THE Household Income and Expenditure Survey, HIES, 2024-2025 begins today Monday 21st October 2024.
It is a 12-month program funded by World Bank that will see 162 enumerators including team leaders and Out board-motor drivers going out to households in selected areas within the nine provinces of the country and Honiara, asking questions to household members.
The Solomon Islands National Statistics Office, SINSO, is pleased to have some of its experienced survey enumerators who have worked in its past surveys return for the HIES.
A number of females will be taking the lead as team leaders in their respective teams. For the next 12 months, these women will be leading and guiding their teams as they travel together to new places, meet new people, encounter and overcome challenges and gain new experiences.
Let’s meet one of them.
Nester O. Meke is a teacher by profession and a mother of five children.
She is from Arosi and Santa Ana, Makira-Ulawa Province and the only female in the twelve-member team for Makira-Ulawa Province.
She first came to work for the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office in 2015, as an enumerator for the Demographic Health Survey, DHS.
“I came to realize that being involved in surveys allowed me to travel to places I’ve never been before. I was able to go to isolated areas in the Highlands of Makira. I found it more interesting so i left my job as a teacher.
“One thing about involving in these surveys is that we get to know more about the people. They trusted me with their stories which are very confidential information.”
Her second survey was the Agriculture survey in 2017 where she was a supervisor. In 2019, Nester was recruited again, this time for the 2019 Census.
The HIES 2024-2025 is her fourth survey with NSO.
“Being a teacher, it is easy for me to see what needs to be corrected in my interviews. I also practice my listening skills, probing when the answers go away from what i want to know until i get to the answer. It’s like working with my students.”
Nester sees her role as a team leader as similar to that of being a mother.
“You have mature people in your team and it was a challenge working with them. But then I realized that my role is similar to my role as a mother in my family. You look after them, you help them. And you also set the example, you do what needs to be done, they will follow you.”
Nester admits it is often difficult for people to give honest answers, sometimes because they do not want to lose face or because they are busy.
“It is important for the people to understand that we are not there to judge who is living a good life and who is not? Or who has money and who does not? The reality of the lifestyle of a household is what we want to capture in our survey. That is important for our development.
From her very first involvement with the Demographic Health Survey in 2015, Nester has seen the impact of her efforts.
“We went to a very remote area in Makira where it was really difficult for them to access the nearest health services. From the data we collected, a clinic was built there.
“I have seen the impact of my contribution to the lives of the people in my province. I know how important it is to collect this information and I am looking forward to this survey.”
