“When I first worked in Zimbabwe, I was a complete novice. I was doing ...” — Ann Cotton Quote

When I first worked in Zimbabwe, I was a complete novice. I was doing a study, and I continued to learn more and more through the years. And where I have learned most is in the village, from the communities.

The organization I founded in 1993, Camfed (the Campaign for Female Education), was in large part inspired by the generosity shown to me by a community in a village in Zimbabwe. During my visit to Mola to research girls' exclusion from education, the people of Mola fed me, shaded me, walked and talked with me for hours each day.

The prevailing view was that girls were outside of school because of the resistance of families to their education. But when I visited a local village, what everyone told me - the chiefs, the parents, the children - was that girls weren't in school because it was the boys that had a better chance of getting paid work in the future.

I recall an 18-year-old girl named Rachel in Zambia who was given a grant to start a business of her choosing. She decided to breed goats so she could sell the meat and the milk, and donate the kids to orphan children. She herself was an orphan, stepping into young adulthood with no resources, and it was her first opportunity to earn her own money.

Sometimes you read something, and you have to read more and more about the background.

I'll always protect what I'm working on. Which is why more and more of it is stuff only I can ruin.

I get less and less sketching done at shows, as more and more people want to come up and talk or get stuff signed. Most requested character? Probably Catwoman.

Just as I got older, I think I've become more and more conservative.

Family is becoming more and more important to me.