Archive for January 2013
It’s an ingredient you’ve probably never heard of, but it features in thousands of everyday items – from biscuits to beauty products. Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil refined from the reddish fruit of palm trees which originated in West Africa. Always a staple part of West African cooking, it first became a sought after [...]
Welcome to my blog! In September I got my first break into the world of development and stepped inside the walls of the Department for International Development (DFID) in London as part of their first intake of Graduate Placements. I've made DFID's walls the theme of this blog. Whatever the organisation, their organisational website is [...]
I couldn’t resist posting this picture of the snow that is currently covering the UK, marking a cold start to what promises to be an exciting year. 2013 is the year in which the UK will achieve its commitment to spend 0.7% of the UK’s Gross National Income on development aid. There has been a [...]
A few weeks ago I went to see the new James Bond film Sky Fall. Without giving away too much, at one point in the film James Bond goes to a remote part of the UK. The area is portrayed as far away from the hustle and bustle of London and as remote from government [...]
You know that heart stopping feeling when you crest the first peak of a big roller coaster as it goes into free fall? That feeling of dread is perhaps only equalled by the torture of opening up your exam results - at the time it seems your whole life might depend on the hidden grades [...]
Does our aid have the impact that was anticipated? How much does it change the lives of the world’s poorest people and for how long? What works, what doesn’t and why? And, what could we do differently? We conduct evaluations across our programmes to find answers to these questions to help improve the quality of [...]
At University, as an Economics and International Development student, I remember one of the lectures we had on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We covered some of the successes of CSR and some of the infamous failures of businesses trying to engage in international development. As a critically minded student, the failures naturally stuck in my [...]
Hello and thanks for reading my very first blog. Not long ago I also wrote my first ever tweet at the Open Up! conference on the 13th November which promoted open governance using technology in London’s tech city - let’s hope this blog goes down as more of a success than my tweeting prowess. Following [...]
Happy New Year to all my DFID friends and blog readers! Traditionally, the new year is a time for making new resolutions. Go on that new diet, start that exercise regime, enrol in that evening class you've been eyeing for a few months now. We've all been here before and January always starts with the [...]
“We happy and we thank you Nana, We are happy and we thank you Nana, We are happy and we thank you Nana. Free senior high school, quality education and teachers. Mothers and fathers, aunties and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, help the children of Ghana – by voting for Nana.” This was the jingle sang [...]
