Tag Archives: Faith and Hope in International Development

Nine Tips for International Development Practitioners

Posted on April 2, 2016 by jocknoble

March 2016 marked ten years since I began working in International Development focusing primarily on local economic development. So I thought this a good time to put down a few  insights that I have found useful or which I think … Continue reading →

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History and Me

Posted on October 23, 2014 by jocknoble

Armenians being Marched by Turkish soldiers near Van 1915 Postcard from Yerevan I stumbled on the rocky ground but managed to grab hold of the piping rail and pull myself up the grid iron steps to the rear landing of … Continue reading →

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Riding on Trust

Posted on October 23, 2014 by jocknoble

Postcard from Hanoi I am free falling, no escape. My head in my hands, panic somewhere just below where my heart should be. I tell myself I have been to this place before and so far it has always ended … Continue reading →

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Alone with others and two headed yellow dragons

Posted on August 3, 2014 by jocknoble

  “Anyone or anything that does not bring you alive is too small for you.”                             (Poet David Whyte) Postcard from Senegal I am back in Senegal, eight months since … Continue reading →

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Too dumb to keep but too hard to leave behind

Posted on August 3, 2014 by jocknoble

Meeting in the village of Foudou – The floor is earth and the sides are open, the essence of humility Postcard from Senegal It is March, I am in Dakar and have just been picked up from my hotel to … Continue reading →

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In Praise of Dreams

Posted on August 3, 2014 by jocknoble

Postcard from Solomon Islands We are sitting in a circle on white plastic moulded chairs on the sand. I am in Honiara with a group of Solomon Islanders, they are speaking of high youth unemployment, few jobs and little money, … Continue reading →

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When You Have No Choice

Posted on July 6, 2014 by jocknoble

I am flying into Nairobi from Dubai, I have been in the air for twenty hours since leaving Melbourne, twenty eight hours since I locked the door of my apartment. The TV screen on the centre aisle bulkhead shows map … Continue reading →

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Travelling with Osama bin Laden; Solomon and the deaf cousin

Posted on July 6, 2014 by jocknoble

I walk up the hill towards the apartment where am staying with friends in the Damascus suburb of Al Afif. Directly in front of me, desert sand coloured houses are stacked against the steep rocky side of Mount Qasioun and … Continue reading →

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Hopelessness and Hope

Posted on July 6, 2014 by jocknoble

Nicholas the driver and I left Nairobi in a white Toyota troop carrier at 7.30am. It negotiates the Nairobi traffic like a whale but soon we are out of rush hour and hurtling down Waiaki Way towards Naivasha in the … Continue reading →

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Believing Into Real

Posted on July 2, 2014 by jocknoble

Belief in what is real takes all kinds of forms. I recently bought a new pair of glasses in Jakarta.  They cost about the same as they would have in Australia, but I needed them, my world increasingly out of … Continue reading →

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