...to his concerns about continuing efforts to get girls into school and putting pressure on Kabul to ensure central government funding trickles through to the places it is most needed....
We have spent the last few weeks learning about the needs of Afjalpur dairy co-operative members and getting to grips with their livelihoods situation. Amongst many other things, the outcomes of our baseline survey showed how essential it is for …
Bamyan is a beautiful province in Afghanistan and home to the Hazaras, an ethnic Shia minority who make up 9% of the Afghan population. They are believed to be descendants of Genghis Khan's army and have distinctive features. My visit was …
As the world gathers in Durban to continue discussions on how best to avoid the impacts of climate change, last Saturday, several UN organisations and others hosted the Agriculture and Rural Development Day. I gave a keynote presentation, sharing a …
Towards the end of last year, I was privileged to visit Africa with Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, to see for myself the benefits Fairtrade is bringing to growers and their families in South Africa and Kenya. …
Last week I left Afghanistan for good. When I said goodbye to our local staff member in Helmand he asked "will we see you again in Helmand Province?" "Probably not," I replied. After making Afghanistan my home for the last …
A number of you have asked me in comments on my blog about how we involve local communities in our roads programmes. And I'm overdue to tell you about my recent field visit, which I mentioned in my blog on …
There's nothing quite like a drive in the country to understand the scale of a country's development needs. Whether in an armoured vehicle back in Helmand, on a field trip in Zambia in a previous role to see what scope …
Hi – my name's Francesca, and I've just arrived in Afghanistan to work for DFID. Over the coming months, I want to share with you my thoughts on the country, on our work here and most importantly - what life is …
As I walked to work today, two of my colleagues stopped me to comment on the rain. Not that unusual you’re probably thinking. In London, as I walk to work, the rain is more likely to solicit a quick one-liner …
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