Kimberly Flowers, daughter of Emporians Jerry and Helen Gibson, has made it her life to help and reach out to the poor through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Flowers, who lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the capitol city, is the development outreach and communications officer for USAID. She directs all communications for USAID and its programs.
“Our budget is over $200 million a year,” Flowers said. “We have projects that are doing everything from providing medicine for HIV positive Ethiopians to building private sector involvement in the coffee sector.”
Flowers, 30, has been involved in outreach for quite some time. She grew up in Shawnee, Okla., and majored in communications at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. After college she taught English as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria.
Then she was manager of Outreach and Communications for the DC Commission on National and Community Service in the Executive Office of Mayor Anthony Williams in the District of Columbia. Following that, she went to be a Crisis Corps volunteer in Kingston, Jamaica. She stayed in Jamaica and became the development outreach and communication officer for USAID for Jamaica and the Caribbean Regional Program.
A few months ago, Flowers moved to Ethiopia to take the same job for the USAID mission there.
“This job is more high profile,” Flowers said. “I am a diplomat and live in housing provided by the US Embassy.”
Most of Flowers’ experience has been working in youth development, community volunteerism and international development.
“I have traveled a lot (over 30 countries) and am currently exploring one of the poorest countries in the world,” she said.
A typical day for Flowers is at the office, she said. Flowers’ job responsibilities are reading the local papers to analyze coverage, write and clear press releases and she also works closely with the U.S. Embassy to tell the press what the organization is doing. She also sends information back to Washington highlighting certain projects and activities, trains staff and partners on working with the media and writes media policies for the office and manages all external messages.
“Think of me like a press secretary,” Flowers said. “I am the main press liaison.”
There are many aspects of her job that Flowers said she likes including tight deadlines and writing.
“I (like) telling the story about how U.S. tax dollars are doing amazing work in one of the poorest countries in the world,” Flowers said.
Flowers also said she enjoys learning about all the projects that USAID participates in from education to health to agriculture and food aid.
“What keeps me in it is the ability to live abroad and have a challenging job,” Flowers said.
Flowers noted many differences between Ethiopia and the U.S. One of the major differences is poverty.
“Poverty is so out in the open,” Flowers said. “Women and children (are) begging on the street. People being appreciative of a glass of water and a piece of bread. Lack of materialism.”
Flowers said people in Ethiopia walk everywhere and 85 percent of Ethiopians live in the rural areas and many people depend on cattle to survive.
“They live in mud huts (literally),” Flowers said. “There is a lack of water and cleanliness.”
On the flip side, Flowers said Ethiopians eat with their hands, men are very affectionate and the country has its own calendar, this year being the millennium and the people have their own time.
“They are six hours behind or ahead of the time it should be here,” Flowers said.
Ethiopia is a very religious country, Flowers added.
“Right now most of the country is fasting and not eating any animal products for the next two months until Easter,” she said.