Showing posts with label Fun and stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fun and stuff. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Update from the field
Monday, December 31, 2012
Happy 2013
Happy new year... I realise that this has been a quite year for posts but I promise - I have been busy working on a range of things - primarily in East Africa.
In addition to Water, Snakes and Quinoa for 2013 I will be working (& posting) on topics ranging from Humanitarian programme design (drawing on many of the skills that I have already shared through this blog); Humanitarian access in complex &/or conflict situations - both operational and legal; the Theory of Change for humanitarian interventions - which will inlcude linkages to DRR; and the hot-topic of 2012 and beyond Resilience (I will be taking a more practical approach on this).
So have a great 2013.
Friday, April 23, 2010
UNHCR in Sri Lanka
The following is a link to a dedicated YouTube site for UNHCR in Sri Lanka.
http://www.youtube.com/user/UNHCRlk
It will give you a small flavour of the work that I have been doing - you may even spot me in moe or two of the videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/UNHCRlk
It will give you a small flavour of the work that I have been doing - you may even spot me in moe or two of the videos.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Working with UNHCR in Sri Lanka
In May 2009 I arrived in Sri Lanka as part of the Emergency Response in the aftermath of the fighting between the SLA and LTTE. I was seconded from the Irish Aid Rapid Response Corp to UNHCR as Field Officer for the Mannar District, working from the UNHCR field office in Mannar town.
With the displacement of quarter of a million people into camps, adding to the already large internally displaced population, the initial focus of emergency assistance was on the families that had been placed in camps. Mannar was the first district to also see resettlements – displaced families returning to their places of origin. The focus of assistance, in addition to the camps (welfare centres) in Mannar changed to that of resettlement assistance.
At this time the activities of the emergency assistance was on building the logistical & supply capacity of the Mannar office – the infrastructure, procedures and the actual assistance being provided to IDPs in camps, homes (elderly homes, orphanages, etc.), IDPs living with host families and, as the first returnees after the conflict, to families returning to Musali.
This assistance included: Shelter & House Repair; NFRIs; QIPs; Humanitarian assistance to EVIs/PWSN and assistance to refugees returning from India. In addition there were general management responsibilities (from staff to stock).
I remained in Mannar until the end of August 2009 before I had to return to Ireland for work commitments.
During September an October the number of resettled families to Mannar increased greatly, with 4 of the 5 divisions opened for returning families. A “180-day” plan was proposed by the government that anticipated all IDPs in camps would be returned to the places of origin, creating a new emergency for UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations – not of displacement but of resettlement.
In early November I returned to Mannar.
The assistance being provided to beneficiaries has also changed – away from Shelter & House Repair to that of Shelter Grants. This is a combination of cash (5,000 Rps) and bank certificates (20,000 Rps) and the emergency assistance I was tasked with leading the coordination, implementation, monitoring & reporting of this grant in addition to the other assistances being provided by UNHCR (NFRI, QIPs, Humanitarian assistance, assistance to refugees returning from India). Our beneficiary group can be segmented a dozen different ways - but we have returnees, IDPs with hosts, homes (elderly & orphanage), refugee returnees and EVIs (humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people or groups).
As physical shelter assistance is no longer being provided by UNHCR I am also acting as shelter coordinator for the District, coordinating the activities of all organizations providing shelter assistance to all beneficiary groups. This includes advocacy to government on behalf of these organizations to be granted access/ permission to provide assistance in Return areas.
With the conclusion of the presidential election in January 2010, the incumbent winning, it must be assumed that the focus on resettlement will continue and the challenge of getting access/permission by NGOs to return areas will remain.
Based on information provided by the Project Director’s office, as at 22nd January 2010 5,235 IDP families resettled in Mannar District - in Musali, Rice Bowl (Mannar & Mantai West Divisions), north of Mantai West and, most recently to former conflict areas in Nanaddan and Madhu.
There will be a challenge facing both the government, UNHCR and humanitarian organisations as more families return to the 5 Mannar divisions. To plan for all returnees will require the government authorities and humanitarian organisations to plan for the potential resettlement of 13,931 returning families to areas that may require various types of infrastructure & humanitarian assistance.
In the immediate aftermath of the presidential election an announcement was made by the Ministry of Resettlement that all remaining IDPs would be returned to their places of origin by April 2010; a potential resettlement of almost 9,000 families - 43,000 individuals in 3 months for Mannar alone.
Complicating this will be the legacy of the conflict in Sri Lanka, with families being displaced since the 1990s up to the final fighting in May 2009. Many families are in camps (Menik Farm primarily) but there are also large caseloads of IDPs who will be retuning from other areas where they have been living with host families, or where they have established themselves due to the length of time they have been displaced (in some cases 20 years).
The organization of returning & resettling these families across the various caseloads will be a logistical challenge, complicated for UNHCR as we are also the focal point for statistical reporting of resettled families on behalf of the World Bank and Japanese government among other donor bodies.
And the assistance to these families will require increased inter-agency coordination and field/operational management as the assistance being provided will vary depending on:
• the needs of families in return areas – based on the conditions that families encounter on returning to their villages & homes;
• the ability of families to meet these needs using their own and the communities resources & capacities (this will depend on the length of time families have been displaced & the resources they have been able to accumulate and bring with them to the return areas);
• the policies of organisations such as UNHCR on eligibility for the various beneficiary segments to assistance.
With the displacement of quarter of a million people into camps, adding to the already large internally displaced population, the initial focus of emergency assistance was on the families that had been placed in camps. Mannar was the first district to also see resettlements – displaced families returning to their places of origin. The focus of assistance, in addition to the camps (welfare centres) in Mannar changed to that of resettlement assistance.
At this time the activities of the emergency assistance was on building the logistical & supply capacity of the Mannar office – the infrastructure, procedures and the actual assistance being provided to IDPs in camps, homes (elderly homes, orphanages, etc.), IDPs living with host families and, as the first returnees after the conflict, to families returning to Musali.
This assistance included: Shelter & House Repair; NFRIs; QIPs; Humanitarian assistance to EVIs/PWSN and assistance to refugees returning from India. In addition there were general management responsibilities (from staff to stock).
I remained in Mannar until the end of August 2009 before I had to return to Ireland for work commitments.
During September an October the number of resettled families to Mannar increased greatly, with 4 of the 5 divisions opened for returning families. A “180-day” plan was proposed by the government that anticipated all IDPs in camps would be returned to the places of origin, creating a new emergency for UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations – not of displacement but of resettlement.
In early November I returned to Mannar.
The assistance being provided to beneficiaries has also changed – away from Shelter & House Repair to that of Shelter Grants. This is a combination of cash (5,000 Rps) and bank certificates (20,000 Rps) and the emergency assistance I was tasked with leading the coordination, implementation, monitoring & reporting of this grant in addition to the other assistances being provided by UNHCR (NFRI, QIPs, Humanitarian assistance, assistance to refugees returning from India). Our beneficiary group can be segmented a dozen different ways - but we have returnees, IDPs with hosts, homes (elderly & orphanage), refugee returnees and EVIs (humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people or groups).
As physical shelter assistance is no longer being provided by UNHCR I am also acting as shelter coordinator for the District, coordinating the activities of all organizations providing shelter assistance to all beneficiary groups. This includes advocacy to government on behalf of these organizations to be granted access/ permission to provide assistance in Return areas.
With the conclusion of the presidential election in January 2010, the incumbent winning, it must be assumed that the focus on resettlement will continue and the challenge of getting access/permission by NGOs to return areas will remain.
Based on information provided by the Project Director’s office, as at 22nd January 2010 5,235 IDP families resettled in Mannar District - in Musali, Rice Bowl (Mannar & Mantai West Divisions), north of Mantai West and, most recently to former conflict areas in Nanaddan and Madhu.
There will be a challenge facing both the government, UNHCR and humanitarian organisations as more families return to the 5 Mannar divisions. To plan for all returnees will require the government authorities and humanitarian organisations to plan for the potential resettlement of 13,931 returning families to areas that may require various types of infrastructure & humanitarian assistance.
In the immediate aftermath of the presidential election an announcement was made by the Ministry of Resettlement that all remaining IDPs would be returned to their places of origin by April 2010; a potential resettlement of almost 9,000 families - 43,000 individuals in 3 months for Mannar alone.
Complicating this will be the legacy of the conflict in Sri Lanka, with families being displaced since the 1990s up to the final fighting in May 2009. Many families are in camps (Menik Farm primarily) but there are also large caseloads of IDPs who will be retuning from other areas where they have been living with host families, or where they have established themselves due to the length of time they have been displaced (in some cases 20 years).
The organization of returning & resettling these families across the various caseloads will be a logistical challenge, complicated for UNHCR as we are also the focal point for statistical reporting of resettled families on behalf of the World Bank and Japanese government among other donor bodies.
And the assistance to these families will require increased inter-agency coordination and field/operational management as the assistance being provided will vary depending on:
• the needs of families in return areas – based on the conditions that families encounter on returning to their villages & homes;
• the ability of families to meet these needs using their own and the communities resources & capacities (this will depend on the length of time families have been displaced & the resources they have been able to accumulate and bring with them to the return areas);
• the policies of organisations such as UNHCR on eligibility for the various beneficiary segments to assistance.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ireland & Uruguay - sharing economic development experiences (3)
On my recent trip to Uruguay I worked with a development programme (Uruguay Integra) whose focus is on building the capacity of the local government structures to identify, plan, fund and implement local development initiatives. As part of this I prepared a guide (drawing from several sources) to policy development and engaging public participation in policy. The basis of the guide was again two processes (value chains [Uruguay 2]):
Public policy design process
Public participation in policy design process
Public policy design process
Public participation in policy design process
Ireland & Uruguay - sharing economic development experiences (2)
On my recent trip to Uruguay I met with a number of agencies where we discussed the Irish economic development structure (from policy to implementation to evaluation and the agencies responsible for this).
From this we developed some enterprise development Value Chains to allow us to compare the Irish experience (policy process and agencies) with that of Uruguay:
Policy Research Value Chain: this is the approach that has been adopted by Forfas, the Irish agency responsible for economic policy research:
Enterprise Development (Agency) Value Chain: this is the approach to building on innovation and entrepreneurial capacity towards export-based growth:
Policy Development (Implementation & Evaluation) Value Chain: we designed a chain of events that tend to be followed when defining a policy, developing implementation strategies for it; the associated coordination, regulation and monitoring and ending with evaluation. The purpose was to create a comparable method that we could align both Irish and Uruguayan development agencies and see where the similarities and opportunities lie:
From this we developed some enterprise development Value Chains to allow us to compare the Irish experience (policy process and agencies) with that of Uruguay:
Policy Research Value Chain: this is the approach that has been adopted by Forfas, the Irish agency responsible for economic policy research:
Enterprise Development (Agency) Value Chain: this is the approach to building on innovation and entrepreneurial capacity towards export-based growth:
Policy Development (Implementation & Evaluation) Value Chain: we designed a chain of events that tend to be followed when defining a policy, developing implementation strategies for it; the associated coordination, regulation and monitoring and ending with evaluation. The purpose was to create a comparable method that we could align both Irish and Uruguayan development agencies and see where the similarities and opportunities lie:
Ireland & Uruguay - sharing economic development experiences
I have just returned from an assignment in Uruguay, working with the Office of Planning and Budgeting (OPP: oficina de planteamiento y presupuesto). This followed on from a trip by the director of OPP to Ireland in 2007.
The primary deliverable from this trip (in addition to a report and recommendations) was a story-board “Tail [tale] of the Celtic Tiger” – in interactive presentation drawing on more than 40 sources of information describing the Irish economic experience from the 1980s onwards.
The presentation follows the tail of the celtic tiger:
1. What caused the Celtic Tiger? (What existed before & what we did)
2. How did the Tiger roar? (Basis of the Celtic Tiger)
3. How can the tiger keep roaring? (Key Messages for today…)
4. How did we train the tiger? (Enterprise Development Structures)
5. The owners of the tiger (Social Partnership)
6. Feeding the Tiger (National Development Plan)
7. The tiger’s circus (Public Sector Modernisation)
The primary deliverable from this trip (in addition to a report and recommendations) was a story-board “Tail [tale] of the Celtic Tiger” – in interactive presentation drawing on more than 40 sources of information describing the Irish economic experience from the 1980s onwards.
The presentation follows the tail of the celtic tiger:
1. What caused the Celtic Tiger? (What existed before & what we did)
2. How did the Tiger roar? (Basis of the Celtic Tiger)
3. How can the tiger keep roaring? (Key Messages for today…)
4. How did we train the tiger? (Enterprise Development Structures)
5. The owners of the tiger (Social Partnership)
6. Feeding the Tiger (National Development Plan)
7. The tiger’s circus (Public Sector Modernisation)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
A final blog entry for 2008 to wish you all a very merry Christams. I was looking for an interesting quote or phrase to reflect on this season - and thought of the new years' eve party from "When Harry met Sally" - so have a fantastic 2009...
"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
2009 will be the International Year for the following:
International Reconciliation Year: The General Assembly, recognizing that reconciliation processes are particularly necessary and urgent in countries of the world which had suffered or were suffering, situations of conflict that had affected and divided societies in their various facets, on 20th November 2006 proclaimed "2009 the International Year of Reconciliation" (A/61/L.22).
International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF) 2009: To raise awareness of natural fibres, to promote efficiency and sustainability of the natural fibres, and to foster an effective international partnership among the various natural fibres industries
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009): This is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.
And it will be the Chinese year of the Ox in 2009.
"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
2009 will be the International Year for the following:
International Reconciliation Year: The General Assembly, recognizing that reconciliation processes are particularly necessary and urgent in countries of the world which had suffered or were suffering, situations of conflict that had affected and divided societies in their various facets, on 20th November 2006 proclaimed "2009 the International Year of Reconciliation" (A/61/L.22).
International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF) 2009: To raise awareness of natural fibres, to promote efficiency and sustainability of the natural fibres, and to foster an effective international partnership among the various natural fibres industries
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009): This is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.
And it will be the Chinese year of the Ox in 2009.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Business Fights Poverty - Blog Action Day
I have recently joined an interested social networking site called Business Fights Poverty, which as they say themselves is "the free-to-join, fast-growing, international network for professionals passionate about fighting world poverty through good business"
Blog Action Day is today, 15 October 2008 - and is an annual non-profit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Its aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. This year the focus is on poverty.
To learn more about how you can become involved try this link or visit the main site at: www.businessfightspoverty.ning.com
Blog Action Day is today, 15 October 2008 - and is an annual non-profit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Its aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. This year the focus is on poverty.
To learn more about how you can become involved try this link or visit the main site at: www.businessfightspoverty.ning.com
Monday, June 23, 2008
UN Certificates
I was a member of the response team during Hurricance Mitch in Honduras and ever since I have been eager to maintain my skills in the are of Emergent Response. Having completed a number of training courses on the themes of emergency and security - situations, awareness, preparedness, response, logistics, etc. I was delighted to be selected for the Irish Aid Rapid Response Corp
(http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/Rapid_Response_Initiative.asp) .
As part of this I completed further advanced training in the United Nations Training School Ireland (UNTSI) based in the miltary camp, Currach Co. Kildare. Following on from this I completed the UN c ertificates in Security Awareness.
(http://www.military.ie/army/org/dftc/milcol/index.htm#untsi) .
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(http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/Rapid_Response_Initiative.asp) .
As part of this I completed further advanced training in the United Nations Training School Ireland (UNTSI) based in the miltary camp, Currach Co. Kildare. Following on from this I completed the UN c ertificates in Security Awareness.
(http://www.military.ie/army/org/dftc/milcol/index.htm#untsi) .
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Monday, December 24, 2007
Ministerial Mentoring Mission
I have been travelling around the country recently having been asked to prepare and facilitate a ministerial delegation who have been learning about the "Celtic Tiger".
The following is an overview of the agenda that I organised/facilitated during the delegates visit to Ireland:
The following is an overview of the agenda that I organised/facilitated during the delegates visit to Ireland:
- Irish Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation (including political and civil service responsibilities; multilateral & bilateral relationships; civil society support; etc.)
- Irish Civil & Public Service career management (recruitment; recognition; performance management; resource management; etc.)
- The National Development Plan and the role of procurement and public/private partnerships.
- Irish domestic enterprise and export development
- Irish Foreign Direct Investment strategies
- Irish University sectors role expanding the development & aid agenda both in Ireland and internationally
- Consultancy & training organisations directly involved in Irelands efforts in International Cooperation.
I must thank the various participants from the Irish Civil & Public Services, Universities and Business Services organisations who participated in this - meeting with the delegates, giving insightful presentations and answering the various questions that arose.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Logistics & Security in Humanitarian Programmes
I am currently participating in an intensive training programme in Logistics and Security for Humanitarian Programmes. It is faciliated by a member of the BioForce staff. The 4 Logistics aspects are based on the practical application of sound Supply Chain Management principles - the practical examples from the trainer are excellent and really bring the reality of Logistics in the field (both Emergency & Development contexts)
Details of this particular course can be found at: http://dtalk.dsckim.ie/courses/scheduled/?guid=5e7175e7-b081-4993-b2df-fd3f7c8750ec and the full schedule of all DTalk courses is at :http://dtalk.dsckim.ie/courses/scheduled/ - definitely worth a look for anyone interested in improving their development skills & knowledge
Details of this particular course can be found at: http://dtalk.dsckim.ie/courses/scheduled/?guid=5e7175e7-b081-4993-b2df-fd3f7c8750ec and the full schedule of all DTalk courses is at :http://dtalk.dsckim.ie/courses/scheduled/ - definitely worth a look for anyone interested in improving their development skills & knowledge
Monday, June 18, 2007
Business Training Programmes
Details of these training programmes can be found at my website www.entanddev.com
Strategy Design, Development, Documentation and business planning for implementation. A programme that allows the participant to build their strategic plan during the course of the programme - aligning strategic priorities with business resources - Finance (Money); People (Time) and Tangible resources (Things). Feeding in from the strategy development is the preparation of a business plan to support the full spectrum of potential requirements (from finance raising to staff action planning)
Strategy Design, Development, Documentation and business planning for implementation. A programme that allows the participant to build their strategic plan during the course of the programme - aligning strategic priorities with business resources - Finance (Money); People (Time) and Tangible resources (Things). Feeding in from the strategy development is the preparation of a business plan to support the full spectrum of potential requirements (from finance raising to staff action planning)
Looking at the marketing process from the management perspective - the elements that can be identified; allocated; actioned and delivered by People (Time resources); Understanding the various marketing tools and how to apply them to optimise available business resources (time; money & things); and translating market research into market action.
Leadership can be seperated into two elements - Leading towards a shared set of objectives. And Managing the business resources (primarily people/time) and how they optimise money & things to achieve these shared objectives.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Honduras just made it back from Westport & Achill
" Go for a swim, are you mad?"
"Yes, we are mad (and cold)"... but it was worth it!!Monday, May 28, 2007
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Thursday, May 3, 2007
El Salvador & Honduras gang meeting up in Liverpool
...gazing into the sun;
...and hanging out together with one of Liverpool's stalwarts.
...and hanging out together with one of Liverpool's stalwarts. 
Monday, April 30, 2007
Welcome to my new blog.
Once I gather my thoughts I will begin posting, but in the mean time if you would like to find out about me, just click the link: www.entanddev.com
Blog soon,
Ent&Dev
Once I gather my thoughts I will begin posting, but in the mean time if you would like to find out about me, just click the link: www.entanddev.com
Blog soon,
Ent&Dev
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