Jargon: NFIs
Translation: NFIs stands for Non-Food Items. This is a package of household items such as blankets, utensils, and cooking pots given to refugees or internally displaced persons to help them survive in their new location. You can find the term in jargony, jargony action here. You can find a definition and discussion here.
Refugees International is always willing to make a controversial point, and I respect them for it. They’ve got a great blog called world:bridge (side note – it’s an excellent example of an NGO using blogging to establish itself as an authority and engage people as partners and donors) which today features an insightful discussion of aid work in conflict areas. I don’t agree with everything they have to say, but they’ve got some excellent points and are thinking at a level of complexity about this topic that most people don’t bother with.
I am heading North this morning for a week of vacation and my baby brother’s wedding. Wish me luck! Internet access is slow and hard to get at my destination, so it’s unlikely I’ll be updating until my return. If you need reading material in my absence, check out these bloggers:
Glenna Gordon, at Uganda’s Scarlett Lion writes about Uganda, obviously, but also broader issues of Africa and development.
Rupert Simons, a Liberia fellow, writes Adventures in Development.
[My] State Failure Blog offers geopolitcal analysis.
White African writes about Africa and technology.
Should you find yourself pining for my unique perspective, here are some posts I have been especially pleased with (that aren’t on the sidebar):
The ongoing Things I Believe in Series.
April 13 -20 was a good week for me.
Bad Granting
Relief vs. Development
See you all in ten days!