DIAMONDS…

I was talking with a colleague recently about the challenges of working in disaster zones.  Most of our time was spent on one topic… how to attract the most knowledgeable, capable people to join response/recovery efforts so the mission can tap into their many, not always first apparent, essential skills.  Events such as the war in Ukraine, the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, hurricane & tidal damages in Florida, extreme flooding in New Zealand, and ravaging wildfires turn lives, economies, and communities upside down.  My memories of serving in Haiti, New Zealand, Nepal, and the British Virgin Islands explode in vivid detail with each new event.  Thanks to news media and technology, the physical impacts on the survivors and communities are brought to us in virtually real-time.  There’s never a shortage of stories, videos, and photos that show the immediate trauma caused to and endured by the survivors.  Thank God for those people with the courage and selfless commitment to capture and share that information.

With immediate response and reveal, comes the obvious.  Death, injuries, destruction, shortages of the 5 basic needs (air, food, water, shelter & toilets), emotional trauma, economic shutdown, and governance disruptions.  People and their communities are stuffed.  Words alone cannot express from a distance.  In April 2010, I returned to Haiti to be part of a team of engineers to assess building damages.  My wife wanted badly to join me, as she was home in Colorado nursing a torn leg muscle.  Unfortunately, until she could run, being in Haiti was not an option.  No explanation would suffice.  But upon her arrival in July, she understood.  Her initiation into the world of disaster response was complete.

We stayed in Haiti for another 18 months, living and working with tens of thousands of brothers and sisters, our new friends… half of our new family, the other half being Haitian.  In early 2010 after the January earthquake, Haiti grew from the “land of NGOs” to the “super world of NGOs” overnight.  Over a hundred thousand responders came to Haiti… some were well-paid, many others were provided only with room and board, and many more on their own nickel, but all with huge hearts!  These hearts are the collateral victims and survivors of disaster zones.

Living and working in disaster zones is not a holiday.  Responders are removed from their inside-the-box everyday lives and thrust into new environments, sometimes perilous and very dangerous situations, usually unfamiliar foreign cultures & languages, new foods and living conditions, and without friends and family.  Personal life is often sacrificed for the greater good of helping survivors and their communities meet unimaginable needs.  NGOs remain dependent on the flow of donor funds to meet costs and maintain profit margins.  After all, they are businesses and don’t have an agenda of operating in the red.

It can be a challenge for NGOs to find disaster-savvy people that can jump into any situation and be effective the moment their boots hit the ground.  Simply having a bulked-up CV isn’t necessarily the leading indicator of a responder’s ability to be productive.  Granted, knowledge is huge.  Hell, I was as green as Kermit the Frog in the disaster response arena when I drove through the border gate from the DR into Haiti the first time.  But I didn’t let burning tires, roadblocks, collapsed buildings, and bodies derail my mission of almost 2 years of helping people when they needed it the most.

Finding that heart and selfless commitment in the black-on-white is the secret NGO leaders hold close, for the survivors… for the donors.  Recognizing talent is an art.  A master’s degree in architecture or business economics or physics may not appear particularly useful to a mission in a war zone.  But when those capacities combine with disaster zone experiences, the mission becomes a success, new bonds are made and faith in humanity moves a step forward.  So, when that knowledgeable, apparently mundane person walks through your door after traveling for 24 hours on his/her own nickel, volunteers without pay, and offers their service doing whatever is needed… know one thing… you’re staring at a diamond.  Don’t lose it!