by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director
Edu, LHI’s Director of Field Operations in Moldova, distributes toys to Ukrainian refugee children.
Yesterday morning, I was busy getting the kids ready for school. As usual, I had one AirPod in so that I could catch Morning Edition while also fielding breakfast requests and packing snack bags. My ears perked up when I heard the intro to a story about how the Turkish city of Sanliurfa is using lessons learned from welcoming Syrian refugees to assist people displaced by the earthquakes.
As I listened, the words of an interviewee, Ali Altin, who runs a distribution center in Sanliurfa, caught my attention. He observed that Syrian war refugees and earthquake survivors share this similarity: “Families who have never wanted for anything before in their lives are suddenly in need of a single diaper, and you can sense they don’t know how to tell you what they need and are almost apologetic for asking.”
This statement brought me back to a voice memo Edu, LHI’s Director of Field Operations in Moldova, sent me a few weeks back about why he thinks it is important that he is there, on the ground, when aid is distributed. And, since Edu took a good deal of time to send me the voice memo, I’ll let him take the lead in telling you why LHI’s practice of having team members at humanitarian aid distributions as often as possible is so important.
Edu often opens boxes of aid with beneficiaries. This gives him an opportunity to talk with people and to better understand their situation and their needs.
Being present at distributions brings humanity and dignity to a moment that is quite delicate.
Edu told me, “I think that asking for humanitarian aid, asking for help is something that can be humiliating. It makes people feel vulnerable and nobody likes it. So that is the starting point. And I think if I am there, wearing LHI gear, representing the organization, it brings some humanity to this process, and makes the beneficiaries feel better because they know it's from human to human.”
Edu also shared that some NGOs unload boxes of aid and leave. He said that the effect of this is that: “they don’t even know refugees faces. This could be quite undignifying for them, for the people who receive the support, and that is unfortunately how it works usually. They just load a truck with stuff, send it to the village where there is need, unload it, and that is it. People don’t even know where these things come from, who donated, and probably they get a feeling that the donors don’t care much about them.
When I take part in a distribution, people can say thank you to me. That brings a bit of dignity and humanity in the process- in this moment that is quite delicate.
Refugees remember more about LHI. There is a person who makes the moment more memorable. It makes it a nicer experience.”
Edu spent some time playing with Ukrainian children sheltering in the dorms at university in Chisinau, Moldova. Edu got the idea to set up a playroom when he saw the children playing in the narrow corridors during an aid distribution.
Meeting beneficiaries helps LHI to get to know them, to better understand their needs, and to help them get the aid and services they are not able to get anywhere else.
Edu told me that when he is present at distributions, “I get to know the real situation. I get to see where the refugees live and what are their needs. I get to talk to them. I get to listen to them. I could not have such a grasp on their lives if I were not there.”
Edu’s presence at one distribution led to one of LHI’s coolest projects in Moldova. He said: “When I distributed aid to a university [that shelters Ukrainian refugees in its dormitories], I saw the kids playing in the corridor and then I had the idea that maybe we could set up a playroom for these kids. That has been one of the most successful projects so far in Moldova, and that idea just sparked during a distribution.”
LHI founder and director Hayley Smith talks with a woman during a distribution of aid to earthquake survivors in Turkey.
LHI’s COO Walker echoed Edu’s sentiments recently in a staff meeting when he reflected on his recent visit to earthquake survivors in Turkey. He told us about a Syrian refugee he met who’d first lost three of her children in Syria because of the civil war, and had now lost six more children in the earthquake. She and other women and children were sleeping on the floor in a mosque. What they needed were mattresses so that they could get off of the cold, hard floor. Because of this conversation, LHI was able to provide the people sleeping in the mosque that small, but much needed, comfort.
LHI’s Walker, Jaron, and Hayley recently traveled through Turkey to personally distribute aid to earthquake survivors.
Walker also told us that he spent some time playing with the children who were sheltering at the mosque. He said, “There is not much for [earthquake survivors] to do.” Many people are not working because they’ve been displaced from their homes, or because their workplaces have been destroyed, or because supply chains have been greatly disrupted. Children are not in school because buildings are damaged or teachers have been killed or displaced. In light of this, Walker said, “It feels very valuable to play with the kids and engage them.”
LHI’s Ukraine country director Serhii (he’s the one with the sunglasses on his head) recently traveled to Kherson where he met with volunteers who serve their community and affected villages at great risk to themselves. Meeting people and forming partnerships is how LHI gets its work done.
The relationships and partnerships that pave the way for LHI to do its work are forged on the ground.
Serhii, our Ukraine country director, puts this best. He told me:
“A partnership isn't built by phone calls, emails, or agreements. It is forged on dusty roads and in destroyed villages. [Before joining LHI], I was doing massive projects with dozens of teammates and thousands of beneficiaries, and it was easy to lose the sense of human connection. My job isn't about metric tons or quantity; that's about connecting the dots and ultimately bringing people together. That's why I travel with our fantastic partners, whenever possible, to the most affected areas. We drive, unload aid and sometimes seek shelter together.
Now I can see the hard work of our partners, share the team spirit and remind myself about the very essence of humanitarianism. We build hope, empower people, and come together as a big family.”
And I think Serhii hits the nail on the head: the essence of humanitarianism is seeing the humanity in our beneficiaries and partners and working together to provide the things people need to maintain or rebuild their sense of dignity and self-sufficiency.
If you’d like to learn more about our team , our work, and how you can help, please visit our website!