Field mission 続編

The field mission that I accompanied was an evaluation of the humanitarian work that we did last year. I am not really involved in this work, but it is one of the core work that we do. I also had not visited the field and it was a good opportunity to meet with some partner NGOs, so my colleague kindly invited me to come along. 

I visited for the first time in my life a camp (of people displaced by the disaster). The photo is one of their make-shift house. I don't think these structures withhold in the next monsoon season, and I cannot begin to imagine how frightened they must be. Many families lost their valuable farmland that is now covered by a thick layer sand. It will take more than 5 years to be able to cultivate the same crops they were growing before.  People are now told to go back to their original village. One of the men we spoke to said, “how can we come back here where we lost our livelihood?  They might as well just give us poison." They have not received enough help from international agencies nor the national government. Some women explained how they are still traumatized by their experience, but they do not have access to any counseling services. 

Natural disasters are happening all over the world, and it is clear that there are not enough resources, knowledge and coordination to effectively help survivors and victims. 

This past week, I attended a couple of workshops on humanitarian response work in addition to seeing the situation (just a glimpse though) with my own eyes. It was a very eye-opening experience. I hope I can be involved in some humanitarian work from now on.