tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25985436207289342882011-11-27T16:31:53.028-08:00Some brief anecdotes and advice on being an aid worker in some of the world's hot spots and disaster zones.Steve Hutchesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13409774188998557126noreply@blogger.comBlogger61100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2598543620728934288.post-37560144320465360382008-01-10T19:36:00.000-08:002008-01-11T20:17:27.849-08:00

Toby Porter writing at Humanitarian Practice Network on the Frustrations of CERF argues that the UN central system is making it harder for NGO's to secure the necessary funding to respond quickly.I have worked for both NGOs and the UN performing direct and indirect relief work however I find I am largely in disagreement with Toby with respect to the overall management of a central funding process

Steve Hutchesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13409774188998557126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2598543620728934288.post-27256360034363876622008-01-09T20:42:00.001-08:002008-01-09T23:20:36.332-08:00

One thing I have learned after several years in the field is the need to maintain a sense of seriousness about security. While working in Afghanistan over a two year period there were a number of casualties amongst the internationals and I had the disturbing fortune to know six or them personally, some quite well, all were killed by the terrorists. There was also the kidnappings that seemed to be

Steve Hutchesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13409774188998557126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2598543620728934288.post-37672643962160643762008-01-09T01:25:00.001-08:002008-01-09T19:55:00.284-08:00

Getting a JobOne of the difficulties facing people interested in working in some of these disaster regions of the world is in fact finding and getting a job.The first port of call should be looking at the job lists on reliefweb. This website is produced by the UN OCHA however almost all Non-Government Organizations (NGO's) will use it to advertise their positions vacant. Then of course you can

Steve Hutchesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13409774188998557126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2598543620728934288.post-7810887629170003132008-01-09T00:45:00.001-08:002008-01-09T00:59:00.916-08:00

In 1999, Kosovo had a very bleak winter. I had arrived around the end of September while the weather was still mild and sunny, pleasant even. What I was not prepared for was the extreme cold that was to settle on the place during that winter. At its most extreme I was told the weather in the city had reached -29 degrees below freezing. All our fleet of diesel powered vehicle had frozen fuel lines

Steve Hutchesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13409774188998557126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2598543620728934288.post-68912015728080707892008-01-08T23:59:00.000-08:002008-01-09T00:44:56.102-08:00

I can remember a guy I worked with early on in my humanitarian career who made a rather bold statement, "He was going to save the world".The reality is you can't. All you can do is make life a bit more palatable for those within your particular bailiwick. With something like 25 million people living at or near starvation levels, millions living in abject poverty and millions more dying each year

Steve Hutchesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13409774188998557126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2598543620728934288.post-38399058197374171222008-01-08T21:40:00.000-08:002008-01-09T21:37:06.468-08:00

I guess this post and even this blog site is directed towards those noble people who want to go out into the world, live in a tent with no running water, eat food out of a tin and put themselves in mortal danger just so they can help other people less fortunate then themselves.On August 17 1999, Istanbul had just experienced a massive earthquake and it was reported that 50,000 people had been

Steve Hutchesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13409774188998557126noreply@blogger.com0