Thanks for stopping by. This DFID Bloggers site is now closed and will no longer be updated regularly. However, all the blogs that appeared here will be archived if you want to look back at any of our posts. Why …
Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. It's currently in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, its economy is slowing and it's vulnerable to climate change. It's landlocked, in a relatively unstable region that includes borders with …
Three months ago, the bazaar in Garmsir, southern Helmand, stood empty. Stalls were bare; some were shuttered, others all but derelict. Fighting between the insurgents and the Afghan and international forces meant the population had left the district centre, leaving …
'Groundrush' - was the apt term a military friend with parachuting experience used to describe the feeling as my departure date for Basra loomed. A definite feeling of Basra coming up too fast for comfort - and of too much …
My son has a book called 'What do people do all day?' It doesn't include anyone who works in development, so I hope these new blogs by DFID staff can help put that right, and explain to people what we …
We are living in an insecure place and that’s why we have to cultivate poppy. We are not happy that our small children become addicted to opium. I am worried about my two sons because they are youths and they …
Recently, I sat down to dinner with Hilary Armstrong MP, who was in Tanzania to undertake some voluntary work in a leading Tanzanian non-governmental organisation working in education. She was in the country to celebrate the 50th anniversary of VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) – …
Ethiopian folklore has it that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia. A goatherd liked the taste and the feeling that followed when he plucked and ate some berries from what we now know as a coffee tree. Coincidentally, I have a coffee …
Throughout the six years I have worked in DFID I have always wanted to work in one of our offices based in a developing country. Living overseas, close to the ‘front line’ of delivering aid has to be the top …
Afghanistan is in the news in the UK every day. But the media approaches Afghanistan from a select few angles, and development - improving the lives of Afghans through jobs, education and better health - isn’t often one of them. …
Finally, I’m off and running… or perhaps crawling? In August 2008 I moved to Addis Ababa with my wife and two small children to become Head of DFID Ethiopia. Many people think of Ethiopia as a dry and dusty country. …
