“I learned a considerable amount from this experience. It showed me the politics of humanitarian work and the social skills it requires are just as important as engineering knowledge. I now have a better understanding and appreciation of the sector, and this will help me so much in my career." Hands-on-Experience 2019 Participant
What will I gain by attending this trip?
Indonesia is a country which is regularly in the international news due to its frequent major natural disasters. Typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions regularly strike the Indonesian Islands. These have a direct impact on people’s lives as well as leading to flooding, landslides, tsunamis and mudflows. Indonesians have developed schemes and systems to mitigate the risks from such disasters and to cater for people’s needs when the disasters strike.
“We had the opportunity to integrate with local communities, NGOs, and government organisations and understand how these groups work together… We also discussed plans with local communities and listened to how they wanted to implement responses.” Hands-on-Experience 2019 Participant
This field experience is aimed primarily at those potentially interested in working in the disaster relief sector. It will again be hosted by RedR Indonesia with support from Dr Mark Errington and Dr Robert Hodgson, both of whom have practical experience of working in disaster areas around the world. Sign up now!
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The experience will include living in the sort of basic field conditions often found within disaster relief work and will mainly be based within local communities. Hands-on exercises in rehabilitation and meetings with many different actors in humanitarian relief will give participants a valuable and realistic view of disaster relief work.
“It was a challenge to go into disaster-prone areas with preconceived ideas of what we could do. I learnt that the solution is not always hard engineering one and it’s vital to speak to local communities about solutions because they would often have something different and better in mind." Hands-on-Experience 2019 Participant
Sign up now!