I remember sitting in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of empty crates while a radio report in the background boasted about …
The Appeal That Was Twenty Per Cent Funded
January 2026
Finding People Who Know More Than You
I spent nine years watching NGOs pour millions into “community engagement” workshops that produced nothing but glossy brochures and empty sentiment. They’ll tell you that …
Where an Appeal Figure Comes From
I spent nine years in the back of Land Cruisers and standing in dusty warehouses across East Africa, and if there is one thing I’ve …
Arriving Somewhere and Not Pretending to Understand It
I remember sitting in a humid, dust-choked warehouse outside Goma, staring at a manifest for three tons of antibiotics that were technically “on site” according …
Two Words Used Interchangeably and Wrongly
I once spent three days sitting in a dust-choked customs office outside Goma, watching a shipment of vaccines rot because the paperwork didn’t match the …
The Logframe and What It Cannot Hold
I remember sitting in a humid, makeshift office in Goma, staring at a laminated Logical Framework that promised a 40% increase in nutritional uptake for …
Aid Spent Inside Donor Countries
I once spent three days sitting in a dust-choked customs office outside Goma, watching a shipment of high-protein biscuits rot in the sun because a …
The Cluster System Explained
I remember sitting in a humid, windowless tent outside Goma, listening to the drone of a generator while three different agency heads argued over a …
What Counts as Aid and What Does Not
I remember sitting in a humid, makeshift office in Goma, staring at a spreadsheet that claimed we had secured millions in new funding. On paper, …
How an Aid Budget Gets Decided
I once sat in a humid, windowless office in Goma, staring at a spreadsheet that claimed we had “secured” enough funding to stabilize the entire …