I'm quite busy here in Pakistan, so somewhat delay in publishing my thoughts:
Lahore (Pakistan), 17 August 2010
Being an aid worker is very interesting, dangerous, rewarding, self-fulfilling and most importantly crazy, very crazy. One day, while sitting with my family in peace, I can receive a telephone call or watch a piece in the news then all of a sudden your life completely changed, starting calling and receiving calls from all over the world, handling media, fundraising.
___________________________________________________________________
Islamabad (Pakistan) 15 August 2010
One of the issues that struck me most is the phenomena of the well wishers, individuals or small groups of amateurs moved by the images on the TV, then collect some donations from friends, families or maybe mosque or churches, book a ticket then land in an unknown land, buy some relief items (usually food), and start distributing. Without any assessment, planning, discussion or interaction with the country or any other coordination body in the country. As if they are working in a vacuum. Unfortunately, such behaviour or method of work disturbs the existing humanitarian mechanism set by the Government, UN agencies and professional humanitarian agencies. These well wishers with good intention rarely reach the poor or the vulnerable groups, who are away from the main scene, in the remote areas. They tend to throw what they have to the first group of people camping on the main road, who may be professional beggars collecting assistance and sell this in the market. The true needy have no access to any of this assistance because they are not reachable by those well wishers coming for a very limited time. I have a short video recording (which I'll put up later) of such undignified distribution: amateurs throwing food, water or any other aid items from the top of the truck while driving on the main road, reaching only those who can run fast enough and putting people at risk (several people injured through being hit by oncoming traffic).
See you later with new update on the progress of Lunda village
Tuesday 14 September 2010
Tuesday 17 August 2010
News from flood-hit Pakistan
It is quite difficult to land in a country where the whole nation is grieving because of the flood that has affected the life and livelihood of over 20 million people in 2 weeks. It is bit grim and bleak while we head to the most affected area in Nowshara district of Kyber Pakhtoun Khwa (KPK) province. Immediately, we head towards Bir Sabaq village along the Kabul River to distribute some relief supplies. But when we get close to distribution location, we notice a large group of people heading towards us. They are trying to flee from the latest wave of rains and the flooding that follows. Due to torrential rains, the region was declared an emergency zone. The village was again experiencing flash floods and access to the camp by vehicle was not possible. The village consisted of 225 houses of which 200 were destroyed by the flood on 29 July 2010.
The average household size in the village is 8 persons. The residents of the destroyed houses live in spontaneous IDP (internally displaced people) camps, seeking refuge in homes that have survived or continuing to live in their destroyed homes.
See Islamic Relief Pakistan for more photos.
One of the main challenges of working in an emergency is that you plan for one thing but then you have to have the flexibility to change it when the situation on the ground changes. We realised that our original plan would not be possible because the people that we were going to distribute to were no longer there as they had fled their homes and villages. There was thus a discussion whether to go back and postpone the distribution or to redirect the trucks to a different destination, which was not an easy task either. Watching the people flee the area, we realised that there weren’t many women in the group. We realised that there may be women and elderly that may need evacuating from the area. The decision was to cancel the distribution and walk through the water to the other end of the village trying to rescue some vulnerable people to the other end.
Our trucks immediately returned back to the warehouse to unload the hygiene kits and return back empty, ready to evacuate the most vulnerable from the flooded area. We rescued 200 people women, children and elderly. I was up to my waist in water, I was wet and cold, but I felt great and it was more rewarding than distributing some hygiene kit or even a food pack. The following verse from the Quran came to mind: "whoever saves the life of one, it would be as though he had saved mankind" (Quran 5:32).
It is quite common for the death toll from a flood to be much less than from an earthquake. However, the impact on the livelihood on the people in immense, as people lose their house, livestock, food stock, savings thus their sources of incomes. Also, in cases of floods, the risk of the spread of water-borse diseases is significant if no immediate measures are taken This explains why the response of the world in this disaster is quite disappointing compared to Haiti or tsunami or even the Pakistan earthquake 2005.
The average household size in the village is 8 persons. The residents of the destroyed houses live in spontaneous IDP (internally displaced people) camps, seeking refuge in homes that have survived or continuing to live in their destroyed homes.
See Islamic Relief Pakistan for more photos.
One of the main challenges of working in an emergency is that you plan for one thing but then you have to have the flexibility to change it when the situation on the ground changes. We realised that our original plan would not be possible because the people that we were going to distribute to were no longer there as they had fled their homes and villages. There was thus a discussion whether to go back and postpone the distribution or to redirect the trucks to a different destination, which was not an easy task either. Watching the people flee the area, we realised that there weren’t many women in the group. We realised that there may be women and elderly that may need evacuating from the area. The decision was to cancel the distribution and walk through the water to the other end of the village trying to rescue some vulnerable people to the other end.
Our trucks immediately returned back to the warehouse to unload the hygiene kits and return back empty, ready to evacuate the most vulnerable from the flooded area. We rescued 200 people women, children and elderly. I was up to my waist in water, I was wet and cold, but I felt great and it was more rewarding than distributing some hygiene kit or even a food pack. The following verse from the Quran came to mind: "whoever saves the life of one, it would be as though he had saved mankind" (Quran 5:32).
It is quite common for the death toll from a flood to be much less than from an earthquake. However, the impact on the livelihood on the people in immense, as people lose their house, livestock, food stock, savings thus their sources of incomes. Also, in cases of floods, the risk of the spread of water-borse diseases is significant if no immediate measures are taken This explains why the response of the world in this disaster is quite disappointing compared to Haiti or tsunami or even the Pakistan earthquake 2005.
Sunday 4 July 2010
Update
Have neglected this blog for a bit - though have updated my website. In summary: have been traveling quite a bit: Haiti, Yemen, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Geneva... Have now also updated other aspects of my online presence (e.g. YouTube). If you have any suggestions and/ or queries, do get in touch. I enjoy sharing/ exchanging experiences.
Monday 5 April 2010
Attending IHL training by ICRC in Beirut
Also, I am now (29 March - 9 April) in Beirut, Lebanon, at the invitation of the ICRC for an intensive course on international humanitarian law. The course covers the following topics: Introduction to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), IHL and Human Rights Law, Persons Protected under IHL, Places Protected under IHL, Environmental Protection in the Event of Armed Conflict, IHL and Muslim Law (Shari'a), Means and Methods of Warfare in IHL, Peace Support Operations and IHL, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, The Role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Armed Conflicts, Mechanisms of Respect for IHL and its Implementation at the National Level, Development of International Criminal Justice, IHL and Contemporary Challenges, Case Studies from the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Teaching IHL (Materials and Research Methods).... so plenty of reading and new insight!
International humanitarian law is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare.
My stay in Lebanon is also a good opportunity to meet up with the Sphere Lebanon team too, which I did on 5 April.
International humanitarian law is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare.
My stay in Lebanon is also a good opportunity to meet up with the Sphere Lebanon team too, which I did on 5 April.
Disaster Management training at Birmingham University
From end of January to end February I taught Introduction to Disaster Management at Birmingham University again. Besides work in the classroom it also enabled the students to 'get their hands dirty' and do some practicing of some aspects of disaster management.
This module introduces participants to the main principles of disaster management. with a focus on disaster response in the developing world. The course will promote the sharing of relevant technical skills and knowledge and will equip participants with adequate analytical skills through developing key understanding of disaster management procedures, needs assessment methods, principles and values, SPHERE standards, working with refugees and IDPs, and adhering to agreed international standards.
Saturday 6 February 2010
Some thoughts looking back on Haiti trip
I was in Abu Dhabi teaching Disaster Management to government officials and national NGOs when the news hit about the Haiti Earthquake. I made an immediate call to my family to prepare my deployment kit and another call to my main employer Islamic Relief Worldwide to book my ticket and prepare for my travel, and I arranged candidates of the DRT (disaster response team) to join the mission. After some struggles considering different options and airlines, we finally managed to get to Santo Domingo in neighbouring Dominican Republic, then on to Port-au-Prince within 72 hours.
Approaching Port-au-Prince on the fourth day after the earthquake was quite an experience in itself. The first thing that struck us was the overwhelming smell, the smell of death, and the scene of dead bodies lying by the side of the road, something I did not like to see and I do not want to see, despite having seen this on several occasions before (e.g. Iraq, Aceh/ Indonesia and Mozambique).
The capital was in a very chaotic state. Everybody was living in the street. This was no wonder as there was no place to go or no roof to hide under, especially with the risk of aftershocks. A huge number of young men and women queuing by the UN Peace Keeper offices looking for a job. I stopped over and recruited Michael, an English teacher, so that he could take us around and help with translation. In the heat we drove over to the heart of the city, Port–au-prince downtown. No single building had been left standing. The smell of death was killing us; everyone was using something to cover his nose and mouth. Looting was ongoing. Some call it surviving, people fighting to survive, which I can accept in many cases. However, what I have seen in this downtown with aggressive fighting and anarchy for surviving, we felt in extreme danger as people started to fight with each other using machetes, steel bars and all other possible means.
Public parks, car parks and even the main roads are occupied by makeshift shelters made from bed sheets and people sleep under it. I have seen so many cases where people made their makeshift accommodation in the middle of the road either to attract attention for help or as a sign of protest against the government and everybody else.
In the base log, based in the airport, from where the UN Peace Keepers and the international humanitarian community are operating, we set up our small camp (2 small tents). The camp was overcrowded and facilities poor due to the overcrowding, as the UN Peace Keepers who used to live outside the camp in houses or flats had moved inside the camp after their houses were destroyed (and it's safer inside).
Humanitarian agencies face a significant dilemma in trying to get the balance right between looking after their own safety and fulfilling their duty, in particular the principle of the humanitarian imperative. As the street in not safe enough and very challenging to deliver aid to the most needy. During the first week, aid workers were in a survival mood, trying to make sense of it all and settling themselves in, finding out where to sleep, where to wash.
Although I've been an aid worker for almost twenty years, each disaster has unique aspects, for example the media scrutiny is now much more intense and immediate (where journalists sometimes have limited understanding that for them to arrive is easy - just take a plane -, getting significant quantities of appropriate response items cannot be achieved so instantly), and each context is different, for example Haiti already had a most weak infrastructure and significant lack of law and order before the quake hit it. Due to the humanitarian situation, many players were already there, but also suffered significant losses themselves, including the head of the UN.
Haiti Aid Efforts: Agencies must Strike the Right Balance
http://www.newscentre.bham.ac.uk/press/2010/02/Haiti_Aid_Agencies.shtml
Approaching Port-au-Prince on the fourth day after the earthquake was quite an experience in itself. The first thing that struck us was the overwhelming smell, the smell of death, and the scene of dead bodies lying by the side of the road, something I did not like to see and I do not want to see, despite having seen this on several occasions before (e.g. Iraq, Aceh/ Indonesia and Mozambique).
The capital was in a very chaotic state. Everybody was living in the street. This was no wonder as there was no place to go or no roof to hide under, especially with the risk of aftershocks. A huge number of young men and women queuing by the UN Peace Keeper offices looking for a job. I stopped over and recruited Michael, an English teacher, so that he could take us around and help with translation. In the heat we drove over to the heart of the city, Port–au-prince downtown. No single building had been left standing. The smell of death was killing us; everyone was using something to cover his nose and mouth. Looting was ongoing. Some call it surviving, people fighting to survive, which I can accept in many cases. However, what I have seen in this downtown with aggressive fighting and anarchy for surviving, we felt in extreme danger as people started to fight with each other using machetes, steel bars and all other possible means.
Public parks, car parks and even the main roads are occupied by makeshift shelters made from bed sheets and people sleep under it. I have seen so many cases where people made their makeshift accommodation in the middle of the road either to attract attention for help or as a sign of protest against the government and everybody else.
In the base log, based in the airport, from where the UN Peace Keepers and the international humanitarian community are operating, we set up our small camp (2 small tents). The camp was overcrowded and facilities poor due to the overcrowding, as the UN Peace Keepers who used to live outside the camp in houses or flats had moved inside the camp after their houses were destroyed (and it's safer inside).
Humanitarian agencies face a significant dilemma in trying to get the balance right between looking after their own safety and fulfilling their duty, in particular the principle of the humanitarian imperative. As the street in not safe enough and very challenging to deliver aid to the most needy. During the first week, aid workers were in a survival mood, trying to make sense of it all and settling themselves in, finding out where to sleep, where to wash.
Although I've been an aid worker for almost twenty years, each disaster has unique aspects, for example the media scrutiny is now much more intense and immediate (where journalists sometimes have limited understanding that for them to arrive is easy - just take a plane -, getting significant quantities of appropriate response items cannot be achieved so instantly), and each context is different, for example Haiti already had a most weak infrastructure and significant lack of law and order before the quake hit it. Due to the humanitarian situation, many players were already there, but also suffered significant losses themselves, including the head of the UN.
Haiti Aid Efforts: Agencies must Strike the Right Balance
http://www.newscentre.bham.ac.uk/press/2010/02/Haiti_Aid_Agencies.shtml
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Haiti - more info in the media
Just arrived back safely in the UK. It's been a hard, but satisfactory mission... being able to contribute to the humanitarian response is great. As need to catch up on some sleep, again just some links to Islamic Relief's work in Haiti where I was as the team leader:
Mention on IOM website
Mention in The Times
Mention in The Independent
Mention on IOM website
Mention in The Times
Mention in The Independent
Latest from Haiti - via The Guardian
No time for proper post, but I got quoted in an article in The Guardian, so adding that here: Haiti's homeless plead for tents after earthquake
Friday 22 January 2010
Haiti - update 4
Port-au-Prince (PaP) is slowly coming back to life, this city which only a few days ago was reeling from the devastating effects of one of the worst earthquake this country has witnessed in centuries is making a remarkable recovery. Today in what used to be the market place I witnessed a lady with her husband selling homemade ice, while others sold freshly picked fruit and veg. Micro and small entrepreneurs were back in business today in many parts of the city. However, there is still a long way to go before complete normality can return to this city. There is still huge uncertainty mixed with a real sense of grief, while the real and dangerous potential for a violent flare up makes safety a concern for all (remember the country has been suffering from many challenges for many years before the earthquake).
On the humanitarian side, in response to the media pressure and criticism in addition to the news of the extra troops deployment in the city to keep law and order, it seems to me that the humanitarian actors and aid workers have moved into full action. The UN is also deploying its highest ranking officials to add to the momentum of the aid effort and ensure enough resources are being allocated.
There are slight improvements in services for aid workers, for example the canteen is now fully functioning, and there is talk of setting up a separate camp for aid agency workers.
On the humanitarian side, in response to the media pressure and criticism in addition to the news of the extra troops deployment in the city to keep law and order, it seems to me that the humanitarian actors and aid workers have moved into full action. The UN is also deploying its highest ranking officials to add to the momentum of the aid effort and ensure enough resources are being allocated.
There are slight improvements in services for aid workers, for example the canteen is now fully functioning, and there is talk of setting up a separate camp for aid agency workers.
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Haiti - update 3 (19 Jan '10)
General:
I've seen looting is going on, people are out in the street, especially young people looking for food jobs, or anything to get back to their family with. There is a severe shortage of food in the city; the market is empty and not even one restaurant is available. The private sector is not active yet due to the lack of security. We expect the private sector will be activated and the market will be functioning as soon as the security improves.
Electricity: The city still sinking in the dark at night, the government seems reluctant to repair the power station and get the electric power back, in order to avoid any further damage as a result of any further earthquake or tremor/ aftershock.
Water: still severely under supplied due to the damages to the water sources. People get their water either from a hand pump or purchased water trucking. Some NGOs are distributing water via trucking.
Shelter: I haven’t seen any tents having been erected so far, probably due to bottle necks in distribution? People still live in the street in the middle of the road, in the public parks or close to their houses, in makeshift huts made of cloths. There is a huge need for tents and shelter materials. The Government is planning a huge settlement out of the city for 70,000 affected persons or perhaps even much more. They will be concentrated in camps in order for service providers to reach them, so one of the ideas that we are considering is to provide emergency tents to those settlements.
Security: this remain one of the biggest challenges in the city, groups of American army fully dressed in army armour are patrolling the streets now to keep law and order under control (this is exactly as we used to see in Baghdad on the TV). Yesterday some armed vehicles from the UN peacekeepers started patrolling as well. No one can move freely in the city after dark.
Fuel: a severe shortage of fuel is affecting life here to a certain extent. People are queuing long hours to get their cars filled.
Prices: prices of all commodities are rising to an alarming level, as most of the goods come from neighbouring countries, and the life supply line have been disrupted by the quake and the (lack of) security.
Programme: a quick rapid assessment has been conducted in two areas where a severe need for clean water has been identified. A daily trucking will be arranged starting today, where a large number of IDPs will benefit from.
Our Camp: we still live in a tent in the UN camp. We are looking forward to move out so that we can have better facilities, especially access to a shower and washing clothes and wash facility ....etc. It seems to me it is a bit early for this move at the moment to be feasible. We have been advised not to move out now due to the lack of security and poor services outside, so we are assessing the situation on a daily basis and will make a move as soon as we get better option.
Media and communication: we hade done several interviews yesterday, including BBC Arabic TV, Aljazeera English TV, Islamic Channel Radio UK.
All the best for the rest.
Haiti - update 2 (18 Jan '10)
Day three, Port –au-Prince
General: Security is a major concern which hinders the assessment efforts by expatriates as movement can be restricted. People still live in the streets occupying the streets, closing roads close to their destroyed houses and with the hope to attract assistance. The Haitian Government has started cleaning some roads. They have, however, a very modest capacity. People have not started to clear up rubble from the street for many reasons, including waiting for the government or other party to help them in cleaning up, still in shock from the earthquake, to show graves for the lost loved ones and maybe not in the mood to have a new start yet.
Most of the people are living in makeshift tents made of blankets, bed sheets and other materials; others are living in public parks. Some distribution of NFIs and food is ongoing but far less than needed. Some families (the better off) have fled the country to the Dominican Republic (next to Haiti).
IR team: we have established a small camp (2 small tents) within the UN camp, which was a base for the UN peace keepers. The camp is overcrowded and facilities are poor due to the overcrowding, as peacekeepers who used to live outside the camp in houses or flats have moved inside the camp after their houses were destroyed (and it's safer inside).
We are having regular meetings (on daily basis) to divide the tasks between us and have a follow up meeting in the evening everyday.
Priorities and plan:
1.Find a decent and safe place to stay in as a team (at least to secure our belongings as the current setting requires one person to be in the camp at all times to protect our belongings)
2.Recruiting additional local staff and hire additional vehicle to facilitate movement into two teams.
3.Implement a quick impact project
4.Identifying an implementing partner to implement our project
Note Birmingham University's IDD have published a little article on my mission.
Sunday 17 January 2010
In Haiti
My apologies for the lack of updates on this blog... have been focusing on my new website (check out Osman Consulting). However, thinking of keeping this blog as it complements the slightly more static website.
Anyways, I've left for Haiti following the recent destructive earthquake and thought I'd share some news from there:
Day one: 16 January 2010
What happened so far:
We have arrived safely alhamdullah (thank God), to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, next to Haiti). We have made some very relevant connections here; vehicles and drivers have been arranged to take us by road to Port-au-prince by road. We have been told that the road from the border to Port-au-prince is very unsafe due to looters and gangs. Unfortunately this is the only way available now to get to Haiti as quickly as possible (the airport in Haiti has been rendered all but useless and though emergency work is being done, it can't really be used at the moment). We will take all the necessary measures to keep safe. We had a very short team meeting to review plan and priorities.
Current Situation:
So far it seems to me it is very classic scenario: desperate needs for everything, shortage supplies, then very soon there will an oversupply of everything (sent with all the best intentions!). We have to thus be careful though when identifying an area for intervention.
The humanitarian community are still gathering themselves; aid workers are still pouring in every hour from all over the world. The presence of USA-based humanitarian agencies is obvious in this case (geographical proximity and historic relations obviously have to do with this). Priority at the moment is still for search and rescue effort which has been taken care of by governmental teams from USA, UK, UNDAC (United Nations Disaster Assessment & Coordination) and some other European countries (especially by sending military and other people who have special experience in such work). UNDAC have a presence at the Santo Domingo airport, apparently to facilitate humanitarian aid coming to Haiti via DHL and maybe others. The logistics cluster has yet to meet formally. I believe their presence is crucial at this point of time, both in Santo Domingo and Port-au-prince. I will send inquiries to WFP in this regard to learn about plans.
People here, especially the muslim community I have spoken with are gathering relief supplies from shops, supermarkets and houses and send them by road to Haiti on an ad hoc basis. Though this is again of course well-intended I pray it doesn't cause internal strife (e.g. due to jealousy) if not well targeted/ coordinated.
As for logistics: lots of supplies have came in by charter via USA, Panama and Dubai; the cost of such supply routes has become very expensive though, e.g. a charter flight carrying 72MT has gone from $250,000 on 14 January to $500,000 yesterday (15 January). These are good times the for private sector. I believe sending further supplies from Africa, Europe or Asia should be avoided, suggesting instead that most of the supplies should come from neighbouring countries (US and Latin America), both to limit transport costs and for environmental reasons.
Our plans and priorities:
- We are leaving now by road to Port–au- prince
- Establish a safe base for Islamic Relief (most likely UN reception camp at the airport)
- Establish reliable communications, especially with Islamic Relief Worldwide's Humanitarian Department (HD)), IR UK and and IR USA (main IR donors so far)
- Implement a quick impact project (any distribution)
- Send media materials to HD (to also share on within rest of IR family), IR UK, IR USA
- Will try to capture media opportunities for publicity to highlight humanitarian emergency (TV, radio,... etc [update 17 Jan: have e.g. done internview with BBC Arabic])
- Other things we could try to achieve
Note, due to the damage to the communications systems I may not be able to communicate regularly. It is, however, one of the top priorities for the team here.
Anyways, I've left for Haiti following the recent destructive earthquake and thought I'd share some news from there:
Day one: 16 January 2010
What happened so far:
We have arrived safely alhamdullah (thank God), to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, next to Haiti). We have made some very relevant connections here; vehicles and drivers have been arranged to take us by road to Port-au-prince by road. We have been told that the road from the border to Port-au-prince is very unsafe due to looters and gangs. Unfortunately this is the only way available now to get to Haiti as quickly as possible (the airport in Haiti has been rendered all but useless and though emergency work is being done, it can't really be used at the moment). We will take all the necessary measures to keep safe. We had a very short team meeting to review plan and priorities.
Current Situation:
So far it seems to me it is very classic scenario: desperate needs for everything, shortage supplies, then very soon there will an oversupply of everything (sent with all the best intentions!). We have to thus be careful though when identifying an area for intervention.
The humanitarian community are still gathering themselves; aid workers are still pouring in every hour from all over the world. The presence of USA-based humanitarian agencies is obvious in this case (geographical proximity and historic relations obviously have to do with this). Priority at the moment is still for search and rescue effort which has been taken care of by governmental teams from USA, UK, UNDAC (United Nations Disaster Assessment & Coordination) and some other European countries (especially by sending military and other people who have special experience in such work). UNDAC have a presence at the Santo Domingo airport, apparently to facilitate humanitarian aid coming to Haiti via DHL and maybe others. The logistics cluster has yet to meet formally. I believe their presence is crucial at this point of time, both in Santo Domingo and Port-au-prince. I will send inquiries to WFP in this regard to learn about plans.
People here, especially the muslim community I have spoken with are gathering relief supplies from shops, supermarkets and houses and send them by road to Haiti on an ad hoc basis. Though this is again of course well-intended I pray it doesn't cause internal strife (e.g. due to jealousy) if not well targeted/ coordinated.
As for logistics: lots of supplies have came in by charter via USA, Panama and Dubai; the cost of such supply routes has become very expensive though, e.g. a charter flight carrying 72MT has gone from $250,000 on 14 January to $500,000 yesterday (15 January). These are good times the for private sector. I believe sending further supplies from Africa, Europe or Asia should be avoided, suggesting instead that most of the supplies should come from neighbouring countries (US and Latin America), both to limit transport costs and for environmental reasons.
Our plans and priorities:
- We are leaving now by road to Port–au- prince
- Establish a safe base for Islamic Relief (most likely UN reception camp at the airport)
- Establish reliable communications, especially with Islamic Relief Worldwide's Humanitarian Department (HD)), IR UK and and IR USA (main IR donors so far)
- Implement a quick impact project (any distribution)
- Send media materials to HD (to also share on within rest of IR family), IR UK, IR USA
- Will try to capture media opportunities for publicity to highlight humanitarian emergency (TV, radio,... etc [update 17 Jan: have e.g. done internview with BBC Arabic])
- Other things we could try to achieve
Note, due to the damage to the communications systems I may not be able to communicate regularly. It is, however, one of the top priorities for the team here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
