Stuart Coles

My decision to switch careers was an admittedly emotive one – made documenting street children in Cambodia for a photo agency.

Drained from a (later hospitalising) virus and overwhelmed by their squalid living conditions, I decided there and then I could no longer simply be a witness.

I left behind a varied career of some 15 years as a journalist – with the UK’s Press Association, as an entertainment reporter in Los Angeles, and in later years as a freelance in Japan and South East Asia and as an environmental writer for the likes of the Guardian, BBC and Telegraph.

I have never regretted that decision. I have been with Plan since March 2009. 

I have much to learn about development – at times a daunting prospect. But inspiration from those wanting to improve the world around them continues to drive me.

My love of music, company of friends and family and a beer in the hand usually go some way to easing those difficult days when you question what difference you are making.