Sanj starts off by providing an overview of ShelterBox’s origins; from a small outfit conceived 20 years ago in Cornwall, UK, to a global NGO providing disaster relief on the ground and via remote technical assistance.
It has only been a few days since super cyclone Amphan made landfall in Bangladesh and eastern India, and the latest estimates are that 10 million people have been impacted and 500,000 have lost their homes; this is on top of already being in an incredibly precarious situation as they grapple with COVID-19 in extremely densely populated areas where coronavirus is present.
It’s worth noting that a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh has 40,000 people per square kilometre, whereas Wuhan, China, where the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) started has 6,000 people per square kilometre.
Sanj remarks that when the cyclone hits people are losing their homes and then moving into even more crowded settings for shelter, which then adds to the risk of coronavirus transmission. Therefore, ShelterBox needs to act quickly to provide family shelter; they’ve also got to provide hygiene materials to help people keep their hands clean.
This is a disaster on top of a disaster. This super cyclone is a natural disaster which is an acute emergency; you also have the coronavirus which is becoming a chronic emergency; and you also have the much wider development disparity with people living in extreme poverty. When you live in extreme poverty, you have less resilience and little ability to support your family. You don’t have a government that can provide you with a furloughing scheme and pay your wages, or that can bail out businesses, or provide healthcare.
Sanj recalls a conversation he had with someone in Monrovia, Liberia, in reference to the earlier Ebola outbreak. The man noted that Ebola doesn’t scare him since he’s already exposed to many risks that are alien to most Westerners. For him, dengue fever can kill him, malaria can kill him; he can’t afford healthcare, if he doesn’t work he’ll die. And so, for much of the world there is a lack of safety nets – the extreme poverty faced by millions is already life-threatening, on top of the acute and chronic emergencies.
Interestingly for a global disaster relief NGO, ShelterBox’s headquarters is in Cornwall, UK. They have approximately 110 staff in Cornwall and 20 staff in London. Sanj describes ShelterBox as both a community and an organisation. It relies to a great degree on volunteer support, from Rotary Club members to individual ambassadors.
ShelterBox has created response teams that go out into the frontlines when needed – made up both of professional humanitarians as well as volunteers. They have over 200 volunteers who are response team members in addition to their professional staff.
They run training programmes for volunteers that include a wide array of information, from how to run distribution to doing needs assessments. Training makes a big difference. They assess people for their qualities, for their appetite for learning and for their raw skills; but not necessarily their previous experience. They look for the potential in people.
ShelterBox works closely with the public and has a strong following of supporters. They’re working on developing more of an international base and now also have opened an office with a team full time in the Philippines and are looking at other countries, too. They take pride in partnering with local organisations on the ground – sometimes in very difficult circumstances in Syria, in Cameroon, in Somalia – and sticking with them, investing in their capacity and ultimately handing over responses to them.
Innovation is important. They have a ‘Horizons Team’ whose job is to spot new products for distribution and getting on top of the tech wave – thinking about what the world is going to look like in 10 or 20 years, what’s climate change going to do, what’s the scenario for that disaster they haven’t predicted. They’re also looking at new ways of working, such as remote technical assistance, which they’re currently doing in Paraguay with local partners.
Sanj sheds light on his professional trajectory. He was a Captain in the British Army and did two tours in Iraq, then joined the IRC (the International Rescue Committee) where he worked for close to a decade. He joined the Army in a pre-9/11 world. It was exciting and it was different, and he enjoyed the comradery, but through two tours in Iraq he did become disenchanted with what militaries do and can achieve versus what are the real human needs. So, he left with some good memories and some useful lessons. He then did a master’s degree and then went to the IRC – an organisation that taught him much about what it means to be a humanitarian and that’s where he got his grounding.
Today, Sanj notes that collaboration is improving between international NGOs and even with the UN, but there’s still a long way to go. Questions need to be asked around why do we have various NGOs doing the same type of work in the same country; why not have a single NGO doing each type of work and start to consolidate? There’s a long way to go but Sanj is very encouraged by the direction of travel.
Sanj posits a pragmatic idea to improve how the global community tackles some of the more intractable development problems. He doesn’t believe we can look to a deadlocked UN Security Council to resolve some of the conflicts and global issues we face – to get the Paris Climate Accords up and going for instance. Rather, he feels we need to look at more regionally led solutions and alliances. For instance, he points to ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) one such example that can help where global frameworks struggle. Likewise, he refers to conflict resolution in places such as the Sudan and South Sudan, where east African states have been very involved. So, he believes that investment and support by Western countries in those types of mechanisms is a very pragmatic way to solve problems region by region.
Sanj’s key takeaway for listeners: As a senior (or aspiring) leader there is a fine balance to strike between having sufficient humility and having too much deference to what people think. It is important to keep the humility while having a lodestar that guides where we need to go without being afraid to bring people along for that journey. Try to take time to get feedback from those around you to help you strike that right balance – this will serve you well.
Visit Lidji.org for guest bios, episode notes and useful links. Please subscribe and share -- thank you!
Grant Gordon, philanthropist and Founder of the Reekimlane Foundation, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss high-net-worth (HNW) family philanthropy and responsible stewardship of wealth
Club Director at Wimbledon's All England Lawn Tennis Club, Martin Guntrip, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about their Foundation and the inner workings of this prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament
CEO of the Smollan Group, David Smollan, joins Alberto Lidji to share his thoughts on managing a global workforce of 80,000 in a caring and sustainable manner
Chairman of the Varkey Foundation, Vikas Pota, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the Global Teacher Prize, Ed-Tech and universal access to quality education
Executive Director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Michael Feigelson, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss political engagement, diversity of leadership and support for Early Childhood Development
Founder of Ethical Angel, Alex Fahie, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social entrepreneurship and his platform connecting corporates & employees to good causes around the Sustainable Development Goals
Secretary General of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, John May, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss international growth, non-formal education & their 1.3 million global participants
Director at Galileo Watermark, Kenny Harmel, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss sustainability in the airline industry, ocean plastics, the Waste Hierarchy and more
CEO of UBS Optimus Foundation, Phyllis Costanza, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social finance, philanthropy, blockchain, innovation, the SDGs and more
CEO of the Sutton Trust, James Turner, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their work in improving social mobility and tackling inequality in the UK.
CEO of ELMA Philanthropies, Tom McPartland, joins Alberto Lidji for a broad discussion on their impact in Africa, strategy formulation, co-funding platforms and much more
CEO of 100 Women in Finance, Amanda Pullinger, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about their invaluable peer network, educational initiatives and philanthropy
Ex-McKinsey & Company Global Director of Sustainability and Social Impact, Dorothée D'Herde, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the business case for acting sustainably, new value pools and key trends
CEO of ActionAid UK, Girish Menon, joins Alberto Lidji on “International Women's Day” to talk about improving the lives of girls and women globally
Marks & Spencer’s Director of Sustainable Business, Mike Barry, joins Alberto Lidji to share key trends in sustainability and identify “the single most important, most profound change”.
Managing Director of the Jacobs Foundation, Sandro Giuliani, joins Alberto Lidji to shed light on how their $7bn endowment and strategic operations improve the lives of children and youth globally.
Chairman of Ernst & Young’s EY Foundation, Patrick Dunne, joins Alberto Lidji to talk social entrepreneurship, impact, employability, education in Africa and helping disadvantaged youth.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Social Dallas Podcast
Change Church Podcast
Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon
Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications
Nonprofit Lowdown