Aid worker stories
Filter Personal Stories
Displaying results 1 - 20 of 68 Jump to page: 1 2 3 4 Next
-
Paul Jawor explains why low tech is often better than high tech
I dont know who invented the tin-roof, but its not ideal as the roofing material of choice across Africa. If the outside temperature is 40 degrees its likely to be even hotter than that inside a building with a tin roof, writes Paul Jawor.
-
Portable, practical, inflatable: surgery in the bubble
Performing surgery in a plastic bubble and other portable, practical solutions used by doctors in emergencies, by RedR Member and MSF engineer Paul Jawor.
-
Building disaster-resilient homes in cyclone-prone Madagascar
In Madagascar, where cyclones regularly destroy thousands of homes, poverty and deforestation make timber hard to come by and prevent rebuilding. RedR Trustee Rumana Kabir worked with local NGOs to build disaster-resilient housing using limited resources.
-
So you want to be a Communications Officer?
Working in the humanitarian sector is rewarding but difficult. We spoke with two Communications Officers to pick their brains about the steps to take, the skills to acquire and what it is really like when you get in.
-
Member Spotlight
Dr. Andre Steele, one of RedRs newest Members, discusses his humanitarian experience, working for a RedR Corporate Partner, and why RedR Membership is so important to him.
-
South Sudan: Independence at a price
Arriving just days after South Sudans independence last year, Philip Okanya Aurugai says he has seen a flowering of enthusiasm and activity in the nation. But, as he tells RedAlert, a lack of infrastructure and a weak currency are making it hard for ...
-
Needs Assessment in Somalia
Aleksandra Godziejewska is Head of Mission for Polish Humanitarian Action in Somalia. This June, as part of her job responding to one of the most complex crises in the world, Aleksandra did a Needs Assessment training with RedR in Prague...
-
EAST AFRICA AID WORKERS: Karameldin Adam, Child Development Foundation
When people ask me why I do the job I do, I think of the challenges our children face every day. It still shocks me that 80% of our school-age kids don't go to school. Or that 50% of our youth today hasn't made it through education.
-
EAST AFRICA AID WORKERS: Simeneh Gebeyehu, National Water and Sanitation Officer, UNHCR
I know how important my skills are when it comes to saving lives. I am based in Jijiga, Eastern Ethiopia. It's a challenging location as we're close to the border with Somalia and we work with refugees who have fled civil war...
-
EAST AFRICA AID WORKERS: Tom Ogol, WASH Engineer & Project Assistant, Norwegian Refugee Council
Here in the Dadaab region of North West Kenya, we know only too well that the East Africa food crisis and drought is still far from over. I work in a refugee camp called Ifo 2 and I've been here for nearly a year.
-
EAST AFRICA AID WORKERS: Ahmed Khamis Alnour, Education Superviser
We provide basic education services - like reading, writing and playtime - for children living in a local camp for internally displaced people called Alhujaj. The camp is home to about 5000 men, women and children...
-
Water in the desert - how boreholes save lives
Boreholes. It might not sound like the sexiest of topics, but in disasters, boreholes - and being able to access clean water in the middle of nowhere - really is a life and death issue says RedR Member, Paul Jawor.
-
Day in the life: The Rainbow Warrior engineer
RedR Member Dave Caister has spent the past 20 years working on and off with development and environmental organisations, most notably as an electrical engineer on Greenpeace's famous Rainbow Warrior ship.
-
Day in the life: The humanitarian security coordinator
Aid worker security is one of the biggest challenges facing humanitarian organisations. RedR Member and Security Coordinator for Islamic Relief Worldwide, Tony Keating, says its all about flexibility and finding solutions to ensure aid delivery continues.
-
RedR member leads Oxfam's humanitarian assessment in Libya
Over the past month, more than 400,000 civilians have fled political unrest in Libya. Oxfam's Senior Humanitarian Representative, has recently returned from a mission to assess the likely need for a humanitarian response as the Libyan crisis continues.
-
Engineering in a time of cholera
The recent cholera crisis in Haiti, though it received attention for a short period, has now slipped from the headlines. But that doesn't mean to say things have got any better. In fact, they've got worse, says Civil Engineer and RedR Member Paul Jawor.
-
Keeping relief workers safe on the front line of aid programmes in Yemen
The security challenges facing Yemen are rarely out of the media spotlight. From the high profile kidnapping of a group of European tourists in 2009 to the recent unrest on the streets of the capital Sana'a, security is an issue aid agencies...
-
Ensuring quality and accountability in flood response programmes
Titus Prince, Field Coordinator for Pakistan-based NGO Sungi Development Fund, explains how RedR training enabled him to design improved flood response programmes to meet the needs of those affected.
-
STORIES FROM HAITI: Nicolette Bernard, Nurse & Hygiene Promoter
The panic still continues as Haitians deal with the long-term psychological impact of the earthquake. Haitian nurse Nicolette Bernard talks about the immediate devastation and why there's still a question mark over Haiti's future.
-
STORIES FROM HAITI: Robert Hodgson, RedR Trustee and interim Country Director
Robert Hodgson, RedR Trustee and interim Country Director in Haiti, explains why disaster relief should be about supporting local people in reconstructing their own lives.
