What Does a Humanitarian Worker Do?

• You work long hours. If you are getting paid and you expect to earn a decent wage hour-wise, you should find something else to do.
• It takes time to get used to the nuances of the culture in which you are working. Therefore you can expect to make mistakes based on simple misunderstanding of apparently simple words (such as "yes" or "no") or gestures (such as hand movements or facial expressions). So there is certainly plenty of room for sometimes quite serious misunderstandings of more complex issues, such as time, approach to planning, the kind of help being offered, etc.
• Team members will disagree, sometimes quite deeply, even leading to serious conflicts that require quick and possibly painful compromise in order not to risk the project.
• Not everyone will appreciate the assistance you are providing. Some will not value it and others (I have heard second-hand) may even resent you being there.
• You learn a lot about the culture in which you find yourself.
• You learn a lot about yourself.

• You may work all day, into the evening and sometimes on weekends as well - all without much break or time to relax and digest what is happening.
• You may be seen by the local people as someone with more money, power or influence than you actually have. People may ask you to recommend them for asylum, for example, or for money for running programs in their community. They may be happy to see you, therefore, for what they think you can give them and not for who you are. This is a jarring experience.
• Subtle cultural differences were far greater than I had anticipated. This was fun to discover and explore.
• Some places we worked in were far more primitive than I believed possible. This was an eye-opener to the way some members of our global society live day in and day out. It had far-reaching impact on me.
• Hierarchy had to be respected to a degree I had never before experienced - hierarchy within my organization and within the community in which we worked.
• Not everyone who gets involved in humanitarian work is open to truly experience another culture; some of them are downright patronizing. Not in my organization, but among some of the others.
• Some humanitarian organizations exist to perpetuate themselves more than for the assistance they offer the recipient communities.
• Donors often dictate the kind of humanitarian activities undertaken and continued.

IsraAID Website
IsraAID is the organization that sent me to Africa.

From what I have seen, organizations remain in a community as long as donors are happy with the reports they are getting from the field. They want to see "results" from their donations and words, such as capacity building and sustainability, for example, are used freely.The former means helping the local people gain the skills required for them to carry out new tasks (as opposed to having aid workers do these tasks for them) and the latter means that projects can be maintained even after the humanitarian organization leaves the area.

However, when donors do not understand what is actually happening on the ground, they may be more interested in numbers of people who attended a workshop, for example, than in the degree to which some of these attendees actually learned how to apply what they learned. Capacity building and sustainability are not measurable by numbers alone.

Positive humanitarian aid occurs when local communities acquire the skills and education to continue to develop on their own - when you teach them to make their own fishing equipment as opposed to giving them fish.

Before you decide whether or not to work for a particular organization, you may want to inquire about how they measure success and what their ultimate goals are. Listen to the subtleties of their responses. I was lucky - I happened to "fall into" an organization that values teaching beneficiaries to develop and grow and does that at "eye level".

There are many professions that are sought by government agencies working in foreign countries and nonprofit nongovernmental humanitarian organizations.

Social workers and psychologists may find work training mental health or counseling staff.

Educators may find positions developing curricula or providing on-the-job training for local teachers. Teachers of English as a Second Language are highly sought out.

There is work for program developers, program managers, financial managers, accountants, fund raisers, etc. Some of these jobs will be carried out in the organizations' country of origin and some will be located at field offices in beneficiary countries.

Doctors, nurses, paramedics and those in allied fields can find humanitarian positions more easily than many other professionals.

Lawyers may find work in fields involving human rights, women's rights or other related areas.

Agriculturalists, water resources specialists, geologists, climatologists, etc may also find interesting positions in third-world countries.

Students in any of these fields may have access to work-study programs that involve overseas placements.

If you want to see if your profession is required in humanitarian work in other countries, go to one website specializing in job search for international development work.

The aspect of humanitarian work covered least is the emotional and relational impact on the workers' lives. For anyone considering entering this field, it is essential to prepare oneself for the life-changing experiences one undergoes when encountering, unfiltered and up-close, individuals and communities torn apart by poverty, national disaster or war.

Humanitarian Work and Psychology
Find information on combining an interest in psychology, community development, and humanitarian aid.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
An article describing the work of three humanitarian workers working for the UN in South Sudan.

Toward Better Aid
Harvard experts on the past and future of humanitarian work

What Does it Mean to be a Professional Humanitarian?
Academic paper describing the history and process of providing humanitarian aid.

Interview with Carine Jonckheere
Interview with a Belgian humanitarian aid worker who worked as a programme officer in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Humanitarian Volunteers
Website providing information about volunteering as a humanitarian worker in developing countries.

Alertnet
Website that provides up to date information on humanitarian work around the world. It includes a list of nonprofits working around the globe which you may contact to inquire about possible work or volunteer positions.

Juba, South Sudan, in Photos
Sample photos I took during my time in Juba. This is no small accomplishment since, while photographing anything but official buildings and security workers is no longer illegal, the police and army apparently have not heard that and they will confiscate cameras if they see you taking pictures.

Risks to Humanitarian Aid Workers in Sub-Saharan East Africa
Describes the dangers an aid worker in East Africa may face and the ways to keep safe. These dangers include poisonous insects, spiders and snakes, disease, violent crime and emotional distress.

The Turkana Tribe of Northern Kenya
A fascinating tribal peoples of Northern Kenya, with a related tribe in Eastern South Sudan. I have just begun to explore the nature of these people and their culture.

Kakuma Refugee Camp, Safe Haven or Human Warehousing?
Built 25 years ago to help those fleeing the war in South Sudan, this camp now houses refugees from many African states, some of whom have not found asylum and some children born in the camp are still there as adults.

Traveling South Sudan Roads
The decades of war have prevented this country from establishing the infrastructure most countries take for granted. It is definitely a challenge to travel the roads of South Sudan.

Inspirations from South Sudan
The optimism and energy of the South Sudanese people is contagious. Their pride and determination to build a healthy nation are inspiring. It affected me personally.

Juba, South Sudan, for the Intrepid Traveler
South Sudan is not yet set up for tourists. It is not yet set up for its own inhabitants either. But the adventuresome traveler, who is prepared for difficulties and primitive conditions, can have an amazing experience here. Let's just start with the capital city, Juba.

Safari in Nimule National Park, South Sudan
Not set up for tourists, the only people who come to the park so far are humanitarian workers in various organizations. You will not see many animals, but it is an experience worth having - you WALK in the park!

Ten Reasons and More to Visit Nairobi National Park
I was surprised at the large number of animals it is possible to see in this park. It is actually in Nairobi, but open to the animals' natural migratory routes. If you cannot get out to one of the larger parks, this is a definitely "must-see" site.

Kazuri Handmade Beads From Kenya
A factory set up to provide employment for single mothers, the Kazuri factory is a great place to visit for a couple of hours. This article shows you the process of bead-making as you will see on a free guided tour of the factory.

Have You Ever Visited a Maasai Homestead?
Determined to see close-up how the Maasai live, I actually managed to do it! With a driver from Nairobi who was doubtful, we made contact with a young Maasai man who took us to his family's homestead.