A South African proverb says: “Money can’t talk, but it can make lies look true.”

Four women and two men – all committed to “Overseas Aid” in an unnamed African country. Doing no harm must be the easiest thing in the world, right?

Sam and Alex are “development experts” (AKA accountants). They fly into the unnamed Africa country to assess the effectiveness of a small, local NGO in its struggle against poverty. The NGO is run by Dambisa with her foster father, Christopher; they are supported by Edriam, a local entrepreneur.

Sam has a lot to prove to her bosses having made a hash of her last assignment. Alex seems more interested in developing a relationship with Dambisa. Edriam and Christopher have history. Over the years, Dambisa and Christopher have evolved a delicate interweaving of the personal and the professional.

Claire arrives with gifts for a village school from her little Derbyshire charity. Her sincere but naïve questions cause confrontations that peel back the dangerous, complex, disturbing, sometimes hilarious, layers of the lived experience of “Overseas Aid.”

With You Always was inspired by the stories told in the book Aid, NGOs and the Realities of Women’s Lives: A Perfect Storm edited by Tina Wallace and Fenella Porter – research associates of IGS, Oxford.