Securing a plane is half of the battle
You know how families can have a tendency towards certain professions? Well, my family seems to gravitate towards the travel industry. I never thought that would actually come in handy as I tried to break the mould and do humanitarian work, but alas, one cannot escape one’s roots.
At our base in Kisangani, D.R. Congo we spend a lot of time organising the air movements of diverse freight and of the courageous staff I mentioned in my last post – the ones heading up to northeastern DRC, to some of the most isolated regions in the country. Some days I literally feel like I live in a hotel and run a travel agency… without all the usual trappings, however. There’s no online booking available, no profit margin to target, and very little chance that things will actually go according to plan. Again, that’s half the fun, but also half the frustration.
Unfortunately there are no commercial airlines that any sane insurance broker would allow us to fly so we’ve have to stick to the non-commercial options, which are numerous! You have the old soviet Antonovs of the UN Stabilisation Mission (MONUSCO) flights, Aviation Without Borders in their little Cessnas, the Dash 8 and Caravan planes of ECHO Flights (a humanitarian air service run by the European Commission’s humanitarian office), and sometimes the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service or the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Each has a different schedule, geographical base, plane size, destinations, set of rules, means of prioritising the demand, a different threshold of flexibility, and most importantly, a different mandate. It takes a bizarre combination of creativity, gut instinct, attention to detail and an ability to think on your feet to make it all come together.
All you need is a good amount of rain on the runway – which is often little more than a dirt track-and the aviation authority decides to get a create a new “tax” or hassle the pilots about their papers. Or, we could be on a flight where NGO staff members are the lowest priority so we’re bumped off the flight because the plane is full…and you have to start from square one. A true case of not counting one’s chickens until they hatch. Indeed, until someone has landed at their destination, nothing is certain!
Reaching those in need
An important grease in this interesting machine is having good relationships with people. In fact, that’s one of the most essential ingredients in humanitarian work – or any work I guess. Procedures and systems give structure to the operation, of course, but they’re never a substitute for good human relationships.
I’m talking about when the guy on the other end of the phone is someone you know you can call at an obscure hour for that extra favour, and he doesn’t think twice because you had a beer together the other night and you helped him out a few weeks ago. Good relationships absorb the shocks of this work. They’re especially important when other elements such as the harsh climate and the suffering you see become a bit much.
As one of my favourite pilots from Aviation Without Borders, Olivier, would say to me “Lucy, pas de chi-chi…” In other words, no pretenses, no hard feelings, no fluff. We’re here to get the job done – together – for the sake of those in need.
Lucy Ellis
Amelia Lyons
Ashley Sarangi
Rachel Eichholz
Emily Sloane
George Petropoulos
Rachel Roseberry is the Food Security and Livelihoods Program Manager in Karamoja, Uganda, a relatively insecure region that is known for its semi-arid climate and cattle raiding. Rachel’s background is in natural resource management; she has worked in that capacity in Tajikistan, Indonesia, Canada, and now Uganda. 
Bob Bongomin, born in Gulu, northern Uganda, is in his sixth year with Action Against Hunger. He currently manages ACF’s emergency water, sanitation & hygiene program in the Khyber Paktunkhwa province of Pakistan, where thousands of people have been affected by unprecedented flooding. 
Eric Rheinstein is the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program Manager for Action Against Hunger in Walikale, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He has worked with Action Against Hunger, various NGOs, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Burundi, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Albania, northern Uganda, and Chad.
Keira Lowther is Action Against Hunger’s Head of Community Capacity Building in Swaziland. A paediatric nurse specialising in HIV and public health nutrition, she has worked in paediatric wards in east and central London and with Action Against Hunger in Chad, China and Swaziland. 
Rupert Leighton is the Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Zimbabwe. He has more than 15 years humanitarian experience in countries including Cambodia, Myanmar, El Salvador and Angola.
