3 essential qualities for doing aid work in disaster situations

When disasters strike, aid workers are always among the first responders — but what specific skill are best for doing humanitarian work in these settings?

Three qualities are essential, according to local and international aid workers working in the Philippines a year after the onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan: passion, commitment and technical capabilities.

“A development worker or a humanitarian worker requires you to work extra more time and it also requires you to make sacrifices,” Celita Catibog, ChildFund Philippines local staff in Tacloban, told Devex in a video interview. “Imagine going to other places, helping other people while you're living away from your family who also have some problems of their own.”

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