The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision.pdf - Tanzania ...

Table 3–3. Interviews, April 28–May 28, 2003CantonCommunitiesvisitedCaobaSanta CeciliaDos RiosMéxicoFósforoSan JorgePavónEl ParqueLos ChilesOstionalCorralilloVeinteiseite de AbrilColoradoRaizalBebederoTotalNumber of familiesinterviewed42ParticipatingchildrenLa Cruz50Upala4050Los Chiles4515Santa Cruz4035Abangares4545212195the country. In each community visits were made fromhome to home, and we found much openness among thepeople interviewed.Group dynamics were held with girls and boys at the timeof visiting the schools. The children interviewed were infourth and fifth grades, that is, between ages 10 and 12.The officers interviewed were from both the communitiesand the local offices and the central offices (in the capitalcity, San José). Many of these schools do not operate regularly,so it became necessary to look for other sources thatwould provide the required information.In the second stage we proceeded to apply instrumentsthat would provide information to complement the dataobtained earlier. Interviews with 37 teachers in 13 communitiesin the cantons under study (including two communitiesin adjacent cantons), 20 personnel in health centresat eight communities (including two communities inadjacent cantons) and 57 adults in general from 14 communities(including two communities in adjacent cantons)allowed us to obtain a clear picture of the situations thatfavour or limit the use of public services (see Annex 2).The cantonsThe research focused on the northern area of Costa Rica.According to data from the State of the Nation Reportfor 2001, the Northern Huetar Region has shown one ofthe highest poverty rates in the country in recent years,and the cantons of Upala and Los Chiles are among thosewhose development is lowest. The study centred upon LaCruz, Santa Cruz and Abangares, three cantons in theprovince of Guanacaste, a region that shows the highestconsolidated deficit in housing and the lowest coverage insocial services. 1Throughout the process, inquiries and interviews held innearby cantons were included. These are cantons likeCañas and Carrillo (in the Chorotega Region), whichpresent very similar conditions to the cantons under studyand enrich the diagnosis of the panorama of the wholeregion.The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision 59