Jonathan Brass, EFSL Adviser
Jonathan Brass discusses his recent work as Regional EFSL Adviser for South Asia.
Watch a video of Jonathan's trip to Aceh
Which programme have you been working with over the last couple of months?
Since July 2007 I have been the Regional EFSL Advisor for South Asia and over the last couple of months I have been working on the East India floods. More recently I was in Bangladesh as part of the Cyclone Sidr response.
What has been the most innovative example of EFSL work have you seen in this time?
Since working in the region the most innovative work I have come across has to be in Sri Lanka. Several stories caught my attention when I was conducting a Sphere training there a few months ago.
In one particular community in the north of the country Oxfam was trying to begin activities, however the community refused unless Oxfam could help them with their pest problem. Their particular pest was elephants, which destroyed crops, damaged houses and were a general nuisance. One Oxfam staff member remembered hearing that elephants were scared by the noise of donkeys and knew of an area in the south where donkeys were running wild and also regarded as a nuisance. A truck was hired, donkeys were herded on board, delivered to the north and released. As predicted, the donkeys scared off the elephants and Oxfam was able to begin working with this community!
On a more serious note some of the best examples of livelihood support and diversification has been in the camps in Batticoloa. Oxfam has been training farmers on how to obtain livestock and crop insurance as well as farmer’s pensions, teaching girls how to make products out of coconut shells for sale to tourists, and training other women and men on making sweets, crisps and drying fish, which can be sold to the local retailers.
In the emergency responses other innovative ideas have included awareness raising and advocacy on the NREGS in India (this is the government support social safety net for rural poor) and in Bangladesh ideas around vouchers and markets, including accessing public health items and Non Food Items (NFIs) using vouchers.
What is the most important thing you have learned?
The most important thing I have learnt since being in the region is the importance of clear communication and the need to empower more country staff to make decisions. In particular, I discovered that there are amazingly capable ‘junior’ staff who we could really support to develop their decision-making skills to empower them during their emergency work. I think that capacity building this group rather than the senior managers would have a greater impact on our immediate emergency implementation.
What is your most amusing or memorable experience?
Oh it has to be sharing a room with the loudest snorer in the world during an emergency response in Bangladesh. As during a lot of emergency responses the office doubled as the bedroom, so after packing our computers away at around 11.00pm a logistician, a public health engineer and myself rolled out our mattresses and set up mosquito nets.
We then settled down to sleep and within minutes the concerto began... some of the loudest snoring I have EVER heard in my life, coupled with periods of singing!! Not even the hysterics of the two us still awake could wake the culprit!
What is the best thing about your job?
Being in the field and working with the people to whom we are trying to make a difference. Sitting in a regional office, behind a desk in front of a computer you can often forget why we do what we do and the real constraints women, men and children face. It is only when you visit the field and interact with those we are working with, that you begin to understand the their challenges, know their hopes, hear their expectations, share their joys and feel their frustrations. Seeing people learn from your experience or sharing a joke, even a glint in the eye, a honest smile and a feeling that what we do really makes a difference is the best thing about this job.
What three words that sum up the country/region you are currently deployed?
Opportunity - there is so much opportunity to make a difference and opportunity to try innovative work
Challenge - We still face a challenge of breaking old practices and getting programmes to be innovative
Pleasure - It has been a pleasurable experience working with the teams in the countries I have visited
