Lessons for aid workers in South Sudan

“The largest question I was asked since being here was: ‘Can we do this? Can we solve the famine,’” said Alejandro Guzman, head of the World Food Programme’s emergency response unit in South Sudan. In February 2017, when famine was declared in two counties in South Sudan — the world’s youngest nation — the 30-year-old Venezuelan-American found himself at the center of the crisis. South Sudanese government officials and the international community questioned Guzman, urgently, about whether WFP was capable of pulling 100,000 people out of starvation. It was only a few years earlier that he had embarked on his first job with the International Medical Corps as a project manager in South Sudan. Now he was in charge of the single largest humanitarian operation in the country — a million-dollar-a-day program supported by a fleet of 15 aircrafts, which delivers more than 8,000 metric tons of food to 1.5 million people. “Three years ago the question was: Can I go to South Sudan?” Guzman said. “Now the question was: Can we solve a famine?” In humanitarian aid, conflict zones have long been known as contexts requiring quick thinking and management skills under pressure and with few resources. But few places in the world are as complex and challenging as South Sudan. Expat humanitarians on the ground attribute it to a variety of factors. Talent gap Due to the extreme insecurity and volatile nature of South Sudan, it’s often hard for organizations to attract veteran workers, as well as industry specialists. “In a perfect world you’d have the most experienced humanitarians here,” said a senior staff member for a large international NGO who wished to remain anonymous to safely share personal career opinions. But many seasoned aid workers are either looking for family duty stations — which South Sudan is not — or are at a stage in their lives where they’d prefer a slower pace. As a result, the INGO staffer says there’s a gap, requiring younger and less-experienced staff to step in. The INGO staff member, now in her late 20s, said she has moved into more senior roles during her two years in the country faster than she would have been elsewhere due to the fact that it is “about as complex and challenging as a humanitarian context can get.” The mix of less-experienced and qualified staff, combined with the overwhelming need for support within the country, means humanitarian workers are exposed to challenges they might not see in other contexts. The humanitarian footprint in South Sudan is vast. According to the United Nations, 137 aid organizations will implement programs under the Humanitarian Response Plan and another 100 organizations will operate in emergency programs in 2017. Aid agencies are continuously stretched thin when it comes to manpower, as well as resources. “Because of limitations on benefits and funding, you’re quickly able to take on more and more responsibilities,” Guzman said. Even without years of previous field experience, the more you’re able to show the organization that you can handle what’s thrown at you, the more work they’ll give you, he added. In Guzman’s first job with IMC, as the only South Sudan program officer for the entire organization, he said he became the “do it all person” and somewhat of a focal point of knowledge, as he knew what was going on in all sectors. Many humanitarians agree that South Sudan differs from other contexts, in that you have fewer people overseeing more responsibility. Human resources and logistical functions on a project in other countries might fall to several people as opposed to just one, for example. High turnover “If I came here for six months I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near as far,” said Francis Middleton, an economist and financial analyst advisor for Charlie Goldsmith and Associates, a development consulting firm operating in South Sudan. As one of the country’s veteran expats, having lived and worked in the country for five years, the 28-year-old said longevity is extremely beneficial in such a fragile context, especially because there’s such a high turnover generally. Before working with CGA, Middleton completed a fellowship through the Overseas Development Institute and worked as a civil servant with South Sudan’s government. The British native says the move from his first job to his current position was a “big jump,” and one that he partially attributes to staying for so long and seeing things through: “People know it’s a difficult place to work,” Middleton said. “If you’ve designed successful reforms over a long period here then of course you can do it somewhere else.” Contracts for both private sector and NGO workers in South Sudan are usually between six to 12 months. Aid workers say that those who can stick it out past the one-year mark become real assets for organizations. “Institutional and contextual knowledge is like gold dust,” the senior INGO staff member said. Organizations will keep people with longevity around and give them opportunities to grow and develop because they rely on their insights and experience, she added. Many of South Sudan’s main issues are recurring, including violence, outbreaks of disease and food insecurity. Since issues arise with “cyclical regularity,” just in different locations, those who have already seen it once before are well placed to shape solutions based on previous learnings. Advice for future aid workers Since the onset of South Sudan’s conflict in 2013, aid workers and organizations have continued to be attacked, with many having had to reduce operations within the country. In June, U.N. OCHA recorded the highest number of humanitarian access incidents in any month so far this year. This included 100 occurrences like violence against aid workers as well as compound break-ins and looting of humanitarian supplies. “You can lose your sanity, sense of self and sense of existence,” said Guzman, who is approaching the last few months of his time in the country. As much as he’s looking toward the next steps in his career, for now he plans to focus on personal growth and improvement, he said. For those looking to move to South Sudan, however, he advises them to design a life plan that includes the necessary experience and education. Eight years ago, he had no idea that this is where he’d end up, but he says he always had an idea of what he wanted to be doing and knew where he wanted to go. Guzman also emphasizes the importance of self-care, saying he sees a therapist over Skype once a week and makes time to engage with friends, which he says is crucial for his well-being. The senior INGO staff member says it’s important to look for an organization with a structure that allows for growth, one with a hierarchy with two or three people in your area of expertise. Middleton reminds people to broaden their scope when looking for jobs in South Sudan: “There’s a whole world out there that’s not NGOs or the U.N.,” he said, referring to the private sector. But primarily, if you want to work in the country, just be humble and be helpful, Middleton said.