Ruth Allen's Humanitarianism

For Somerville’s Ruth Allen, being active in the community is as natural as breathing. Her explanation? “It’s in my blood,” she said.

Sometimes her community is found on the other side of the globe. As director of governance and local partnerships at Mercy Corps, a humanitarian organization that focuses on both short-term and long-term development in 41 countries, Allen has worked in South Sudan, Ethiopia and other far-flung places. She focuses on promoting good governance, global rights, opportunities for women and local political action, among other things.

On March 4 she spoke at the event, and she recently met with me at  in Davis Square, greeting me with a firm handshake and big smile. We sat down to discuss what triggered her to become a humanitarian and political activist.

South Africa

Growing up, Allen’s parents were both heavily involved in community. “My mom was running my Girl Scout troupe, and my dad was president of the PTA,” she told me. With role models such as these, there seemed to be no question Allen would follow in their footsteps.

During college, Allen studied abroad for a semester in South Africa where she was an observer of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid ended. “Our country is so apathetic about civic engagement, but in South Africa there was a 98% turnout rate for the first election,” she told me. “There was such an amazing energy there.” This was the moment when she decided she wanted to make political transformation her career.

Somerville, and around the world

At Mercy Corps, which does everything from providing emergency relief in Haiti to advising local civic organizations around the world, she manages a team that focuses on good governance and establishing partnerships between communities abroad and local organizations in Somerville. “Some of the types of groups I am involved with are local churches and Obama for America in Somerville,” she said.

She also travels the world to visit developing countries. Having been bitten by the “travel bug” from her parents, this is one of Allen’s favorite aspects of her job, although at times it can be quite challenging. “I’m learning more often then I’m giving, but I feel like my role is to know about a lot of different places and know about the different things people are doing so that people who don’t have opportunities can be inspired and think outside the box.”

This is done in collaboration with local governments or communities, she said, "so that it meets their needs and ambitions.”

As far as living in Somerville, Allen loves it. “It’s a diverse city,” she said. “Whenever I come back from somewhere, people know where that is, and they have relevant things to say about it.” It’s fairly obvious Allen loves what she does, and her passion for seeing positive change in the world was palpable throughout our conversation.

“We as Americans have a posture of thinking we have a lot to give to the world, but we also have a lot to learn from the world," she said.

A story from Sudan

Toward the end of our conversation, Allen shared an inspiring story about women in South Sudan. She first went there to do an assessment on local women’s organizations. These women wanted to be able to pay their children’s school fees and get them better learning opportunities. “A woman looked at us and said ‘we need to learn how to count.’”

Since then Allen has been back to visit several times. “To see how groups like this have been able to do what they originally set out to do, but also to dream far beyond that with such creativity, is fantastic,” she said. It's stories like this that seem to drive Allen's ambition to give a voice to those who so desperately deserve it.