In Our Words

Storytelling highlighting the lived experiences of foreign assistance professionals

This page features podcasts, blogs, documentaries, books, and creative work by people directly affected by the sudden collapse of U.S. foreign assistance after the stop-work order. Together, these pieces reflect how this moment is being lived and understood by those closest to the work as well as perspectives for what lies ahead.

Storytelling Initiatives

A collection of podcasts, documentary films, photography and art exhibits, oral history projects, and written works designed to inform audiences and document the voices, memories, and lessons of a community at the center of one of the most significant turning points in U.S. foreign assistance.

Listen

Podcasts and more

Unsung Americans

A weekly podcast about the frontline aid workers who delivered US foreign assistance and why it matters in plain English. This show aims to educate the public on what exactly the work looked like from the people who did it.

Global Development Interrupted

A podcast about the people behind U.S. foreign assistance. Through personal stories, the podcast shares the voices of those who dedicated their careers to global development, showing who they are, why their work mattered, and what was lost when support was withdrawn. It’s a space to hear the human stories behind the numbers and to understand why foreign assistance is still needed.

Deep Cuts Podcast

Deep Cuts is a podcast about the deep, sudden cuts made by the U.S. Federal Government in 2025 told by the people most affected by them. The first series will feature interviews with people who worked with or for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sharing stories about their work, career paths, and what inspired them to undertake a career of public service and humanitarian aid.

It Was Never A Job

A podcast by Chris Saenger about life overseas with USAID, featuring stories of remote project visits, danger, VIP visits, the impact on families, and more.

Center for Development History

The Center for Development History (CDH) is an initiative to capture and retain the lived experiences, lessons learned, and history of international development professionals who devoted the bulk of their careers to working with international NGOs, humanitarian relief organizations, firms, and universities.

USAID Oral History Project

This oral history project documents a pivotal moment in the history of USAID and the changing landscape of humanitarian work. Through interviews with aid workers, officials, contractors, and research partners, it captures the experiences and reflections of those connected to USAID during a time of transition and uncertainty to create an archival collection that preserves the voices, memories, and lessons of a community.

Watch

Documentaries and visual media

Rovina’s Choice

Rovina’s Choice is a gripping short documentary that follows refugee mother Rovina Naboi in Kenya’s Kakuma camp as she struggles to keep her daughter alive amid the dismantling of USAID programs that once sustained her community. When critical U.S. aid is cut, families are forced to make impossible choices. Through Rovina’s story, the film exposes the far-reaching human impact of dismantled development efforts and the resilience of those left behind.

The Faces of Foreign Aid

This exhibit documents the stories of people whose lives have been forever changed by the kindness of Americans they’ve never met. Their stories landed on the desks of Congress, international aid organizations, and donors, but were seldom shared with the American people. This exhibit offers images and accounts that illustrate the impact of global aid efforts supported both directly and indirectly by the United States and its partners.

Friends of USAID

Join Friends of USAID on Instagram to explore inspiring stories, impactful initiatives, and the faces behind foreign assistance. With every post, they invite you to join in the remarkable journey of how American generosity transforms lives around the world, fostering connections and creating lasting impact. Discover behind-the-scenes glimpses, curated narratives, and updates that celebrate the spirit of and commitment to a better world.

Read

Books and first-hand testamonials

Into the Wood Chipper

Into the Wood Chipper is a firsthand account of the dismantling of USAID, written by a former top global health official. The book documents the indifference, cruelty, and incompetence that hollowed out an institution responsible for saving millions of lives. Centering both political appointees and the civil servants caught in the collapse, the narrative traces the author’s path to whistleblowing and examines the personal cost of public service, accountability, and impossible choices.

I Said My Piece, With Peace

I Said My Piece, With Peace: Inside USAID’s Final Days is Kiesha Effom’s memoir of leadership during the final days of USAID. Drawing on 18 years in international development, Effom recounts what it meant to lead through institutional collapse as a Mission Director, when certainty disappeared but responsibility didn’t. The book centers servant leadership, unseen negotiations, and the moral courage required to stand with a team when systems fail.

The World In My Bones: The Diplomat Queens Made

Raised by a Haitian single mother in Queens, the author forged a career in global diplomacy, serving on the frontlines of USAID across Africa and Southeast Asia, only to watch the life she’d spent decades building suddenly fall apart.
This is the story of what comes next. Of leading through institutional burnout, caregiving for a mother with dementia, and navigating grief while the world still expects you to perform. But it’s also a story of joy, of friendship, travel, love, and the cultures discovered through food, language, and people.

Contribute

Share your story

Unclassified USAID

UNCLASSIFIED is a nonpartisan archival project of shared experience. It exists to preserve lived history before it fades. Contributions are welcome in any form: written reflections, audio, video, photography, artwork, or poetry. Submissions may be shared publicly or anonymously (we can help make it anonymous).

Center for Development History

The Center for Development History (CDH) is an initiative to capture and retain the lived experiences, lessons learned, and history of international development professionals who devoted the bulk of their careers to working with international NGOs, humanitarian relief organizations, firms, and universities.

USAID Oral History Project

This oral history project documents a pivotal moment in the history of USAID and the changing landscape of humanitarian work. Through interviews with aid workers, officials, contractors, and research partners, it captures the experiences and reflections of those connected to USAID during a time of transition and uncertainty to create an archival collection that preserves the voices, memories, and lessons of a community.

Voices of Experience

This is a collection of blogs and Substacks written by people working in foreign assistance. You’ll find commentary on current events, policy shifts, and the realities of the work, shared from first-hand experience.

Do you know of a good storytelling initiative, Substack or Blog about foreign policy, humanitarian assistance, or similar that we missed? Use the button to submit additions!

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