Not Just a Job

Much of East Africa is in the midst of a drought. People, crop, livestock are all dying. It's extremely sad. My team is responding as much as we have resources for in Somalia but it feels like a drop in a very large bucket. there may be some rain on the way for some locations. As in 2018, we may see people move from drought devastation to flooding devastation overnight.

One of the most impactful things I witnessed during the severe drought in 2017, and one of the most moving things I've seen in my career, was the amazing generosity people displayed. People who had lost almost everything were sharing with people who had nothing. So humbling.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.  

Psalm 9:18 

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My job inherently takes me to some of the poorest places on the planet. Moreover, my organization tends to focus on populations that are the most critically in need, often due to conflict/displacement, catastrophe/climate change, etc. So living in, or traveling to, rough places is sort of what you sign up for.

For decades, this occupation catered to the single, or at least the childless, individuals often with a bleeding heart and a backpack. It was the rough and ready adventurer with a purpose. Salaries weren’t great and benefits were minimal. For some, it was as much about the adventure as it was about the people being served.

Dar es Salaam 2006

Over time, however, as with many occupations, there was pressure to evolve. Organizations became larger and expectations of funders grew. It was no longer enough to mean well. Demonstrating effectiveness and efficiency became paramount. And in the last 15-20 years, due to abuses by some aid workers, there have been enhanced efforts to protect populations, not only from those in their context but also from those rendering aid.

The other change has been that positions in the aid world have become increasingly nationalized. As education levels and skills of indigenous populations increased, high-level positions have been absorbed by local staff. In addition to positive benefit of tapping into local knowledge, it has also reduced the cost of aid by not flying in international staff with their growing costs, and in many cases, enhanced security needs.

Tanzania 2006

As a result, humanitarian careers have become professionalized. Competition has increased for international positions and people from the global south are now a huge and growing percentage of the humanitarian workforce. Graduate degrees have become mandatory for higher level positions as well as many years of demonstrated experience. Systems are more sophisticated and there is constant pressure to innovate and improve the way aid is delivered. 

 

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As I stumbled into this world, it became apparent that I would face a rather steep learning curve. It would require learning a new and evolving career that would test my management, finance, statistics and multicultural experience beyond what I would have imagined, in addition to learning to navigate life/work in a very different culture. And not only would the cultures be different, they would also be places that, for various reasons, would be among the poorest countries on the planet.

Burundi 2011

How poor? In fact there are many ways to measure poverty. One is gross national income (GNI) which measures the overall income of a country and provides an indication as to which countries are the richest and the poorest in the world. GNI is the sum of money earned by a country’s population and businesses within a given year. It includes income earned by corporations or persons based in a given country but operating outside of its borders.

If you look at GNI, Burundi, the landlocked country where we lived and worked for six years is by far the poorest country in the world, with a gross national income per capita of just $780 — a fraction of the worldwide GNI per capita of $17,535. Inept leadership, rampant corruption, high birth rate (increasing pop. density) have all contributed to tremendous amounts of abject poverty and a context where there is no indication that the drivers of this poverty are being dealt with. Ironically, it’s also one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, let alone lived.

Somalia 2019

Ranking second on this notorious list happens to be where I work now, Somalia, with a GNI per capita of $870. Using GNI as an indicator, this means that I have spent the last 11 years of my life working in the two poorest countries on the planet. Crazy. Who woulda thought.