Foreign Policy Blogs

International Bureaucrats to be "Immersed" in Poverty

I’m not British, but can I please work for the British Department for International Development? They’ve just announced that their international staff will be immersed for one week with poorer communities every time they reach a new posting.

The idea is to give them a clearer perspective on who they are trying to help – and avoid the impression that the capital's relative comforts are a normal part of life for most people. It's a good idea, and I can't imagine it isn't popular with DFID's staff. In fact, it almost sounds like some kind of dream that the career people were able to hoodwink the political staff into approving.

 

Author

Kevin Dean

Kevin Dean is a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in international conflict management and humanitarian emergencies at Georgetown University. Before returning to school in Fall 2006, he spent six years working in the former Soviet Union - most of that time spent in Central Asia. He has managed a diverse range of international development programs for the US State Department and USAID. He has also consulted for several UN agencies and international NGOs, and is fluent in Russian. Kevin is originally from Des Moines, Iowa and studied Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Iowa.