Meet some of our HSPs
Probably the best way to glean an insight into life as an HSP is to hear from some of the people already doing the job.
Bibi Lamond - HSP Public Health Engineer
My role has evolved from field engineer to more of a co-ordinating role for water and sanitation programmes. So as well as overseeing the quality of each programme and developing an overall strategy, I work with UNICEF and other organisations to make sure all the engineers are working together effectively and receiving the right training. I also write proposals, budgets and donor reports, and monitor the performance of each programme. My last posting was Public Health Engineer Co-ordinator for the Aceh Nias tsunami response.
When you're called in for a first stage emergency you work incredibly long hours seven days a week. But you see the benefits so quickly for the people who have been affected. I do genuinely believe that people have the right to clean water and to privacy for doing their bodily functions and should never have to beg for it. All children should have the right to a carefree childhood and freedom like I've had. That's what keeps me motivated, thinking that people should have these rights.
I'm pretty low maintenance myself. I don't care where I stay as long as there are clean sheets. It can go from the sublime to the ridiculous. In Darfur there was no electricity and initially no running water and baking heat; in Burundi there was lush greenery, beautiful fruit trees and an en-suite bathroom but there were shells dropping in the garden! I enjoy the total lack of routine and uncertainty. You get to see other people's way of life and it really makes me realise how fortunate I have been. I'd hate to wake up every day and know what I was going to be doing. I have a very low threshold for boredom.
Typically Bibi's week in Aceh would break down something like this:
Monday
Begins at the co-ordination office - a meeting with UNICEF. The rest of the day is spent phoning and visiting other Watsan actors in the area; catching up on paperwork; answering emails on technical issues; meeting with Public Health Co-ordinators to identify areas of focus; and confirming Terms of Reference with the programme I'll be visiting that week.
Tuesday to Saturday
I begin my field visit to one of the seven programmes that make up the Aceh Nias response be meeting with the Programme Manager, the Public Health Engineering team leader and Public Health Co-ordinator and going through the Terms of Reference.
Over the course of the visit I'll get involved in a number of activities, which include: designing the Watsan response; looking at what has been constructed already and studying work plans; advising on where information being collected was not in line with original objectives; training on water analysis; looking at the quality of the activities in the field; talking to the community that's receiving assistance; and talking to other NGOs.
Before leaving I meet with all the same people again and discuss the positive points from the programme as well as any issues or concerns I have. I then produce a draft report relating back to the original Terms of Reference with recommendations and ways forward. Once agreed this report will then be widely circulated.
Sunday
Back in the office following up paperwork and preparing for the following week.
Valerie Do - HSP Public Health Promoter
Valerie is a Public Health Promotor HSP. She kept a diary of her first week on assignment in the D.R. Congo.
24 November: Unbelievable. My first day in the field with John (PHE) was spent at the South Kivu WASH cluster co-ordination meeting and then afterwards on the negotiation table with World Vision and IRC. NGOs were not respecting decisions on who was working where in previous WASH cluster co-ordination meetings in North Kivu. With money flooding in, everyone wanted a piece of the pie. I felt like I was at a WASH camp auction- John and I were raising our hands each time to say Oxfam GB was going to do watsan and hygiene promotion in a specific camp.
27-28 November – Kirotshe assessment: I have to admit it’s the first time I have felt so dehydrated in one week while in the field. When you see the conditions of the existing school latrines, and the rare household latrines around in the host populations you don’t even want to pee in them! They were that bad I barely drank water during the first week of assessments. Mind you in my previous mission (Mozambique) I used the Oxfam camp latrines all the time. If they are good enough for beneficiaries, they should be good enough for me too!
It is not an uncommon sight to see smaller IDP populations taking refuge alongside schools along the Sake-Minova axis. Although the media focuses on the larger Mungunga and Kibati camps, the majority of displaced people (IDPs) are taken in by host communities and into schools or on private farmland. These smaller spontaneous camps are not official camps, and are vulnerable because local authorities do not want them to remain permanently.
Some IDPs even live within the school walls after the students leave. They use the school latrines, which are filthy, and none of the school tapstands have running water.
2 December: UNICEF have partnered up with Oxfam for a pilot project on female hygiene kits in Shasha camp. These kits were designed by UNICEF to ensure that all women in the camp and host villages had access to appropriate sanitary materials. They include material for menstruation, underwear, soap, a laundry line, and small bucket for washing. Distribution to about 1,500 women will occur on 10 Dec.. Oxfam has been involved in FGDs, and planning of the distribution with UNICEF. Post distribution monitoring will help Oxfam plan for future female hygiene kit distributions in other camps and host populations along the Sake-Minova access.
Jesee Wainaina Kinyanjui - HSP Public Health Promoter
I've been with Oxfam for two years. I started off as a contract Public Health Promoter for a year in Chad before becoming an HSP. My main role now is to inform and guide public health interventions during emergencies, which involves short deployments (normally three to six months) around the globe, delivering rapid public health assessments, programme design and implementation. I'm also heavily involved in building and training public health response teams, and networking with other organisations.
My last posting was in Indonesia in West Papua and Yogyakarta. In Papua, the area I worked in was quite remote and highly underdeveloped. The living conditions were basic and essentials like food were very expensive. In Yogyakarta the majority of communities were not living in their houses because they had either been flattened by the earthquake or everybody feared staying in the few standing ones in case they collapsed from aftershocks. We were all afraid to stay in high-rise hotels and I couldn't sleep properly for the first few weeks.
I've been involved in all sorts of work from setting up cholera-response programmes to public health interventions for displaced people. The support given by Oxfam makes it possible to realise rapid results, which is very motivating. You build up a rich bank of experience very quickly from working in different setups and diverse cultures, and you have a great deal of autonomy in the decisions you make. What I enjoy most is seeing my involvement make tangible results in desperate situations.
Timetable of Jesee's day
4.30 am - 5.00 am: wake, preparation and breakfast
5.00 am - 7.00 am: (this is my prime time) on the laptop doing write-ups that require innovative thinking, like analysing assessments and designing programmes
7.00 am - 8.00 am: in the office planning the day's work, responding to mails and other communications
8.00 am - 9.00 am: meeting with the team to flag up burning issues from the previous day, clarifying activities for the day ahead and sorting out logistics such as transport to the field
9.00 am - 4.00 pm: depending on security report-back time, field work or office work, sometimes a lunch break if it's possible
4.00 pm - 5.00 pm: in the office sorting any matters arising
5.00 pm - 7.00 pm: co-ordination meeting (sometimes more than one)
7.00 pm - 8.00 pm: rest and watch the news (if there's a TV), shower or call home (depending on the hour difference) and prepare for dinner
8.00 pm - 9.00 pm: dinner
9.00 pm: retire to bed
Sarah Lumsdon - HSP Programme Representative
I lead large humanitarian emergency programmes - which on a day-to-day basis means I have to make sure I'm up to date with security issues and the political environment, meet with other NGOs and Governments and communicate internally on advocacy and media issues. I also have overall responsibility for the programme budget.
It's less field-oriented than other roles but you still need a firm grasp of what's happening on the ground. You need to be pragmatic and business-like because your job is to deliver. There's a lot of money and a lot of people involved and you can't be afraid to do your job.
I was responsible for running the operations programmes in Darfur with a team of 350 people. I had a similar role in Aceh (Indonesia) with a programme of more than 700 people. And for my last post I was looking at humanitarian issues and strategy on a regional level in East Africa. It can be lonely sometimes because you're the boss and you can't be everyone's friend all the time. But the variety of experience you can gain coupled with the job security of being on an open-ended contract is very appealing. It's also good to have a sense of belonging to an organisation rather than feeling out on your own.
The environment can vary greatly, although as a Programme Representative you're most likely to be based in the capital. There's a lot of travel and conditions can be quite basic: squat latrines, cold showers, a diet of rice and beans or meat. Some people you live with can cook really well so you get to try different nationality foods.
