Embroidering History

Embroidering History: An Englishwoman's Experience as an Humanitarian Aid Volunteer in Post-War Poland, 1924-1925 provides a glimpse inside the inner workings of an early humanitarian aid project through the lively letters of a middle class English woman who steps out of her depth into rural village life in post-war Poland of 1925. She leaves teaching to volunteer with a Quaker project providing income generating work for refugee peasant women...[the] introduction places the project in the wider context of humanitarian aid provision in the aftermath of WWI, and explores how the different motives and expectations of the people involved -- international staff, local staff, project beneficiaries, and local power brokers -- shape the projects outcomes, and reveal conflicts rooted in culture and power that will resonate with anyone interested in international aid today. -- Publisher's description.