IT’S a long way from Addis Ababa to Worcester. As John Denver once sang: “A long time to hang in the sky.” But the phone call coming in to our newsroom by satellite was as clear as a bell. Conspicuously clearer than one which had arrived 10 minutes before on a mobile from Leigh Sinton, a few miles down the road.

But then Paul Walters is well used to international communications and obviously has the kit for it. While some folk may switch home from Malvern to Evesham or Droitwich to Callow End, in the last decade he has lived in Bangladesh, Ghana and now Ethiopia, plus also spending time in Pakistan and China. Not bad considering it all began in a family house in Ronkswood, Worcester.

Those who remember him during his years at Ronkswood Primary, Nunnery Wood High and then Worcester Sixth Form College, may be interested to learn their former fellow student, now 37-years-old, is an international economist.

He travels the globe making sure the UK’s international aid money is spent wisely. At the moment he is based in Addis, heading a team from the British Government’s department for international development, which is helping to improve the lives of Ethiopia’s poorest people. Testament to his travels, his three year-old daughter Emily was born in Bankok.

Recently, as part of a visit by the Government’s new International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell, Paul went native in Ethiopia – or as the current vernacular has it enjoyed “village immersion” (although that sounds as if they ducked him in the local pond) as a way of experiencing first hand the life of poor farmers.

He slept in a hut together with the family’s 10 children and animals. Paul said: “When you see their lives in such close proximity is makes you realise that our work is nowhere near done. They are still incredibly poor. They have only one set of clothes and they are one bad harvest away from ruin.”

Nevertheless, the aid effort is working. The number of schools and health clinics is increasing and the access to drinking water improving.

He said: “It may not sound much to homes in the UK but to be within 10 minutes walk of a water point is real progress in rural Ethiopia.

“Previously they would have had to walk two or three hours.”

However, for desperate, raggedy poverty, nothing so far beats the couple of years Paul spent in Bangladesh. He said: “I’ve never seen poverty like it. A big problem is the flooding, because a third of the country disappears under water each year. However, you cannot but admire their attitude.

They just get on with it and make the best they can. The people work so hard. There is great entrepreneurial spirit, especially in manufacturing, and this needs encouraging. An increasing number of items bought in the West are now made in Bangladesh, which shows the country’s economy is improving. Although there is still a very long way to go.”

Paul’s three years in Ghana revealed a very different country.

He said: “It has a lot going for it in terms of natural resources. It had gold and timber and is rich in minerals. It’s also moving in the right direction and is not far away from real prosperity.”

Of course, the whole subject of shelling out millions in overseas aid – Paul’s annual spend in Ethiopia is more than £100 million – has come under the microscope in the last few years as the developed world itself suffered a financial crisis of its own with banks crashing and profits tumbling.

Paul said: “People in the poorer countries are aware of our problems. It’s one of the results of a global media and the internet.

They know the West has been having a tough time of it financially and this makes them even more appreciative of the support we can give them.”

After leaving Worcester Sixth Form College, Paul studied economics at Sussex University and graduated in 1996. He then went straight into the Civil Service and worked for two years in social security, before joining the international development department in 1998. His first remit was to cover projects in Pakistan and China, for which he was based in London, although he travelled frequently to the countries involved.

Since then, Paul and his wife Benedetta – who also works in development for the EU – have lived abroad. However, he still returns to Worcester to visit relatives and keeps in touch with local happenings through the Worcester News’ website.

His particular passion is sport and a considerable chunk of our not inexpensive phone call from Addis Ababa was taken up discussing the latest fortunes of the city’s football, cricket and rugby clubs. On that basis, maybe Worcester City FC could do with a bit of international aid.