It’s International Street Children’s Day today. The situation of children and young people living and working on the street is horrendous. As a traveller, you often see street children or other vulnerable children, especially in poorer and …
Category: Realist idealist
How to get a job with an NGO
Lately, I seem to be getting a lot of questions from people about how they can get a job with an NGO. Or how I got my job(s) with an NGO. I therefore decided …
Humans as pets – care sheet
*A satire…* *Really, humans should not be kept as pets and are not subject to ownership!* About a month ago I got my first pet snake, a corn snake, and I am completely …
Refugees vs (economic) immigrants vs expats
Lately, I don’t want to talk to people about issues of refugees or immigration as I’m worried their viewpoints will make me want to end the friendship or connection right there (this is …
The trouble with parents
Parents… How do people become parents? I guess people grow up and one day decide to become (or end up being) parents. But how do people become good parents? I believe a loving family …
And I’m back… at ECPAT!
It has been a while since I last wrote… In the meantime, after almost ten months of rest and recuperation, focusing on the things I love (dog training, photography, long walks in nature with …
If money were no object, what would you do?
I have recently resigned from my job at the UN for a variety of reasons. The main reason being that it was not what I expected/hoped it to be and that I recognised/realised that …
Challenging beliefs – #6: Positive reinforcement does not work on people
Bad parents and bad managers have a lot in common. Or perhaps it is just a ‘bad people’ thing. They don’t listen. They think they know everything best. They believe they can do …
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Challenging beliefs – #5 Stray dogs are aggressive and vicious
People have a common belief that stray animals are vicious and dirty. In the various countries I lived, I have noticed a clear preference for ‘purebred’ dogs, thinking that they are better behaved …
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Challenging beliefs – #4: Dogs are ‘just animals’
“Why do you care so much? They are just animals!” I cannot count how many times I have heard this phrase from people. To claim that animals are ‘just things’ shows, in my …
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