| RedR NZ:
Helping aid-workers take their first steps into the field
Anna Russell can clearly recall the RedR New Zealand’s
Essentials of Humanitarian Practice (EHP) she attended in
April 2007 in Auckland:
“I
loved meeting the course attendees. They were from all over
New Zealand - engineers, people working in civil defence,
film-makers, fellow-architects – all with their own
amazing stories and with very different reasons for attending.
We were all together in Motu Moana; it was just like a scout
camp, eating together, sleeping in bunk-rooms, all new people;
working with new people all the time.”
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Anna with villagers in their new house,
Puddukupam.
Credit: Mr Pandian, interpreter.
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Creating extra useable space in thatch
– still able to keep an eye out for the neighbours!
Credit: Anna Russell.
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After the camp, Anna went straight off on her first humanitarian
assignment to Tamil Nadu and the Andaman Islands in South
India. She worked alongside her University professor Regan
Potangaroa - under the auspices of CARE Australia. Her task
was to research the modifications made to post-tsunami housing.
“There was a ‘one house
fits all’ policy. We were looking at how peoples’
modifications helped them to meet their needs. Some people
built shops onto the front within three months of moving in;
or wet-kitchens at the back in thatch or corrugated iron;
all things we could learn from and feed back into future aid
work.
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"One major lesson for me was that where there was a
community group, and beneficiaries were involved together
when the houses were built, they took greater ownership and
looked after them. Where they hadn’t been involved,
people didn’t feel secure with their neighbours…
it led to high brick walls with broken glass on top!”
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Villagers not involved in planning tended
to feel more insecure with their neighbours.
Credit: Anna Russell.
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Enterprising villagers quickly added
shop fronts to their houses.
Credit: Anna Russell.
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Anna will present her experience at the bi-annual I-rec
(International Group for Research and Information on Post-Disaster
Reconstruction) to be held 30 April to 2 May in Christchurch.
“Anyone’s welcome to come along!”, she says,
“Check out the website!” (www.resorgs.org.nz/irec2008)
And she credits RedR with giving her the opportunity to take
her first step into humanitarian work:
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“In particular, that camp-experience was really valuable
in the field; you do work together very intensely in fairly
basic conditions. I remember in the EHP, we did a very frustrating
one-day group field exercise; you had to set up a refugee
camp. When I got to South India, I realized that it was just
like that! Completely exhausting! You’re thrown in with
a whole bunch of disparate people – new house owners,
interpreters, aid workers, drivers - in a far-flung area.
Working with people had been a key part of EHP, getting through
the intensity and the discomfort and being able to work co-operatively…
Like in the field; being respectful and yet having to photo-document
each house… Trying to be sure that the house-owner was
really giving their consent to our work… “
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Engineering meeting around house plans,
Palayar, South India.
Credit: Anna Russell.
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“I now hope that when I graduate I can return to the field
in a design and research position; fingers crossed, I’m
on the way to using my skills to help communities wherever I can.”
You too can assist RedR’s emergency support work, by attending
EHP, offering your skills to our Register, and/or by sending a
cheque made out to ‘RedR NZ’ to: Neil Mander, Executive
Director RedR NZ, 38 Arundel Street, Mt Roskill, Auckland 1041.
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