Hello readers! How are you? I hope you are well. I thought I would drop by to let you know that I have been working on a new travelblog over at Wordpress, check out my about page here. Currently I am blogging about my recent walk along El Camino de Santiago in 2015, from St. Jean de Pied Port in the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela and beyond to Finisterre and Muxia in Spain. It was a 900 km trek of profound beauty, inspiration and significance for me. I hope you will drop in to take a look. Click here for the home page. I will continue to blog about my travel adventures there when I join my partner Brett and we set off to sail around the world, co-creating plenty of adventures on the high seas as well as a few on dry land. I have also posted up some "Confessions of an aid worker", drawn from my last 20 years in the humanitarian and development sector, so feel free to take a look at this too, click here. If you are feeling tired, burned out or in a phase of transition and need to boost your wellbeing, take a look at my intuitive healing page here, perhaps I can help you in some way. Thank you for reading and journeying with me so far. I look forward to hearing from you on my new site soon. Peace, love and light, B.B.C xxx
Hello readers! Today we continue the popular series on "Things to do at airports", which gives some handy top tips for you to fill your time and avoid boredom, whilst waiting for your long haul flight or in transit somewhere to or from your field mission. Check this out.
For previous posts see "Things to do at airports 1, 2, 3 and 4" (just click on the number to reach the links). Enjoy! B.B.C. out for now xxx
Hello readers! Not one to blow my own trumpet (no, really), I was flattered and humbled to receive a suggestion from a friend of mine, who thought that this song, "Blonde, Bad and Beautiful" by Airbourne would suit me so I checked it out. This video probably shows the best pre-flight safety check on board an aircraft I have seen for a long while! Disasterjunkie DJ thinks it could be a great theme tune to this blog. What do you think? I'd like to hear from you so feel free to comment below or on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here.
For now though, put your rucksack in the overhead locker, stow your tray table and fasten your seatbelts. We are going on one hell of a ride!
And she said, "We're all just prisoners here, of our own device",
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast,
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast.
Last thing I remember,
I was running for the door,
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before,
"Relax", said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive,
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave."
- Eagles.
Hello readers!
I'm back on the blog again....just when you thought it was safe to open your laptop and boldly venture into your virtual life. Into the jungle Today, we will take a foray into the wilds of the bureaucratic jungle. Mind where you step, its a dangerous place and often resembles the hazardous, yet somewhat magical ecosystem found in 'Lost', in which creatures seem out of place or terrifying monsters tap into the psyche of crash survivors to create 'cages of fear' that they cannot seemingly escape.
Perhaps you are one, two or even three steps or more away from front line field action, and like Alice, you are following the white rabbit down too many twisty-turny rabbit holes into the Wonderland of Kafka-esque futility. The further you are from walking in solidarity with disaster affected people the worse it gets. You might be in a capital city trying to 'remote manage' multiple teams in field locations or you might be even a few more steps up or down the food chain depending on how you look at it. You might be doing back office work (groan). (Looks good on the CV though doesn't it?) You might be a desk officer, a programme funding officer, or seconded as a technical adviser into an enormous NGO or donor organisation (for your transgressions in a past life). The insatiable beast There, we know, it can be even more frenetic in some ways but on a completely different level. Not only are you trying to make a success of your emergency response by meeting those humanitarian needs as quickly as you can, mobilising resources, keeping your public supporters happy, delivering the best value for money to keep the donors happy, (i.e. upstream and downstream accountability), but you happen to be feeding the humanitarian hydra - that insatiable beast that has many heads.
Perhaps your organisation is an NGO that keeps getting bigger and bigger in a bid for world domination (you know who you are). If so, a whole culture and subculture has grown out of its own desire for survival, so there are lots of processes and policies to follow, fundraising and communication to do and the ever decreasing circles of accountability mechanisms. The layers of bureaucracy resemble the layers of an onion (each time you peel back one layer you find another and it brings tears to your eyes in the process!). Yes and on top of that you have a whole cottage industry of coordination mechanisms, policies, processes, tools and resources that have been churned out by that old chestnut 'humanitarian reform'. The humanitarian hydra with many heads has a voracious appetite and goes into full throttle in emergency response. There are multiple needs assessments, cluster coordination meetings at national and international levels, teleconferences, project proposals, logframes, cluster coordination forms and sitreps to name but a few. You have to spend more and more time writing information products to satisfy multiple audiences, including briefing papers and endless updates for the people, who don’t know much about humanitarian aid or how to do it well and effectively and are very far removed from front line field action. You end up having to feed more answers to yet more questions, conduct more media interviews or enable those to give interviews on subjects they no very little about so they can have a seemingly intelligent conversation in public. The hamster wheel spins ever faster as you spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with this than tackling the front line urgent field questions that shape what you do to serve the very people you are there to assist. You are in for an indefinite stay at the Hotel California of hellish, humanitarian hegemony. Welcome people, we are programmed to receive, you can check out any time you like but you can never leave...
A Herculean task So while trapped in a Hotel Californian style wonderland, humanitarians are faced with the enormous task of fulfilling the twelve labours of Hercules, one of which is to kill the hydra. As many of you may well know, if you try to cut the head off the hydra two more heads grow back in its place! Just like Hercules you are faced with a multiple headed monster that doesn't want to die!
You may know the story, if not you can read it here. Hercules faced the apparent impossible task with bravery and remained unbowed. He put on some protective gear, wielded a large, heavy weapon and brought in some help in the form of his nephew Iolaus. There are a few lessons we can learn from this myth.
We must be brave
Collaboration and cooperation is key
Use a sharp implement, metaphorically speaking of course, (so get your leatherman or Swiss Army knife out at the ready - it's listed in the top ten aidworker essentials)
Cauterise the wounds of the severed hydra necks to seal off the blood vessels and prevent the heads from growing back again.
Building trust Oh, if only it were that easy! Don't you find it odd, how the move towards greater humanitarian accountability, transparency and the transformative agenda has increased suspicion and eroded trust? This is ironic considering the business model approach to humanitarian assistance was purported to do the very opposite. Meanwhile, it is interesting to notice that in the business world itself there is a greater move towards building circles of trust to add value. Trust is currency today! If you don't believe me watch this interesting video about trust in business by Roger James Hamilton, below.
I wonder what the humanitarian system would look like if we followed a similar approach. Surely, we would then have a licence to lop off the numerous hydra heads at will, strip out superfluous layers of bureaucracy and cease the perpetual navel-gazing that goes on? Instead we would focus on the tasks of preventing and responding to humanitarian disasters and crises and saving lives, no? This reminds me of a tale similar to Hercules and the Hydra that seems somewhat apt. Like a brave Alice in Wonderland we would go forth to face the Jabberwocky. According to Lewis Carroll the Jabberwock is the "offspring of much excited and voluble discussion", which sounds about right.
Jabberwocky
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe. - Lewis Carroll
And on that note, good luck in slaying the many-headed hydra and Jabberwockies, wherever you may find them.
I'd like to hear from you so feel free to comment below or on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here.
For now, thanks for reading and if you liked this, pass it on.... I wish you all a frabjous day! Peace, love and light, Bravo, Bravo, Charlie....out xxx
Hello readers! Disasterjunkie DJ couldn't let Christmas go by without a festive top 12 chart run down, a hit for each of the 12 days of Christmas! So plug in to your emergency iPod, kick back and relax...(in between bouts of rushing around like a headless chicken of course....and spare a thought for those turkeys!).
Top tip, click on the song titles to link through to the music videos. Enjoy!
12. In at number 12 we have the magical 'Fairytale of New York' by the Pogues andKirsty MacColl dedicated to all of you UN workers, who hang out in the environs of UN Plaza in Manhattan. I guess this tune rather conjures up the reality of your Christmas, no? 11. Following close on its heels at number 11 we have 'It doesn't often snow at Christmas' by the Pet Shop Boys, a timely reflection on the recent inter-governmental talks in Lima. Climate change anyone? Anyone? 10. Frightened Rabbit brings you 'It's Christmas so we'll stop' at number 10. And just like rabbits in headlights, aid workers the world over will be running around as usual at Christmas, as we all know, disasters and complex emergencies have no sense of timing or convenience. Still its a nice sentiment....if only... 9. While at number 9, this a strange song by The Flaming Lipscalled 'Christmas at the Zoo' might just lift your spirits, which is about freeing animals from a zoo. I dedicate this to all the aid workers, who are passionate about protecting the environment, nature and wildlife alongside delivering community development activities. Also the imagery of animals wanting to remain in the zoo instead of being free is not lost...it is reminiscent of humanitarians, who know very well in their hearts they can come out of the aid business at any time, they are free to go, but never quite make that walk to freedom...away from the team tent. 8. For those of you who are working in conflict zones or face the challenges of working alongside an integrated mission, this one is especially for you, 'Stop the cavalry' by Jona Lewie. Timeless and very apt, it does what it says on the mess tin. 7. Any Christmas chart run down would be incomplete without a big, fat, cheesy, glam rock anthem (no, forget Slade and Wizzard for once). In at number 7 is The Darknessand 'Christmas Time (don't let the bells end)' - about as camp as that fairy on top of your Christmas tree and featuring the obligatory children's chorus (wait...does that qualify as child labour?...sshhh don't tell UNICEF). The lyric 'You've got your career, spent the best part of last year apart and it still hurts...' might resonate with those of you in long distance relationships...
6. ...As will this fabulous classic by The Pretenders,'2000 miles' at number 6. 2000 miles is indeed very far through the snow, as many of you are all too familiar with spending Christmas in foreign climes away from your loved ones, and especially those working on winterisation responses. This is a poignant recent rendition by the coolest of cool Chrissie Hynde. 5. 'I feel it in my bones' by The Killersft.Ryan Pardey, creeps in at number 5 with a rather sinister Santa Claus. (Trust me, you really wouldn't want this Santa checking his list twice to see if your name is on it). It's slightly PTSD trippy so be warned! 4. In at number 4 is 'Got something for you' by Best CoastandThe Wavves. "Hey Baby, I've got somethings for you and I wanna tell you but you'll have to wait", sums up the dilemma aid workers face when carrying out relief distributions while needing to simultaneously Communicate with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) to achieve that holy grail of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP). 3. If 3 is your lucky number then so is this song, 'Everything's gonna be cool this Christmas' by the inimitable Eels. Don't you just love it? I included it because I can and I love the Eels. 2. At number 2 we have Ben Haenow(Hey now, hey now don't dream X-Factorsover...) with 'Something I need', in honour of all of the disaster affected families around the world aid workers are working tirelessly to assist. If only needs assessments were this good. Sure as eggs is eggnog, Ben will be in the UK number 1 chart spot as the Syco promo goes into overdrive...but it's a memorable anthem nonetheless. 1. For our Christmas number 1, let's hark back to olden times when members of The Beatles reigned supreme and here is John Lennon together with Yokosinging 'Happy Christmas (War is over)'. It needs no introduction really, it speaks for itself, as powerful and poignant today as the day it was released. Let it continue to be our dream - an end to war, killing and suffering. We have the power in our hands to make a peaceful world, let it not slip through our fingers in 2015!
I'd like to hear from you so feel free to comment below or on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here.
For now, thanks for reading and if you liked this, pass it on.... Happy Christmas everyone! Peace, love and light, Bravo, Bravo, Charlie....out (until next year). xxx
Hello readers! Are you tired of the endless round of boring meetings that are positively overflowing with bovine excrement? (I'm thinking cluster coordination meetings, strategic planning sessions, task forces, working groups, briefings for people who have no idea what humanitarian aid is or how to do it properly or just same old, same old weekly team meetings...). Are you facing some difficulty in distinguishing between useful facts and abstract concepts or cliches that frankly have no real substance or meaning or ounce of practical application? Well, have no fear! Help is at hand. The mighty disasterjunkie jargonbuster will come to your rescue! Some handy tools have been recently developed, without the aid of any IASC or UN led task force. You might feel inclined to try out any of these little beauties to help you: The automatic bovine excrement meter
Small enough and discrete enough to put in your back pack or man bag, this handy little bovine excrement meter homes in on the whiffiest of deceptive ramblings. On detection it will sound an alarm, which will get louder and louder the nearer you are to the source, providing you with an audible excuse for a sharp exit . Think of it as your very own 'patnav'.
In addition why not arm yourself with this bingo card? It's portable and colour coordinated to blend in to UN situations, if necessary. Not a 'legs eleven' or 'two fat ladies' in sight (on the card itself that is...but who knows who will be sitting next to you in your meeting?...). However, it might indeed be 'unlucky for some' if these terms crop up during proceedings and you end up crossing them off the card in quick succession and you shout "full house", ...try "transitional shelter" instead (it might be safer).
The bovine excrement reveal-and-neutralise spray
Next time you fill in a requisition form, why not add this item to your emergency relief kit list? Remember that old adage "If it smells like BS and looks like BS (you can now add if it sounds like BS)...then its probably BS"? Well, so that you can be totally sure, one squib of this spray will give you the definitive answer as it instantly reveals the truth and it will then neutralise the troublesome terminology so you can happily get on with your day completely bovine excrement free!
I'd like to hear from you so feel free to comment below or on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here.
For now, thanks for reading and if you liked this, pass it on.... Peace, love and light, Bravo, Bravo, Charlie out. xxx
Running to stand still She runs through the streets
With eyes painted red
Under a black belly of cloud in the rain
In through a doorway she brings me
White gold and pearls stolen from the sea
She is raging
She is raging
And the storm blows up in her eyes
She will
Suffer the needle chill
She's running to stand
Still
-U2
The hamster wheel of life Are you on a field mission where you are working frantically around the clock, fulfilling several roles or jobs all at once because there just aren’t enough bodies on the ground to help you set up an emergency response? Or help you try out new projects or even maintain your already-existing projects in your ever-expanding response programme? Do you feel like you are caught up in the hamster wheel of life, constantly running to stand still?
Well, you are not alone. It's an all-too-common situation for many of us humanitarian aidworkers when we have been released into the wild, our natural habitat (i.e. the field) or when we are held captive (apparently against our will) by our superiors in a head office environment.
There are several analogies out there to describe this and I will give you three of them. I wonder which one you identify with the most?
Hats off to you Some people call it double, triple or quadruple -hatting, which can affect the quality of leadership in senior humanitarian positions, (mentioned in this ICVA survey 2014 here.) I find this analogy slightly strange because I’ve never actually worn several hats while doing emergency response, have you? I mean one has to travel light, and it could be quite uncomfortable wearing several garments at once, never mind looking decidedly odd. Mind you I have seen plenty of aidworkers who do wear hats, especially those who have a penchant for wearing baseball hats…I mean really, what is that all about? You are not playing baseball, it is not a game, you are not even able to reach first base if you aren’t able to set up your emergency response quickly and effectively and save those lives are you? Neither are you a hip hop artist, or, dare I utter the immortal words Justin Bieber.
However, I do remember wearing a sun hat occasionally. Yes, I think sun hats probably qualify for aid worker gear in an arid zone or tropical environment when the sun beats down on your head and the back of your neck, while you are waiting for a delivery to come to an airstrip or you are trekking for miles in the mid-daysun doing an emergency assessment. I prefer buff hats myself, see an earlier post on the subject here. They really are quite versatile and they don’t look like your average safari hat as if you are some kind of tourist going into a disaster zone. Anyway I digress...
Well that was on hats and you might ponder the significance of hat-wearing in emergency response. However, on a related subject "Six Thinking Hats" could be a useful tool for you and your team.
Edward de Bono devised it and is a form of lateral thinking. It is a creative way of getting your team to work more effectively together by thinking in different ways to problem solve.
Swan lake The second analogy is that well-known image of a graceful, beautiful swan gliding effortlessly across a lake or a river, hardly disturbing the surface of the water. Meanwhile, under the water, its little legs are going nineteen to the dozen to propel the swan along.
We don’t really see that level of frenetic activity when we are above the water but say if you are a newt, a frog or a fish, then you might just notice those webbed feet constantly kicking out! Well anyway that’s what I think aid workers are like (no, I don't mean pondlife), constantly and frenetically paddling. You can never be ahead of the game, you are always trying to catch up. There are always more needs than you can meet and more demands placed on you, from the organisation you are working for or from the beneficiary community you are working with. On top of that there are increasing pressures from other agencies and coordination structures, (no, not another cluster meeting to go to I hear you cry!), or from the Kafkaesque levels of bureaucracy emanating from donors, who behave like a huge puppet master, pulling the strings of us marionettes to make us dance to their ever-complex accountability tunes. So yes, that analogy of being the swan's legs is quite a good one but now I want to introduce you to another one because I think it is more fun! Hummingbird's wings The third analogy is being the hummingbird's wings. Are you aware of the excellent nature narrator called Randall? He is a comedic genius and his straight-talking voice overs for mini nature documentaries are a world away from the wonderful, softly spoken, measured, yet sensitive tones of Sir David Attenborough, (who I have a lot of respect for, by the way).
Randall pulls no punches in his vivid descriptions and I would love you to enjoy this video of a hummingbird, I selected especially for you, my readers, because I think you will be able to relate to it.
We all know that there is always way too much work to do and we will constantly be in this effervescent, effusive, form of activity in full on emergency response mode. You cannot see the hummingbird's wings move, because they are flapping at such a fast rate they are almost invisible to the naked eye. Yet, you know that without those wings, the hummingbird is not going to be able to fly around from flower to flower to suck out that delicious and nutritious nectar to keep it alive. That’s really what we are like as aidworkers. Our emergency programme will not survive to meet the needs of disaster affected populations if we were not there and fulfilling all of the double, triple and quadruple roles that are expected of us. So I hope you will take heart from this analogy. You are the hummingbird's wings and what magical things they are. Continue to be the hummingbirds wings and take flight! Enjoy!
I'd like to hear from you so feel free to comment below or on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here.
For now, thanks for reading and if you liked this, pass it on.... Peace, love and light, xxx
Hello readers! This Washing in Wilderness series attempts to share top tips and best practice in response to your personal hygiene challenges, while you are out in the field. Oh yes, really... Past posts have explored unusual soap powder in East Africa, clickhere, and in the South Pacific, click here, and how you can make your household chores into an exciting extreme sport (for the adrenaline junkies amongst us), click here. And we also recently celebrated World Toilet Day here.
Keeping your clothes clean and fresh when you are out in the field can be tricky at the best of times. Don't let your mission become a soap opera. So, going back to soap powder, how about this little number?
I wonder what the marketing and PR people were really thinking. You might think that they came up with this concept after a heavy night of pub crawling, but it is made by a company in Iran, so I am guessing this is unlikely. Still, imagine what your clothes and bedlinen would smell like? Take a nice deep breath in now! (On the other hand, don't!)
Send me your suggestions for weird and wonderful personal and household hygiene products that you have discovered on your travels via Twitter or Facebook!
Until next time, stay fresh (...er you know what I mean)... Bravo, Bravo, Charlie...out (for now)
Hello readers! You know those moments where you are waiting at the airport for your plane, when you are about to set off on your next mission or those times when you are returning home after your last one and you just don't know how to fill your time?
Well, have no fear, this little series aims to fill you with inspiration so you will never experience a wasted moment in the 'no-persons-land' of airport departures or arrivals again! If I could take you back in time for a minute, the first post in this series showed what you could do on the travellator in between terminals or on your way to the gate here. The second revealed how to have some fun while in the queue at check-in here. The last post demonstrated just what you could do, if you were so inclined, while waiting for your luggage to be regurgitated at baggage reclaim here. So what next? Imagine you are at a large, international airport with your colleagues... and you are all a bit bored. Perhaps this video will give you some much needed inspiration (but top tip, make sure your head of mission is not with you at the time).
Did you enjoy that? The possibilities are endless... I'd be interested to hear from you so please feel free to drop me a line in the comments below, or connect with me on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here and tell me your favourites ways to prevent boredom at airports. Meanwhile, pass this on, spread the lurve people! Peace, love and light, B.B.C. xxx
Were you all aware that 19th November is World Toilet Day? I wasn't until today. I say, what a delightful name for a universal day, which aims to raise awareness about all of those people, who do not have access to a toilet despite the basic human right to water and sanitation. To read all the details click here .
Did you know there are at least 101 alternative words for toilet? Yes indeed, I checked it out. Click here if you don't believe me. Some of my favourites are 'big white phone'(that sounds like something Lady Ga Gawould wear), 'house of ease' (...almost Spacey), 'thunder box' (...are go) and 'white hart room' (very GoT). What are your favourites? I would imagine if the word 'toilet' was replaced with some of the other alternatives on that list, such as 'Oval Office', 'London', 'Jericho' or 'The Vin', this would result in worldwide confusion at best or several international diplomatic incidents at worst! Imagine President Obama saying to the First Lady "I'm just going to the Oval Office honey" and Michelle replying "Well, don't forget to put the seat down afterwards."
And let's not forget the well-intentioned gender specialists, who would probably insist on some further clarification so World Toilet Day would become the "Ladies, Gents, Little Boys'/Little Girls' and Transgendered Individuals' Room Day" for the sake of inclusion.
While the aim of World Toilet Day is indeed a commendable endeavour, as we aidworkers can quickly relate to the awkward experience of being caught short on many occasion in the field, I find the strapline calling for action "Say thank you to your toilet on World Toilet Day" slightly disturbing, don't you?No? Maybe its just me then...
As if we aidworkers don't have enough to do and now we have to go around talking to inanimate objects and holes in the ground! Whose bright idea was that? (I'm guessing some UN-ocrat in New York or Geneva...no, of course not, it must have been an entire task team). Anyway, how does one address a latrine or lavatory for example? Are there any IASC guidelines on best practice and terminology e.g. Communicating With Your Toilet? Honestly, its enough to drive you round the U-bend.
I wonder what would happen if the toilets talked back? Would there be a twitter feed inviting loos to 'join the conversation' on the World Toilet Day website?
This could open up a whole new world of toilet humour. Once latrines have found their respective voices, there will be no going back. There will be no escape....not even off duty. You have been warned.
On that note, just like loo paper, Blonde Bombshell in Crises is on a roll and will end this post here...wouldn't want it to go down the pan...
However, B.B.C would be interested to hear from you so please feel free to drop her a line in the comments below, or connect on the Blondebombshell in Crises Facebook page here or Twitter here .
