Thesis Pain

Remember back when I lived in Denver and was a graduate student? Well, I still am. At least until I graduate in June. Before I can do that, I need to write my thesis, or as the University of Denver calls it, a Substantial Research Paper. My SRP needs to be about my experience and work as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I could probably just write about all the cool things I've done, but I'd actually like to put some original thought and research into it.

I've settled on writing about ADESCOs, or Communal Development Associations, because the bulk of my work has been in legalizing ADESCOs. Instead of just writing about how I went about working with the ADESCOs in my community, I'd like to write about the history of ADESCOs in El Salvador, how the idea came about and the role they play in the development process of rural communities.

With that in mind, I've been doing some research. So far I've found that there is basically nothing written about ADESCOs. I've found two theses that contain a bit of historical information, both written by students at universities in San Salvador. One I was able to download from the internet (oh the miracle of technology)! The other was available online...but the section I needed was not.

Thus starts the great thesis resource hunt. I don't have a DUI (Documento Unico de Identidad) which is the national Salvadoran ID. The library at the university requires you to present a DUI to enter and use materials. My boss was so incredibly helpful and called the library, explained to the Director why I don't have a DUI and managed to secure for me permission to access the documents. I printed a map (a struggle in itself here), walked myself to the university without getting lost or robbed, actually found the library on the campus after asking 3 old ladies and two armed guards, and found the Director. She was SOOOO helpful. She got me the thesis, let me read it, and made a photocopy for me. I came prepared with: a copy of my US driver's license, my foreign resident card and copies of both my passports. I was not about to let anyone deny me access to these documents!

The thesis I found was helpful in that it referenced a few other documents that will be helpful. One is a manual printed in 2002 by the Ministry of the Interior. This is where I start shaking my head and say damn you El Salvador. The Ministry of the Interior no longer exists. It's functions have been taken over by the Ministry of Government. Their website and phone tree is a mess. My boss called them, but nobody knows if the document exists anymore. End of the line on that one.

The other document referenced was written in 1989, by the Instituto Salvadoreño de Desarrollo Municipal, which is the government body that helps all of the mayors offices. Since the document was written so long ago, it obviously does not exist in digital form. My boss went with me to the office to get a copy of the paper version. Thankfully I'm friends with a member of their board of directors, and throwing his name around a bit we were able to get a meeting with the Director of the archives. When we got to her office, we found it all in disarray. They were moving from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor. Everything from the archives was in (poorly labeled) boxes. The ONLY COPY IN THE WORLD of the report I needed (and the only official government report in El Salvador that talks about ADESCOs) had been "misplaced." ARGH. Miracle of all miracles, the director called my boss today to say that she had finally found a copy of the report, and she could come make a photo copy.

I'm flying out tomorrow morning. Thanks to the best boss in the world, I'll probably have a scanned and emailed copy of the report in my inbox when I arrive.

My boss and I joked that I should just write my thesis on the process of writing a thesis in El Salvador. Thesis writing in the developing world is a major pain!

(Me and the boxes of really important government documents.)

(Super well labeled boxes. Maybe the only copy in the world of the only resource on ADESCOs is in one of those.)