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!
Sir Peter Gluckman, former Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and Director of Koi Tū, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the interaction between science, policymaking and diplomacy
Executive Director & CEO of Together for Girls, Daniela Ligiero, talks about their work in tackling violence against children and their invaluable, national Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys
Denis Mizne, CEO of the Lemann Foundation, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss how to achieve quality public education in Brazil for every child
David Miliband, President & CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and former UK Foreign Secretary, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the plight of refugees and displaced persons globally
Amy Klement, Managing Partner of Imaginable Futures — a venture of the Omidyar Group, Founded by Pierre and Pam Omidyar of eBay fame — discusses unleashing human potential through learning
Paul Polman, Co-Founder of IMAGINE and former CEO of Unilever joins Alberto Lidji to discuss CEO engagement in sustainable business and creating ‘tipping points’ in specific industries to drive change
Tackling global hunger and malnutrition. Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), presents a sobering picture and a clear path forward
Rugby star Siya Kolisi and Rachel Kolisi join Alberto Lidji to share their inspiring philanthropy journey and ambition to change narratives of inequality in South Africa through the Kolisi Foundation
Cherie Blair and Helen McEachern join Alberto Lidji to discuss closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship, why mentorship matters and reaching 175,000 women via the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
Every woman must be given a chance to succeed. Vice Chancellor of the Asian University for Women (AUW), Prof Nirmala Rao, shares the impact of Bangladesh’s (and region’s) only liberal arts institution
Julia Gillard discusses her work at the Global Partnership for Education, sheds light on her journey to become Australia’s first woman Prime Minister and argues for quality education for everyone
President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Larry Kramer, shares his candid views on tackling climate change, adaptation vs mitigation, the merits of divesting from fossil fuels and more
CEO of Bond, Stephanie Draper, sheds light on the work of the UK’s network for organisations working in international development and discusses the challenges and opportunities to build back better
Dr Charlie Teo, renowned Australian neurosurgeon, talks about his foundation’s work in driving forward brain cancer research, the latest medical advances and his sense of urgency to find a cure
Social entrepreneur, Chris Robson, is Founder & CEO of Living With — a digital health company focused on remote condition & patient management. A conversation on success, failure + making a difference
Director General of the MAVA Foundation, Lynda Mansson, discusses the strategic challenges of winding down a foundation that’s granting around $100m annually and will cease to operate in late 2022
Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) Executive Director, Ashlee George, talks about their work in support of youth in South Africa through the lens of HIV/AIDS prevention
CEO and Co-founder of the EkStep Foundation, Shankar Maruwada, explains how they’re leveraging technology, big data and mobile platforms to drive forward education at scale in India
New Year’s Special with Alberto Lidji - Key Takeaways from 2020. Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship
Executive Director of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy, Clare Woodcraft, discusses philanthropy in emerging markets, the Global South / Global North power imbalance and the need for collaboration
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Social Dallas Podcast
Change Church Podcast
Advocacy Scoop Podcast
Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications
Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon