Mango Blue

Brahmapur, India, 2011-2012: Yearning to settle after two years on the road, we moved to rural Odisha in September 2010 to work for a Gram Vikas, an Indian NGO. The experience was life-changing and filled with wonder; but faced with tremendous frustrations at work, we decided to call it quits after a few months. The short-lived Mango Blue documented the experience.

  • The Wind at Our Backs

    “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” —Attributed to Seneca t...

  • Why Help Abroad?

    When we tell friends about our choice to go work in India in international development, one question...

  • In the Eye of the Storm

    One… two… Is this thing on? Three months since our last blog post… And to think I ...

  • What is International Development?

    When we read about humanitarian crises such as famine in Somalia, or floods in New Orleans, a few wo...

  • We’re Moving to India!

    I thought it’d take longer than this. When Helene and I began working on this blog, we envisio...

Roads in Mists

Helene and I have left Gram Vikas. Our departure takes place exactly four months after we arrived, wide-eyed, on Gram Vikas’ lush campus at the beginning of winter. I won’t lie: we had hopes of staying here one year, so ...

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In the Eye of the Storm

One… two… Is this thing on? Three months since our last blog post… And to think I had such good intentions of diligently posting, chronicling our experience as we enter the development field. I saw myself tracking the stirrings of ...

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Why Help Abroad?

When we tell friends about our choice to go work in India in international development, one question returns often: Why help abroad? Why not at home? There’s no denying there’s plenty to do back here in Canada. We may have ...

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Thoughts on Travel

Guest post by Helene. As we prepare for our new adventure, we spend a lot of time reading online resources. We’re big fans of a forum known as India Mike, for one. India Mike, in many ways, is the Indian ...

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The Wind at Our Backs

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” —Attributed to Seneca the Younger,  1st Century AD I don’t believe in fate. Not really. But I believe in auspicious beginnings: those times when things align just so, and the world opens ...

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