Eve Brown-Waite’s tips on preparing for international aid work

Not long ago American bookstores saw the debut of the new travel memoir First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life. Kristen Pope reviewed it here last week.

Since this book is a humorous take on aid-work in places like Uganda and Ecuador, we asked author Eve Brown-Waite to share her take on approaching development work overseas. This is what she said:

The truth is I am no expert on how one goes about finding work in the international aid – or development – field. My husband, however, is quite good at it, having at one time or another been on assignments for CARE, Peace Corps, Chemonics, Technoserve, and Partners for Productivity. These jobs have taken him to Burkina Faso, Uganda, Albania, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Jordan, Palestine and the Philippines. But in the development world, it’s often a case of “love me – get my dog.” I have more often than not, been the dog … I mean, the tag-along spouse.

So my expertise runs more along the lines of how to prepare and what to do once you get there (there being whatever dusty, little outpost your particular development job might take you to, because honestly, very few agencies are doing aid work in the French Riviera). And maybe that’s the first little tidbit of advice I can offer: be prepared. You are far more likely to find yourself doing aid work in a tropical steam pit while dodging malaria and quite possibly bullets, than lounging surf-side in some tropical paradise.

My preparation for my husband’s three-year assignment in rural, northern Uganda included watching every movie ever made in or about Uganda, which turned out not to be as silly as you might imagine. At least when we arrived, I was somewhat prepared for the bullet pocked building and the airplane carcass on the runway. Not that seeing these things was particularly reassuring. But thanks to having watched Charles Bronson swagger about in Raid On Entebbe, I knew all about the not-so-comforting fact that Jewish travelers had once been held hostage, with President Idi Amin’s blessing, at Entebbe Airport.

For many Americans trying to break into the international aid waters, Peace Corps is often the first port of call. The Peace Corps application and screening process can be long and arduous, as they want to ensure a certain level of qualification and commitment. This can require some sacrifices from the applicant, such as their wisdom teeth and firstborn child (only kidding about the firstborn child). But the payoff is excellent training and pretty substantial support while you’re out in the field.

Once you’ve successfully completed a two-year stint in the Peace Corps (or, as in my case, didn’t complete a two-year stint in the Peace Corps but managed to marry the recruiter), you’ll have a better shot at getting a short- or long-term assignment with one of the many professional development agencies out there. These agencies include CARE, Save the Children, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Engineers Without Borders, Builders Without Borders, Teachers Without Borders, MBAs Without Borders … you name it, they seem to do it without borders. Unfortunately at the time I was schlepping along behind my husband, there was no Housewives Without Borders, although I am now happy to report there is a Mothers Without Borders.

So, if you find yourself tagging along on someone else’s overseas assignment, take heart. That could be the best assignment of them all. Like any traveler, prepare well before you go and arrive with an open mind and a willing heart. You may find yourself with plenty of time and opportunity to really get to know a place (and I do mean P-L-E-N-T-Y of time, if, like I did, you find yourself in a bush outpost with, shall we say, not a whole lot of job prospects). But you will definitely get to experience the country in a way that no casual traveler ever could. And if you pay really close attention and take notes – who knows? – you might even get to write a book about it!

Posted by | Comments (1)  | April 20, 2009
Category: Vagabonding Advice


One Response to “Eve Brown-Waite’s tips on preparing for international aid work”

  1. Jean S. LeSage-Lee Says:

    Dear Eve:
    I have just finished your wonderful book … and somehow it all seems too familiar! Twenty-six years in rural South Korea … no indoor plumbing, the markets, babies on backs, the kids! Oh God! How I could go on! Thanks for a great read from a former Blackstone, Massachusetts girl!