Medair UK News 1801

MEDAIR | news No. 1

Not forgotten Syria: Rising from the rubble South Sudan: Unwilling to give up

|

2018

|

medair.org

WELCOME

Not forgotten

This edition of Medair News is entitled “Not forgotten”, and speaks of how important it is that we should not forget the most vulnerable, particularly when they experience the suffering that comes with humanitarian crises. Normally my editorial would highlight particular articles and encourage you, as the reader, to engage in Medair’s mission by making your response to those that we at Medair seek to reach and serve.

But this editorial will be different. This edition of Medair News is dedicated to Eliza Jockuat, pictured left. Eliza was Medair UK’s Engagement Officer Individuals until April this year. She was responsible for the production and distribution of Medair News, Medair Prayer; our quarterly prayer diary, and all of Medair UK’s direct mail and e-appeals. As someone who receives Medair News, you will have been touched by Eliza’s work. She also organised all of Medair UK’s sponsored events, in particular Medair UK’s participation in Ride London. If you have participated in a sponsored event for Medair UK, then you will have been in contact with Eliza.

Eliza brought a smile to the Medair UK office every day. She approached everything she did with a servant heart, and a helpful spirit. She was a joy to work with and to be with. One of the many tasks that Eliza undertook was opening the post. I can recall many times sitting with her reading the numerous pieces of mail that would arrive at our office following a big campaign. Eliza would take out the reply slips and say something like “Oh it's good to hear from Mrs…. or Mr…. or Dr… They always get in touch.” Eliza knew them all. It was as if Medair UK’s supporters were part of Eliza’s extended family.

Sadly Eliza died suddenly on April 16th 2018. She was a dear wife, an amazing mother and such a valued member of the Medair UK team. She was a woman of strong faith, who was committed to help relieve the suffering of the world’s hardest to reach and most vulnerable. She is sorely missed. And she is not forgotten.

Neil Casey Director, Medair UK

3 7

BANGLADESH

Lost together SYRIA

Rising from the rubble

4 8

CRISIS BRIEFING

Too often forgotten SOUTH SUDAN

Unwilling to give up

5 9

N E PA L

Hope is a beautiful thing BEHIND THE SCENES

6

IRAQ

Emergency response in Hawiga

12

Sources: 1. Disability and Health Fact Sheet. WHO. November 2017. 2. End the Neglect: A Study of Humanitarian Financing for Older People. HelpAge International. 2016 3. A Study of Humanitarian Financing for Older People and People with Disabilities, 2010–2011. HelpAge International and Handicap International. 2012. 4. Media Release retrieved Dec 2017 from https://www.disabled-world.com/news/un-charter.php 5. Older People in Emergencies: Identifying and reducing risks. Help Age International. 2012. 6. Humanitarian Guidance Note: Ageing and Disability in Humanitarian Response. DFID/UKAID. 2015 Programme Funders Nepal: Swiss Solidarity, Woord en Daad (NL) Iraq: Swiss Solidarity, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, SlovakAid, US Agency for International Development South Sudan: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, US Agency for International Development, UK Government, South Sudan Humanitarian Fund, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, US Department of State, SlovakAid, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with Tear NL, and through the Dutch Relief Alliance Joint Response for South Sudan Bangladesh: World Concern (BGD), Swiss Solidarity, Tearfund (UK), World Concern (US) Lebanon: Swiss Solidarity, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, Global Affairs Canada, Gebauer Foundation (CH), UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, EU Madad Fund Syria: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Syrian Humanitarian Fund (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Tear (NL) DR Congo: Agence de l’eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse (FR), EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, EO Metterdaad (NL), Medicor Foundation (LI), Mercy Corps (US), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, UN Development Programme, US Agency for International Development, GvC-Winterthur (CH), United Nations Children’s Fund Cover Photo: Dolma Tamang, 87, is thankful for her new home after her old home was destroyed by the earthquakes in Nepal. © Medair / Tamara Berger

THANK YOU

Thank you from Nepal

Medair UK

345 Canterbury Court 1–3 Brixton Road London, SW9 6DE Tel: 020 8772 0100 united.kingdom@medair.org medair.org

© Medair / Wendy van Amerongen

BANGLADESH

Aaid, 73, holds John, the lost boy he now cares for like a son.

Lost together Walking is not easy for Aaid. Yet when violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, Aaid, 73, found himself running for his life. His village and his home burned, a ruin of fire and smoke.

As gunfire filled the air, Aaid gathered the boy in his arms and carried him to safety. It was a terrifying journey, but Aaid, his daughter, and the lost boy made it to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh—they were only three out of 655,000 Rohingya refugees to arrive there seeking refuge.

I ran with my wife, daughter, and grandson to get to safety. We hid when we could, we ran when we could. It was a three-day journey.

We couldn’t bring any food. Our land and our cows, our clothes and our gives shelter to a house—we had to leave it all behind.

Rohingya family

Thanks to your support, Medair’s Global Emergency Response team provided shelter materials and hygiene supplies to Aaid and more than 4,500 refugee families. “We are very (tarp, bamboo, sandbags, And then the worst thing happened. thankful for these materials. We will rope, wire, nails) My wife and grandson were shot. set up the shelter soon, as the one we I cried! I wanted to stay with them, but when they have now has a lot of holes and is not good quality. died I had to leave them behind, because people were This one will be strong.” still coming after us. I had to take care of my daughter.

Aaid now cares for the young boy, John, as if he We saw a boy crying on the side of the road, calling were his own son. They have lost so much, so ‘Mum?’ ‘Dad?’ It was so heartbreaking to see him. suddenly. They cling to one another.

There were no parents or guardians or anyone there “I miss my wife every single day. I miss her the for him… most of all that I've lost.”

£62

Your monthly gifts support the Rohingya people with shelter, hygiene supplies, and nutrition clinics for the malnourished. Sign up for monthly giving at donate.medair.org medair.org

|

May 2018

|

Medair

3

CRISIS BRIEFING

‹ 1 %

Too often forgotten

of humanitarian aid targets ageing people or people with disabilities1

Why are ageing people and people with disabilities so often neglected during humanitarian crises?

THEY ARE MORE ISOLATED

THEY CAN’T EASILY ACCESS SERVICES

Limited mobility

Difficult to travel for aid

They may face discrimination, abuse, cultural stigma

Difficult to use inaccessible facilities Difficult to know what services are available

THEIR NEEDS ARE NOT PRIORITISED Life-threatening needs are treated first in an emergency Chronic health needs may fall outside the scope of an emergency response

THEY ARE LEFT BEHIND People who cannot travel easily may be left behind when others flee to safety

5 WAYS TO ENSURE PEOPLE ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

1

MAKE SERVICES MORE ACCESSIBLE

Make services and facilities easy to access.

Provide ramps or wide doorways where wheelchairs are used Install grab bars or hand rails as needed Provide priority care in queues Position water points close to homes Make house calls.

Bring aid right to the door with visits from community health workers, Care Group volunteers, vaccinators

3

CONSIDER UNIQUE NEEDS

Relief activities should target needs that aren’t being met—medical support for chronic health problems, counselling, nutrition, physiotherapy, or rehabilitating buildings to make them accessible.

5

2

ADAPT TO CULTURE & CONTEXT

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. You need to listen to understand what people need and what they will actually use. If the terrain is too steep for people to use wheelchairs, for example, there's no point in building ramps or widening doors.

In rural DR Congo, where wheelchair use is uncommon, Medair consults with the community to make latrines and health centres more accessible.

4

HELP THE CAREGIVERS

Support people who spend most of their time caring for ageing or disabled loved ones. By helping caregivers, you also help the people needing care.

VALUE EVERYONE’S CONTRIBUTIONS

We work better when we work together. Value everyone's input, experiences, and skills; include them in decisionmaking. Give people roles and responsibilities that help them take ownership of the work.

1

4

A Study of Humanitarian Financing for Older People and People with Disabilities, 2010–2011. HelpAge International and Handicap International. 2012.

Medair | May 2018 | medair.org

© Medair / Wendy van Amerongen

NEPAL

Hope is a beautiful thing A remarkable recovery project is underway in remote Bijulikot, Nepal. Thousands of people are working together to recover from the devastating 2015 earthquakes. Hundreds of earthquake-resilient homes have been rebuilt, with a total of 1,263 homes on-track for construction.

What makes this project special is that Medair and our local partner CDS have encouraged communities to work together in clusters of seven to 12 households. The cluster system is based on Armah Parma—the Nepali culture of labour exchange to help others finish similar tasks.

Commonly used for farming, Medair has adapted it for reconstruction with impressive results.

© Medair / Wendy van Amerongen

Kul Bahadur Magar, blind since birth, smiles as he talks about his role in the reconstruction. “I work more slowly than other masons and I find that difficult sometimes. But I’m good at mixing the mud and I can sense a lot. I help with the excavation work for the foundation and I carry water. I’m earning money and also building safe houses. I’m so happy with the clusters—we support each other. Without Medair and CDS, I would not have been able to build a new house.”

Kul and his wife, Aaista, are happy to be part of the cluster system.

“But as our project progressed, people were enlightened with hope," he said. "They saw the results and began to have glimpses of the happiness that they could achieve. It builds confidence in them.

Hope is a beautiful thing.”

© Medair / Tamara Berger

Everyone chips in to help with something, regardless of age or disability. A spirit of optimism has taken hold as communities bond together and homes are springing up.

Medair and CDS provide training, technical assistance, and grant disbursements. We have trained more than 400 masons to work with the clusters to build earthquake-resilient homes.

“I had met several people who didn’t have any hope of rebuilding their houses again after the devastating earthquakes,” said Sumit Thapa, Medair relief worker.

Visit medair.exposure.co/old-but-notforgotten to read a beautiful photo-story about Dolma, age 87, and her new home in Nepal.

IRAQ

Emergency response in Hawiga

In 2017, the humanitarian community learned that fighting was anticipated in Hawiga that would lead to mass displacement to the surrounding area. We didn’t know when it would happen, but we knew families would be fleeing the conflict in urgent need of health care, safe water, and critical supplies.

© Medair / Sue O'Connor

For three years, aid workers provided relief to families as they fled from armed groups in Hawiga, Iraq. Medair knew that many families were still suffering inside the city, but we were unable to reach them.

Hygiene kits were put to immediate use after hours of walking in the dust and heat.

In September, the conflict in Iraq reached Hawiga and tens of thousands of people fled the area.

They walked for up to 12 hours, many in bare feet, over land that was mined with explosive devices.

Some needed to swim or wade the Little Zab river to make it to safety.

© Medair / Sue O'Connor

© Medair / Sue O'Connor

At five strategic locations, Medair teams welcomed the fleeing families and provided them with medical care, safe water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene supplies. “We prepared for months but when people started arriving, everything

© Medair / Sue O'Connor

To prepare, we coordinated our response with other agencies, hired and trained more health staff, and pre-positioned teams and supplies, including hygiene kits and latrine construction materials, for rapid front-line relief.

Medair’s Dr Ibrahim spoke with a young man with cerebral palsy who received treatment for a kidney infection and anaemia.

happened very quickly,” said Dr Joy Wright, Medair relief worker. “Having an experienced team made the difference.”

Waded and his wife Sameera, both 79 years old, fled the fighting in Hawiga and arrived safely with five grandchildren. Two grandsons received care for wounds on their feet.

“I am at the end of my life. I shouldn’t be wearing dirty clothes,” smiled Waded.

Sameera has difficulty walking due to swelling in her legs. She cried when telling us how she was carried by men they met along the road.

After connecting her with Handicap International, she received a new walker.

“My wife is my soul,” said Waded. “I fell in love with her in primary school and I love her to this day. I never want to be without her.”

© Medair

SYRIA

Syria has seen a sharp increase in the number of people with permanent disabilities due to the crisis. Medair Syria is supporting people with disabilities by providing aid that directly addresses their unmet needs and making health clinics and services more accessible.

© Medair

If people with new disabilities are given appropriate treatment and support within three months, it greatly increases their chances of improvement and reintegration. In rural Damascus, Medair is actively supporting a rehabilitation centre, treating patients like Leen, helping with reintegration, and providing training to physiotherapists.

Rising from the rubble Leen, 12, was at her school when she was hit by a mortar blast. Shrapnel ripped into Leen’s back, injuring her spinal cord.

The emergency squad of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) responded to the blast and found Leen, rescuing her from the rubble. Yet she was paralysed from the ribcage down.

After recovering from her immediate injuries, Leen began physiotherapy to improve her newly constrained mobility. She was afraid at first and didn’t cooperate with the therapists, but she gradually overcame her fear and grew stronger. She learned to use her arms to roll herself from side to side, and to balance herself while sitting.

Leen and her parents agreed to become participating patients in Medair’s practical training sessions for physiotherapists. The trainer gave expert advice to aid Leen’s recovery and developed a physiotherapy plan that will enable her to become more independent and have stronger use of her upper extremities. The trainer encouraged Leen and her family not to lose hope, and to continue with the physiotherapy and daily exercises.

In an amazing coincidence, one of the physiotherapists who attended Medair’s training session happened to be the SARC emergency team member who had rescued Leen from the rubble. He hadn’t seen her since that day, and didn’t know what had happened to her.

He was thrilled to see her again and has now become an important part of Leen’s recovery. He is personally invested in helping her regain strength and mobility, and is tracking her progress and supporting her rehabilitation.

Medair replaced Leen’s old wheelchair which was too large and had a broken wheel. Now she has a wheelchair that fits well and works properly.

Thanks to your support, Medair Syria is helping Leen and thousands more like her who have been impacted by the crisis. medair.org

|

May 2018

|

Medair

7

SOUTH SUDAN

© Medair /Diana Gorter

Unwilling to give up Life isn’t easy in South Sudan, especially not for people who are ageing or with disabilities. The average age in the country is just 18.

The significant needs of its ageing population are often neglected.

If you’ve lived long enough to be considered an ageing person in South Sudan, you’ve likely lived through intense confl icts and suffered great loss. Despite significant hardships, there is an indomitable spirit of resilience amongst the people in South Sudan. They know their lives are hard, but they are unwilling to give up.

© Medair /Diana Gorter

Since 2016, South Sudan has been experiencing its deadliest and most protracted cholera outbreak since independence.

In 2017, Medair led a rapid Oral Cholera Vaccination campaign that helped protect more than 68,000 people from the disease. The team made house visits to people who could not physically make it to vaccination sites.

Adier, 80, survived cholera two years ago when he made it to a distant hospital just in time.

He was visibly relieved to receive the vaccination from Medair that would help protect him from the latest deadly outbreak.

Despite his age, Adier continues to work the fields to provide for his family. He has proven resilient to the hardships of South Sudan’s confl ict and climate, yet he is a father and grandfather many times over, and the future of those children weigh on him: “Please tell the people that there is not enough water, not enough food, no hospital, and no school in our area.”

I N N O VAT I O N S : H E L P I N G S AV E L I V E S Within Medair, we barely use pen and paper anymore. We collect, store, and disseminate data and information digitally. This process spares us a lot of human mistakes and allows us to collect more complex and dynamic information like images, videos, barcodes, audio, and GPS locations which otherwise would have been more tedious or impossible to collect. We partner with technical companies around the world to increase our accountability and security.

What I like most about my job is that I can leverage some of the most recent advanced technologies in the ICT sector to solve real-world problems. In Nepal, we partnered to set up a smart card for cash transfers, and using a barcode-enabled beneficiary list, we were able to distribute cash grants to 4,000 people in only four days without a single error. We also use drones to assess landslide susceptibility and create maps to inform the local communities about risks and mitigation measures, in partnership with WeRobotics.

– Niroj Panta, Information Management and GIS Officer, Medair Nepal 8

Medair

|

May 2018

|

medair.org

BEHIND THE SCENES

Meet our challenges

Connie Smith, 59, is the Deputy Country Director for Medair in DR Congo. Originally from Canada, she has lived in DR Congo since 1988.

Going the extra mile means that Medair sees its fair share of challenges.

In Kahande, a remote community in North Kivu, DR Congo, Medair set out to replace dangerous bamboo bridges in order to make crossings safer and open up access to health care and markets for vulnerable families.

Building a strong bridge in a community without road access is no easy feat. It took nine months just to transport the five essential cables needed to build the suspension bridge. © Medair /Gerard van de Pol

© Medair /Pete Harrison

Meet our team

At my age, one of the main things about living in DR Congo is that you realise how outnumbered you are. There are so many children and youth; people with grey hair are much more rare. I think because we’re rare, there’s a special place in society for us.

Whenever we work in communities, we meet the local leaders, and they tend to be older people with wisdom. We get their invaluable input on where to work, on who is really displaced and who isn’t, whether our presence is still necessary for the survival of the most vulnerable people.

When I started working with Medair, I was nervous about working with younger people, but my experience has been very positive. At my age, I pretty well know who I am, so I’m not trying to be 21 again. I think that helps, and their enthusiasm and energy are really great to be around.

If you are thinking about working with Medair but think you are too old, think again! I don’t think it’s too late. Know that the generation that you’re going to work with was raised with a rattle in one hand and a computer in the other. You just have to be humble and know that in some areas, they’re going to know a whole lot more than you do, but life experience and wisdom are things that people of my generation can really bring to the table.

Work with us! www.medair.org/jobs

1 Medair imported the cables overland via

truck from Uganda and then waited a long time for customs clearance.

2 Our DR Congo team trucked them from Goma to Medair’s field base in Kashebere over rough roads, and then onward to Kibua.

3 Finally, each cable was carried through the rainforest on the shoulders of a long line of 50 people at a time! This last stage, including the transport of other construction materials by foot, took close to three weeks alone.

It takes a weird and wonderful organisation to decide that remoteness and isolation aren’t an excuse when people out there need our help— and even weirder and more wonderful people to decide to leave their homes and trek through snow, tropical heat, and deserts to find and address needs wherever they exist.

– Lucy Bamforth, Medair relief worker medair.org

|

May 2018

|

Medair

9

In Bangladesh, I met lovely children and women, some too shy to be photographed, some asking for a photo to be taken. One older woman tried speaking to me and I thought she wanted her picture taken, so I did, and she slapped me! Twice! Laughingly though. Then she hugged me, I hugged her back, we took a selfie, and the world was right again.

– Nath, Medair relief worker, Rohyingya emergency response

© Medair /Diana Gorter

© Medair /Nath Fauveau

YOUR GIFT

Safe drinking water makes all the difference in Batil refugee camp, South Sudan

Your gift brings life.

Majed was born with a physical disability and has never been able to walk on his own. Working with ICRC, Medair Lebanon replaced the poor metal stands he had been using, and gave him his own set of crutches.

10

Medair

|

May 2018

|

medair.org

© Medair /George Mghames

© Medair /George Mghames

donate.medair.org

UK

Welcoming new CEO — David Verboom David Verboom, a native of the Netherlands, is married and father to three teenagers. An experienced manager, he has 20 years of humanitarian field experience that includes responding to the major global crises of recent years.

the Operational Director’s function at Medair headquarters in Switzerland. In that capacity, he initiated Medair's Quality Improvement process, resulting in Medair being the first humanitarian agency to become ISO 9001 certified. This application of international quality standards to the humanitarian sector was not only groundbreaking work, it was also unique in defining the affected people as the organisation's primary clients.

Graduate of the Twente School of Management, David earned his Master of Business Administration degree in 1992. He worked for four years with various management consultancy firms before embarking on a career in humanitarian aid and development with several NGOs (Medair, ZOA Refugee Care, World Vision) and with EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department.

Medair’s International Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to hand over to David the responsibility of leading the organisation as CEO. His experience and his ability to lead, tied to his allegiance to Medair’s fundamental values, give him the qualities required to guide Medair in the years to come. David will move the organisation forward by instilling the dynamism and unity necessary to adapt to inevitable changes in the humanitarian landscape and to respond in increasingly relevant ways to the growing needs of people in distress.

His first job with Medair was as Country Director for Kenya and South Sudan. He then took up

Countdown to Medair summer events!

Join us as we count down to an exciting season of summer events. We encourage supporters like you to take part in our summer events from running, to cycling, and uniting with us at key Christian festivals this year, so make sure you stop by our stand and pick up our #EverySecondCounts wristband.

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming summer events. Please put the dates in your diary, send us an email (events.uk@medair.org) if you would like to volunteer or sign up to one of our fundraising events.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ATTENTION RUNNERS AND CYCLISTS!

SUMMER EVENTS

• Big Church Day Out (26–27 May) • Keswick Convention (14–20 July) • Virgin Sports 10k run (15 July) • Prudential Ride London (29 July) • Creation Fest (4–10 August) • New Wine conference (5–11 August) • GreenBelt (24–27 August) th

th

British 10k and Ride London — if you would like to fundraise for us then please send an email to events. uk@medair.org and we'll send you a registration form. For a minimum secured sponsorship of £500 for Medair UK you will receive: a place in the race a Medair cycle/running jersey training tips pre-race registration support from our team an invitation to our post-race reception

• •

•

•

•

medair.org | May 2018 | Medair

11

Thank you from Nepal Guiani Magar, 55, (right) and her sister Tika Maya Magar, 41, have been blind since birth. When the earthquakes hit Nepal, everything changed for them. Guiani shares their story: We sense things. We cannot see, but that doesn’t mean we cannot hear. We can sense things and we live our life despite our disability.

During the earthquake, we were inside our house and it was shaking from one side to another. We tried to get out and we heard people screaming. That was difficult, as you get disoriented with everything shaking around you. But finally we got out.

After the earthquake, our situation was very tough. We received tarpaulin, and with the support of friends we stayed in a temporary shelter. We stayed there with three other families for 18 months. We were very afraid. There were so many aftershocks.

Then we heard from our neighbours that help was coming. We heard that grants would be distributed to rebuild a house. We thought to ourselves: we cannot spend the money on general things. We want to live a long and happy life, so we have to spend it on the house as that will keep us safe.

We heard many good things about Medair. The staff are really helping us to build our house and we have learned a lot of new things about building for earthquake resilience. We now believe we can build a safe new house. We are getting the full support from [Medair-trained] masons and from our neighbours in the cluster system, and we make lunch for the masons as a way to help out.

MN1801-EN

We are hopeful now because of the help of the people—thank you!

Every second counts when lives are on the line.

Please give today or give monthly at donate.medair.org Follow us on

© Medair/ Tamara Berger

THANK YOU!