GirlGI | Girl Gone International Issue 6 | Page 27

Why might this
particular field be of
interest to other GGIs?
While there is no hard evidence
or research out there about how
many women work for aid agencies in humanitarian responses, I
think it is a high percentage. Yet,
in the popular psyche, humanitarian aid work is characterized by
being macho, living on the edge,
climbing heaps of rubble, unloading sacks of food, dealing with
mud, Land Cruisers and helicopters.

What do you enjoy
most and least about
your job?
One of the best-kept secrets about
working in this field is that Westerners make up a very small percentage of the total aid workers
in any country, so you can work
with and develop friendships with
people from hugely different backgrounds. Usually, they are also
extremely caring, compassionate,
kind and welcoming; they are
people who want others to know
and see the best their country has
to offer even if there is a war going
on. There are kind and generous
people in every place on earth.