They work in a sector of the international development community that likes to remain under the radar. Yet they serve as a lifeline for thousands of humanitarians who risk their lives on a daily basis.
They are the employees of security firms — the people who act as the eyes and ears on the ground, protecting the aid organizations with which they work.
“Security is a state of mind,” said Andrew Firth, head of risk for WS Insight, one of South Sudan’s leading security companies. “NGOs can’t operate behind physical barriers and it’s our job to enable them to do their jobs.”
The key to being a leader in the industry, Firth said, is to understand causality: “Focus on the ‘why’ of what happened,” he said. “Not only the what.”
