I believe Inga Kaskelyte is a bit of a nomad, and though she was surprised to hear me say this following our two-hour conversation, she promptly agreed. Over the past 15 years, she's called Lithuania, the Czech Republic, the UK and Bulgaria, home, and is now fluent in English, Polish, Russian, Czech and her mother tongue, Lithuanian. Furthermore, she and her husband Steve have yet to put down any real roots. And so far, this suits her just perfectly.

"I enjoy a life of transition," she explains.  "It prevents me from getting attached to `stuff' and keeps me open-minded to new ideas.  It's amazing how little you really need to be happy."

Indeed, transition is a common theme in Inga's life.  Born in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, Inga grew up at a time when the country was still part of the Soviet Union.  At 19, she entered university to study Czech language and literature.  But in her second year, Inga was offered a scholarship to study at Prague's Charles University and for the first time, she left her family to explore a new nation on the brink of EU accession. 

In Prague, Inga's excellent language proficiency allowed her full integration into Czech life.  But not long after enrolling, she felt stifled by her narrow academic path and was eager for hands-on experience.  She wanted to make an impact in Czech society. Over the next few years of school, she worked part-time for several NGOs and found the civil society sector to be a place where she could grow, contribute and see results.  But there was also a down side.  And incessant dependence on grants, and high staff turnover led her in a new direction.

"I wanted to bring about real change and participate in a broader sense of development," she reflects. 

In 1998, Inga began a five-year career with the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF). While still working for an NGO, she was now at a more strategic level.  Among many other projects, she helped launch a homegrown, nationwide fundraising campaign called Help the Children.  By basing the initiative on the principles of philanthropy, corporate responsibility and community, rather than sympathy, CSDF introduced a new perspective to the traditional charity concept.  This domestically-raised money was then dispersed to applying NGOs.

"Never before had there been such an intense campaign with such scale and so many potential stakeholders.  For the Czech Republic it was a new way of working together."

But it was when Inga stumbled upon a potential solution to the fundraising struggles of the Central and Eastern European civil society sector, called Project Cycle Management Training, that she felt enlightened.  This methodology is designed to provide NGOs with training for project design rather than grant applications, and after writing and evaluating so many of these over the years, Inga felt this was the key to real progress. 

"Because Eastern Europe was not taught to think in strategic terms, the Western European grant applications don't translate well," she says.  "But this empowering approach addresses the gap and builds human capacity to create projects instead of completing forms."

Inga quickly helped her NGO launch and manage a programme to train other organisations on this concept, and soon discovered that she was ready for a more theoretical perspective.  So, following a year-long jaunt back to Lithuania, where she was helping yet another country in EU transition with structural funding, she headed for Wolverhampton, UK, where she enrolled in a 12-month Project Cycle Management programme at the Centre for International Development and Training.  Here, a class of merely 14 combined experiences of professionals from all over the world.  Inga admits that she was initially shocked, but then pleasantly surprised by the interactive style, lack of lecturer guidance, and skills, necessary to succeed in such an informal learning environment.

"I was accustomed to the Soviet system of education, where you listened, repeated and memorised." Inga admits.  "Suddenly, I had to lead arguments and become much quicker on my feet.  It was a terrific learning experience." 

And now, Inga has landed in Bulgaria.  She arrived in September of 2005, following her husband Steve, a UK-native, when he took a job with the European Union PHARE Programme.  She knew they'd be here only a year, and as a result, felt an immediate intensity to begin her contribution.  But with Inga's past experience and travels, that wasn't a problem. Her knowledge of Slavic languages allowed her to pick up Bulgarian very quickly.  She says that the expat community was so welcoming, she soon found work as a project design consultant, facilitating and evaluating for organisations like Traditzia, Peace Corps and Save the Children.

Inga is also pleased to be living in such a mountainous region since Lithuania is very flat.  She and Steve just spent a week in Bansko, learning to ski.  She adds, with a smile, that they were pleased with the friendly energy of the town.  While Steve's contract ends in September, Inga admits that they're still not certain of their next destination.  For now, she's happy to live in the moment. 

"I'm comfortable here.  Bulgaria is in the same position as Lithuania and the Czech Republic were not so long ago.  I see many parallels.  Hopefully I can help provide some value."