I spent a decade in South Sudan watching NGOs burn through six-figure budgets on “sensitivity training” workshops held in air-conditioned hotels, only to watch the …
Inclusion Beyond a Policy Statement
Why Land Titles Change Behaviour
I spent a decade watching NGOs fly in with glossy brochures about “empowerment” and “sustainable growth,” but none of that matters when a local chief …
Humanitarian, Development and Peace Together
I once spent three days in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of high-level strategy papers that detailed exactly how the triple …
Carrying Notes Across a Border
I spent nine years watching cargo trucks get hijacked in the DRC, and I can tell you that the most expensive armored plating in the …
The Global Health Funds and Transition
I once sat in a humid tent outside Goma, staring at a spreadsheet that claimed three million dollars had been “allocated” for malaria prevention. On …
Gender Analysis That Changes a Design
I’ve sat through enough donor briefings in Geneva to know that most people treat gender like a checkbox on a spreadsheet. They talk about “mainstreaming” …
Notes That Would Stand Up Later
I once sat in a humid office in Goma, staring at a glossy donor report that claimed we had “successfully reached 5,000 beneficiaries” through a …
Legal Review Before Publication
I once spent three weeks in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of legal documents that promised “total compliance” while the actual …
Food Sovereignty Versus Food Security
I remember sitting in a humid warehouse outside Goma in 2014, staring at a stack of empty grain sacks and a broken-down Hilux. On the …
Offsets and Whether They Add Anything
I spent nine years watching trucks struggle through mud in South Sudan, where a “projected impact” meant nothing if the axle snapped ten miles from …