I’ve spent enough time in dusty warehouses in Goma and Juba to know that a glossy PDF reporting on “milestones achieved” is usually just expensive …
Creating Jobs Versus Creating Firms
Skills Training and Whether Jobs Follow
I spent a decade watching donor agencies pour millions into “capacity building” while ignoring the fact that the workshops were empty and the tools were …
Whether a Return Is Really Voluntary
I remember standing in a dust-choked yard outside Goma, watching a driver argue with a warehouse manager over a stack of damaged crates. The manager …
Herd Immunity and Its Misuse
I once spent three weeks in a dusty warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of cold-chain vaccine crates that were never going to make …
The Barriers Beyond School Fees
I spent a decade watching headquarters in Geneva and DC churn out hundred-page strategy documents, all filled with high-level jargon about “gender-transformative frameworks” and “empowerment …
Covering an Outbreak Without Causing Panic
I remember sitting in a humid, makeshift office in South Sudan, staring at a glossy donor report that claimed “unprecedented mobilization” in response to a …
Training Teachers Who Then Leave
I spent nine years watching NGOs move tons of medical supplies across borders, and if there is one thing I learned, it’s that a high-budget …
Building a Case Years Afterwards
Forget the glossy brochures from the Hague or the high-level briefings about “systemic procedural frameworks.” When people ask me how war crimes are investigated, they …
Detecting an Outbreak Early
I remember sitting in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of high-tech tablets that were supposed to revolutionize our response, while the …
The Rules of War and Who Enforces Them
I remember sitting in a humid, corrugated iron office in Goma, staring at a stack of legal briefs that cost more than my entire annual …