Author Archives: nikki
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absence makes the stomach grow fonder: food variety deprivation, fantasy and phenomena in the humanitarian aid worker life
Posted on October 21, 2012 by nikki in aid work, odds and sods, rituals, unexpected adventures.Food cravings are a motherfucker. After a few weeks of being in the field with the same slop every day, my gastronomic fantasy life takes on a bigger and bigger portion of my conscious and unconscious mind with debilitating consequences. I’ve been through this cycle enough times now to recognize the signs and symptoms, which […]
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refugee camp outbreak: a father, his sick daughter and the tiniest baby
Posted on September 2, 2012 by nikki in aid work.Jamal is the Blue Nile grampa I never had. He is a slight figure, even in his size 42 gumboots. He wears an Islamic cap and always comes early to work, perching on a chair to my right. While there are many younger men on my team, none compete with Jamal’s vigilance. Most mornings at […]
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shitty in pink, part two: lots of refugee ladies, no ladies’ rooms
Posted on August 26, 2012 by nikki in aid work, odds and sods.Easy enough for me to tell my latrine sob story, but let me give an even stronger piece of advice: really, really try to avoid being a refugee in a newly created camp that only has trench latrines. As an aid worker I’m supposed to encourage all refugees to use only the designated camp latrines. […]
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shitty in pink: lady aid worker conquers night time latrine visits
Posted on August 18, 2012 by nikki in aid work, health and beauty, odds and sods, rituals, unexpected adventures.I have one key piece of advice for female aid workers on their way to Africa: once you get there, get a potty. This might even be more important than my earlier advice about underwear. Displaying your undies in full view of your boss only happens once a week – the potty issue comes up […]
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four days of mamas and babies: photos of blanket feeding distribution in south sudan
Posted on August 12, 2012 by nikki in aid work.In my first semester of public health school I took a course on refugee health. One of the nutritional programs my instructor talked about was “blanket feeding.” Every time she said the word “blanket” I imagined a huge Iowa-sized quilt descending on a refugee camp in the night, stretching to cover each tent. This week, […]
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