Nicholas Kristof spoke at our school tonight as part of our 50th Anniversary Celebration. He can hold a crowd with stories of people he has met, in desperate and difficult situations, face, to face. His reporting and his column are both a great starting point and consistent place to keep aware of what is going on in development and aid around the world!

Afghan camp and education

Incredible photo essay on the NY Times website shows the impossible conditions of a camp in Afghanistan - with a small glimmer of hope - a classroom that includes girls. Education during emergencies is a now a standard in the humanitarian aid field.

My experience with the RedR UK training course was so great, I am really excited at the prospect of so many more people having this opportunity with them teaching in the US. The curriculum is in depth, interesting and significant - from understanding the origin and role of the Geneva Conventions to more recent agreements and analysis of disasters and emergencies. Understanding how NGOs and the UN are organized and work together is an important part of the field as well. But what I really liked was the straight talk about finding and getting jobs in this field. Invaluable information and connections. 

The humanitarian emergency in Syria is a very interesting, unusual and heartbreaking one, ultimately. Caused by violent conflict within the country, outsiders are having difficulty getting in and are providing  humanitarian outside of the country, for refugees from the crisis. Here is an organization taking the lead in Syrian humanitarian relief. They are asking for volunteer - I am not sure what you could or where they would send you as a volunteer, but it would be worth taking a look.

But of course, to do this kind of work professionally you would need to be skilled and trained - ready to manage yourself and maybe others in a stressful situation. I learned enough, when I took my Red R course, Essentials of Humanitarian Aid to know that I would like to to do this kind of work eventually, probably with emergency education. It is going to take some time and I may wait till my kids are in college, but I know I would be of value on the ground in some of these situations and I am almost ready for the challenge.

ReliefWeb offers the newest and best method to look at jobs available in the humanitarian field. Whether entry level, volunteer or experienced, the searchable database is amazing. It also give you a way to keep track of what is going on around the world. Technology is also upfront for those interested in new ways to use technology in humanitarian and emergency aid in ReliefWeb Labs. There they have new tools for humanitarian work. If you are already in the IT or ICT field you could meld these two areas together and get the opportunity to do some amazing work for those that need help around the world.

Apps for Humanitarian Aid workers seem to be exploding on the scene - Global Overview and Humanitarian Kiosk are two to surely be included on the iPad mini that goes to every student in the Global Development and Humanitarian Aid Training Program. Mirroring our use of the ipad mini to distribute useful apps and documents to students for the program, TED has decided to do the same thing at the upcoming conference in Long Beach, CA. Good company!

People have asked me how my own experience relates to my interest in humanitarian and emergency aid and also asked me if I was planning on doing this kind of work myself! Well, since I am now 52 and never expected I would travel and teach in Kosovo, Liberia or Rwanda, I can't say that I won't ever do this kind of work. I am particularly interested in emergency education. A new aspect of the humanitarian sector, I can see myself getting involved in this kind of work if I had the opportunity. Since I have already taken the RedR UK course Essentials of Humanitarian Practice, (the centerpiece of our program in Pittsburgh) I would probably be qualified, considering my 20 years of teaching, to work in a project like this.