Honou**ng aid workers who ease society’s pain
Evelyn Makena and Milliam Murigi
Betty Adera, 46, remembers vividly how she started her humanitarian work.
It was during the 2007-2008 post-election violence when her four neighbours’ lives were in danger simply because they were from a different tribe.
“People were being killed, property destroyed, houses burnt, women raped. I couldn’t stand it and I had to do something,” she says.
Her way of helping was giving them accommodation and keeping them safe from the jaws of death.
Unfortunately, people from her tribe discovered her mission and threatened her, forcing her to use new ways of saving her unexpected guests.
“I used my car boot to ferry them one by one to the Kisumu airport. The best thing is that no one suspected me: that is how I successfully kept them alive,” she adds.
This was the beginning of the journey she never anticipated and it hasn’t been an easy one.
Through her organisation, Betty Adera Foundation, founded in 2017, she has been through thick and thin trying to help fellow Kenyans affected by conflict and whose rights have been violated.
“When starting, I didn’t know there are so many challenges I would face. I always wanted to help those suffering because being a gender-based violence survivor, I knew what it meant,” she adds.
The foundation works with survivors of sexual and gender- based violence and equip young women with skills to improve their lives.
Different lens
Adera is one of the many women humanitarians celebrated in the 2019 World Humanitarian Day last month.
The day paid tribute to and called for strengthening capacity of female humanitarians across the world for providing life-saving support to millions of people.
“Women have a unique way of connecting with the affected people in a manner men cannot.
They have a way of looking at issues through lenses that are unique and connect with the suffering of those affected at a deeper level,” says Maina Kingo’ri, associate director, Disaster Management, World Vision, Kenya.
Notably, in every crisis situation women and children are the hardest hit. They are the most vulnerable to violence and suffer the most in times of emergencies.
Men and women in humanitarian sector encounter several risks in their line of duty.
They endure long periods of separation from their families and friends as they work in emergency situations.
They are also constantly faced with threats to their personal safety, especially in conflict situations.
“Humanitarians are on the frontline of crisis and sometimes they end up becoming causalities.
Some are shot in conflict situations or abducted for ransom,” adds King’ori.
Worsening situation
While serving in emergency situations, aid workers are routinely exposed to traumatic situations that threaten their mental health.
Consequently, incidents of substance abuse and overworking are rampant in the industry as they try to cope with stress.
Humanitarian organisations have created mechanisms to help their staff cope with stress and to enhance their personal resilience.
“World Vision, for instance, prepares their staff before dispatching them to respond to emergency.
There is a 24-hour dedicated support services where they can call and access a counsellor.
For our staff in conflict locations such as Yemen, the policy is that they come home after eight weeks in the field to rest and recuperate before resuming work,” says King’ori.
One of the emerging trends in humanitarian world is the high number of displacements globally.
Currently, there are 70.8 million displaced people globally, with 41.3 million being internally displaced, 25.9 refugees and 3.5 asylum seekers with conflict as the main cause.
But unlike in the past where conflict was mainly between countries, it is more pronounced within borders, hence the high number of internally displaced persons.
In Kenya, an estimated 2.6 million people affected by drought are in need of humanitarian assistance.
“There is a Sh16 billion appeal for a contingency plan for the drought and already the government has committed Sh8 billion.
Increasingly, there have been stronger commitments by the government to respond to emergencies,” notes King’ori.
Working as a humanitarian calls for a lot of personal resilience, good problem-solving skills, teamwork and the ability to ensure own safety.
Integrity while doing humanitarian work is key, to ensure that the rights of the people in emergency situations are safeguarded.
For Adera, addressing issues such poverty is vital for dealing with conflicts and situations that could turn into humanitarian crises.
“A majority of the poor live in the areas affected by conflicts, lack of basic health, water and sanitation facilities, insecure land tenure and areas exposed to natural disasters,” she says, calling for long-term sustainable development programmes and disaster risk management.
Currently there are 70.8 million displaced people globally with 41.3 million being internally displaced, 25.9 refugees and 3.5 asylum seekers with conflict being the main cause.
World Humanitarian Day is celebrated every August 19 to celebrate and highlight plight of aid workers.
