Recent Posts

A different kind of day

I found myself in a hot, dusty camp on the border with Ethiopia, where Somalis who had fled their homes because of violence and the worst drought in 60 years were living. It’s there that I met Habiba. Habiba is a 47-year-old mother of 10. She and her family used to grow bananas and mangoes and raise animals. But the drought destroyed their crops and killed all of their animals: 100 cattle, 200 goats, and 500 chickens, all gone....
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Ask an aid worker about Haiti

There are few disaster response efforts that have received the level of public scrutiny that has been focused on the international response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As a result of the earthquake relief response in Haiti, it’s likely that most Americans have formed their own opinions about humanitarian aid. Questions like these and their answers (or lack of answers) influence our understanding and opinion of aid work: Did my donation really help? Why hasn’t anything been accomplished there? I watched one news channel that looks like everything is progressing quite well, and another that shows everything is in complete disarray. What’s the truth? What’s really happening? Two years seems like enough time to make some progress. Is the aid...
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Millions of Melkas

More than 60 percent of Ethiopian girls will be married before they are 17. It’s a startling fact. But when we see and hear the story of a girl who was forced into marriage when she was just 14 years old, statistics are transformed from mere numbers to a face. To a voice. To reality....
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Meeting Doctor

Some of my new year resolutions are personal — like finishing grad school and running another half marathon. But my resolution to keep sponsoring children through the organization I love gives me an outward focus. Nearly eight years ago, before I started working here, I sponsored a child through World Vision. It didn’t matter whether the child was a boy or a girl, or from any particular country. I just wanted to help a child who needed a sponsor....
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Experiments in empathy — a new year’s resolution

My 4-year-old twins love to play “pretend house” — especially if I play along as their baby. “You has to take a nap, OK, baby?” Jorie said to me. Obediently, I climbed into her crib. She piled blankets, stuffed animals, and dolls on top of me. “Now go to sleep wif no more talking!” Jorie commanded in a voice that sounded spookily like my own. I pretended to cry. The twins chuckled. “Baby, go to sleep!” Jasiel commanded. “NO!” I shouted. The twins burst into laughter. I kicked my feet and pouted. Jasiel fell to the floor she was laughing so hard. They rolled around for a minute until I announced I was scared of the dark. Jorie stood up...
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