Jenny Wells, Caritas Australia

Jenny is Group Leader for Humanitarian Response with Caritas Australia and will be a team monitor and facilitator for training during Exercise Khichadi, beginning November 1. She wrote this post before departing for Kathmandu:

I’m really looking forward to actually getting on the plane for Nepal. I love getting out of my Canberra office to work with my colleagues and friends in the field – it brings me back to why I do the work I do and why I love it. While I accept that managing programs from a head office is an important part of the aid and development work that agencies like Caritas are involved in, it is very easy to lose the passion and drive when all day is taken up with administrative and policy work that seems so far removed from the reality of the people we are working with and for.

Many of the Caritas partners I will meet in Nepal I have only ever worked with via email and teleconferences, this will be the first time we actually get to know each other. Additionally, catching up with other friends that I have worked with in different contexts in the past is also wonderful. The fact that we will be working together on a training and simulation instead of meeting in an actual disaster response is an added bonus as for once we will all have time to sit back, relax and enjoy some down time which seldom happens when we are all in the field due to a crisis.

I know there will be lots of hard work and long days, but working together to learn and improve the way we all do business will be a great reward and I think build a stronger foundation for better and more effective collaboration and partnership in the future between us all. It is really humbling and inspiring to work with and alongside such committed and passionate people that are partners, colleagues, and friends - how many other jobs offer this?

Optimism and persistence - from a Design Team Leader

This week's post is by Melville Fernandez, South Asia Regional Coordinator of Caritas Australia. Melville has been closely involved in the planning for the Nepal training and simulation, to be held in Kathmandu and vicinity on August 23-30.

"It is heartening to know that this event, which was almost called off, is now going to happen. Thanks to the great optimism and persistence of a few and the overall interest from most individuals, NGOs and communities contacted during the scoping visit which increased the enthusiasm and confidence of the members of the Design Team. The Exercise will be a great platform for different minds to come together to respond, share, reflect and learn for the future. I am personally looking forward to it since it will be a four day real-time event in a region which is already aware and getting prepared for responding to disasters. There has been an ongoing need over the years for developing appropriate disaster preparedness plans and this will be a reality check for us all to see how prepared we are/need to be and allow us to learn from our mistakes and build on our strengths in order to develop a disaster resiliant society, thus minimizing the loss of life, injuries, and human suffering in the future."

Comments always welcome to all blog postings!