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Posts tagged ‘charity jobs’

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If we were living in Shakespearian times I would have thrown down a glove and dared you to pick up the gauntlet. However this is the twenty first century and I am a logistician so instead I’ll fling down my forklift keys and if you are up for the challenge. The disaster challenge.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the negative press about how slow aid has been getting into Haiti.

Whilst it’s frustrating for all involved to hear these things actually I think it’s a good thing for the examination and scrutinising.  Flagging up issues, seeing if things could have been done better and making them public. After all, it’s the public’s money that we are spending.  What would have been refreshing would be if some of those voices were also hollering solutions to the problems being reported. They were less forthcoming. Maybe because disaster response just isn’t that easy?

We took some calls in the office with people offering ideas.  Some mirrored what the teams on the ground were doing.  Others were well meaning but less practical.  Air dropping aid seems sensible, but when you consider that only the youngest, fittest and healthiest (and arguably the least needy) are going to be able to race and get there first you can start to see a flaw in the plan.

So my question to you, is what would you have done to run the relief operation in Haiti better?  How would you have got food and blankets to the elderly, the injured, the orphaned and the sick?  Remembering that the airport was only built to allow ten planes to land a day.  The port was damaged and couldn’t be used. The roads were blocked by debris. Petrol and electricity was scarce.  Oh and there was still a risk of pretty large aftershocks.

Got some ideas already?  Feeling confident enough to put them into practise?  Obviously I can’t send you to Haiti to test your plans. But what if I could offer you an opportunity to go to Bukistan, a little known country lying on a major fault line and the scene of at least two major earthquakes a year since 2004.  So would you be interested? Do you think you could work in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster? Could you face the issues and make life saving decisions?

You’ve seen the pictures on TV, you’ve heard the problems, and you may have even talked about it down the pub.  But what does it feel like to actually be there?  How would you provide shelter to thousands of people who have lost their homes?  What would you do about the security situation? Could you live in the most basic of conditions? Are you be someone passionate about saving lives and changing lives?

This is a fundraising event, not a training programme. If you want to work for us you need to apply for the jobs that we have available. But I can promise you that it is a weekend you will not forget.  It’s hard work, it’s exciting, it’s exhausting and it’s great fun.  I know, I was a participant on the very first disaster challenge, long before I got my job here. It literally changed my life.  Maybe like me, after you’ve completed the challenge you’ll feel so passionate that you’ll change your career.

So, the keys are still lying there, are you going to walk straight past them. Or do you choose to bend down and scoop them up? The door is open, come on inside and see what my world’s like. I really hope to see you there.

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