December 4, 2017

Growing up with development sector parents

Growing up with two parents in the development sector was a unique experience, with challenges and benefits that were unusual, to say the least. Here's a glimpse into what it looked like.

2 min read

For starters,

This was everyone’s reaction when I said my father was a developmental consultant:
development sector parents

Then of course, there was fundraising.

When your parent works at a nonprofit, you have to raise funds from your school. Here’s what asking for money the first time felt like:

development sector parents
And after a while it began to feel like this:

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development sector parents

Related article: Saas-bahu reactions for your everyday nonprofit life

Things only got worse as I got older.

When university applications approached, everybody wanted to do something that ‘looked good on their CV’. My only response was:

development sector parents

Things at home were rather different too.

Whenever my brother or I wanted to go out with friends, negotiating permission looked a little like this:

development sector parents

 

Not to mention, I never got much sympathy from my parents for the mountains of homework I had:

development sector parents

That said, living with parents in the development sector had its benefits.

For one, as a child, my father always knew how to put me to sleep:

development sector parents

And, of course, there were the wild work parties:

development sector parents

All in all, growing up with parents in the development sector was a mixed experience. It had its ups, and it had its downs, and, above all, it had LOTS of awful puns.

Mom: Finally sent in the plan for governmental funding.

Dad: I take it for granted that you are relieved. I propose we go out to dinner to celebrate. I will fund it myself.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Kabir Karamchandani-Image
Kabir Karamchandani

Kabir is currently an intern at India Development Review. He has an IB diploma from the Bombay International School. Currently, he is taking a gap year to work in the development sector. When he is not interning at IDR, he spends his spare time reading, writing, and speculating on MTGO to raise money for charity.

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