Blog

In my last post, I explored how the well-intentioned question “how can I help” is often not the right question. Instead, international development should look to balance doing to or for with doing with. In today’s post, I want to share a recent example from our work with the Whole Child Model of how challengingRead more

In the “helping professions”—education, health, social services—our usual lead question is, in many ways, misleading. “How can I help?”Read more

In 1983, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in the Central African Public. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working in dozens of African countries, mostly in person. Whether visiting a country for several days or living there for several years, my experiences were richest when I worked side-by-side with myRead more

What does it take to educate a child? Worldwide, policymakers tend to have a similar answer. Build schools. Train teachers. Provide materials. Monitor performance.Read more

Limited access to proper care and information about menstruation— “period poverty”—deprives multitudes of girls around with the world of weeks of school each year. In Tanzania, period poverty is believed to be the single largest barrier to girls’ completion of education.1Read more

Imagine you’re teaching the letters of the alphabet to a class of first graders. Some students are learning quickly while others are struggling. Now, imagine that you’re teaching 60 students at a time. Or maybe 100, or even 180. Sound daunting? Teachers in Tanzania are faced with conditions like these every day.Read more