department, we were waiting in the lounge and brought into the office of a human resource officer. It turns out that the Chissano Foundation either gave us the wrong contact information or they were misinformed about the person they scheduled us with. However, the human resource officer was incredibly helpful and directed us to go speak with Dr. Leonardo Antonio Chavane MD, MPH, Deputy Director of Public Health.

When we went down to his office, we found out that Dr. Chavane was an incredibly busy man. He was booked with meetings back to back. Luckily for us, one of his meetings ended sooner and he was able to talk with us for about five minutes. After introductions, we were able to schedule another appointment for the next day. Even though he was a busy man, he was incredibly gracious and seemed very sincere.

Afterwards, we traveled to the National Center for HIV/AIDS in order to meet with our next interview appointment. We were able to speak to Flavio Quembo and his team of advisors. Our interview with him was incredibly comprehensive because he gave very detailed answers to our questions. Of course, he was obviously a government sponsored worker because his answers were very politically correct. For example, he explained how treatment plans were pretty much accessible to most of the people in the country. He explained how regional differences in Mozambique are addressed by having the government programs tailored for each of the districts.

Today was also the first day for us to use the video cameras and record the interviews for our documentary. Making sure the white balance and sound checking has never been more important. What we found out about the whole interviewing process is that it is important for the interviewer to warm up and make sure that all the people are comfortable. After everybody feels at ease, the interview will appear much more natural and relaxed.

This picture was taken after our interview.