Update: read the follow-up post: An aid worker’s answers about the Horn of Africa
Want to know more about managing household finance? Talk to Suze Ormann. Health advice? Watch Dr. Oz. General wisdom? Google, of course.
But what about those disasters all over the news? It looks like a lot is going on…. or not? Who should you ask to find out about the issues in a big disaster response, like the current drought and famine in the Horn of Africa?
You ask an aid worker. Why? Because they’re out in the disaster zone talking to survivors and assessing needs, determining the scale and involvement of response, identifying funding sources for assistance plans, writing proposals communicating with donors about needs and planned projects, and getting the projects started.
In an effort for all of us to better understand the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, we’re gleaning from the inspiration of Rachel Held Evans interview series, “Ask a ____” and starting our own “ask” series. In this post, I’d like to introduce you to Betsy Baldwin — disaster response expert.
Betsy is a program officer for World Vision Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, currently focusing on relief efforts in the Horn of Africa — where 12.4 million people are affected by drought and famine. She has degrees in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University and Virginia Tech, and has worked in relief development in Darfur, Sudan, Northern Afghanistan, Haiti (following the January 2010 earthquake), conflict regions of the Congo, and South Sudan.
She recently returned from the Horn of Africa, assessing needs in Somalia. (Read her blog post about her visit and “Being a humanitarian — from the desk or the field“.)
When I first met Betsy, she was introduced to me as a (and I quote) “total aid worker expert.” When I asked her why she thinks the public needs to better understand humanitarian aid work, this is what she said:
“We are seeing an increase in disasters for several reasons — some related to climate change and others related to higher demand for resources (oil, raw materials for electronics, etc.) from under developed nations. Providing assistance means saving lives now but also preventing lives from being lost in future disasters.”
If you have questions for Betsy, here’s your chance — leave them in the comment section. Remember that the point is to ask the sort of questions that will help us better understand humanitarian aid work and the crisis in the Horn of Africa. Wednesday, we’ll pick the top six or seven questions and give them to Betsy to answer first-hand. (And if you like someone else’s question, leave a reply saying so. That way we can get a sense of what questions are of most interest to you.) Look for her answers and responses this Thursday.
Read Betsy’s follow-up post: An aid worker’s answers about the Horn of Africa
Hey Kim,
I’m not 100% sure how worldvision does it – but generally your money is put into a big pot with other child sponsorships to cover the costs of your child along with other children.
The reason they have to do it this way is because if certain donors stop giving money, they won’t kick the child in need out the door….
In some cases children will be sponsored out several times, however the extra funds will go to caring for other kids.
In this sense your understanding of how the sponsorships are run is correct.
I recently started sponsoring a child in Kenya and the reason why I choose this area was due to this awful drought and famine that area is experiencing. From what I have read others are flocking to that area for help. Does that mean the money I send for “my” child goes directly to her and therefore frees up additional funds for other children that are in desperate need of help in that area? I really hope this is the case because it truly breaks my heart to imagine a mother/father trying so hard to keep their child alive and relying on aid because they have no other choice. Thank you for what you do!!
Some people think the aid isn’t getting through to where it needs to go, based on what’s happened in other places in the past. Is the aid, in fact, coming through to the Horn of Africa? We have donated, and trust that it will make a difference, but I ask this question simply for those who have doubts. Bless you for your humanitarian service!!
I always think we as a society should be able to help Africa overcome this as an US citizen I have an abundance. I just don’t understand why when people give and give it just seems to barely make a difference as a whole. Is it that people just aren’t generous enough? btw I do sponsor a child.
What kinds of things does World Vision do to help the people in the famine-ravaged areas of Africa? How does the aid that we give reach the people?