Embodying Change: Cultivating Caring and Compassionate Organisations: Recent Episodes

Cultivating Caring and Compassionate Aid Organisations Initiative

A podcast for people who’ve dedicated their careers to helping others – but eventually realise they need help, too. Conversations about promoting care and compassion in humanitarian and development settings and sharing what we are learning about promoting and supporting aid worker well-being and organisational culture.

How can we better manage our workload, as per Commitment 8 of the Core Humanitarian Standard?*

In this episode Melissa speaks with Wouter Smeets, a design-thinker, about how to re-shape our work in a way that gives us energy, rather than drains it. He gives us some good questions to ask ourselves, like: How do we design our morning routine? What makes a break a good break? What task can we do first that will put us on good footing for the rest of the day? What are some life-centric strategies for managing our calendar? He also reveals a free, work-enhancing drug that has zero side effects. And he talks about a ground-breaking process he’s involved with to create a safe space for exchanging ideas that is also a brave space for experimenting with putting these ideas into practice to make our work more life-enriching.

Wouter Smeets co-founded Prototype You, a community lab for explorers who challenge accepted norms about work, to co-create ways of working where people and organisations thrive. It’s a community lab with workshops, conversations, and experiments to cultivate work that enriches people’s lives. When he’s not working he’s usually visiting the sea, hiking, or running on the athletics track.

To learn more check out:

Wouter on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wouter-smeets/
Prototype You at https://www.prototypeyou.nl/community
Wouter’s newsletter where he shares gems from the lab here: https://prototypeyou.ck.page/newsletter
Wouter’s email is: wouter@prototypeyou.nl

*Thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

*Core Humanitarian Standard Commitment 8: Communities and people affected by crisis receive the assistance they require from competent and well-managed staff and volunteers.

In this episode Melissa speaks with Faye Ekong of RavelWorks Africa about common challenges in aid organisations, particularly as they relate to decolonising aid in a “post” COVID world.

Faye Ekong is the Managing Director of RavelWorks Africa. She has been in Human Resources, Learning & Personal Development for over 10 years. She is an SHRM-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), holds a Masters of Science in International Management and a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies and Modern Languages. To learn more, check out:

Ravelworks Africa: https://ravel.works/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faye-ekong/?originalSubdomain=ke

To register for the 21 September 2022 CIGNA event on “Safeguarding & Staff Well-being – What Good Looks Like” visit: https://www.cignaglobal.com/ngo-event?utm_source=Organisational+culture+opt-in&utm_campaign=ca506081f5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_09_08_08_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cf704f3635-ca506081f5-154076786

To register for the 27 – 28 September 2022 CHS Exchange, “Towards a more accountable aid system: delivering on our commitments” visit: https://hopin.com/events/chs-exchange-ga-2022

To learn more about the CHS Alliance work on organisational culture and well-being, see:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*Thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa speaks with Oge Chukwudozie about the Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub’s exciting pilot project accompanying 10 local Nigerian organisations as they work to change their organisational cultures. Oge emphasizes the value of cultivating a safe and supportive workplace culture and the importance of leadership “walking the talk.”

Organisations often issue written policies without addressing the underlying social norms of the organisation that block the full implementation of these policies. A good place to start is for leaders to develop qualities like awareness, self-acceptance, empathy, curiosity in the face of criticism, and a learning mindset in the face of mistakes. Work relationships that are friendly and filled with laughter – rather than tension - can motivate and energise people to do their best work. Leaders who are nice are not necessarily weak. Mental health challenges and burnout are real. You want to ensure your staff are okay.

Oge Chukwudozie is a safeguarding and protection professional with 18 years’ experience in the aid sector. She has worked with different organisations, including Africare, Christian Aid and Save the Children. Oge has experience in various thematic areas such as education, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, nutrition and emergency response. She is currently the National Representative for the Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub (RSH) Nigeria Hub. Her six-month pilot project is currently providing mentorship to 10 local Nigerian organisations to assess their organizational cultures, create a vision and prioritized action plan for change, track progress in reflection journals, and share learning with peers.

To learn more, check out:

The Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub (RSH) website:

https://safeguardingsupporthub.org/

and Nigeria specific page:

https://nigeria.safeguardingsupporthub.org/

Twitter: @SafeguardingRSH
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oge-chinenye-chukwudozie-96164a2b

To learn more about the CHS Alliance work on organisational culture and well-being, see:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*Thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa speaks with Dr. Gaya Gamhewage about her work in the world’s premier health organisation, the World Health Organisation (WHO), to prevent and response to sexual misconduct.

They talk about the importance of leaders being vocal, explicit and sincere about their commitment to living the organisation’s values. They also surface a variety of tangible things organisations can do to reduce the exploitation of power, like:

admit when there are failures, even though it is uncomfortable
give immediate, timely and sustained support to victims and survivors, irrespective of the status of evidence and investigations
integrate and emphasize values in vacancy notices, hiring, inductions and trainings
ensure hires are screened, briefed, trained and sign a Code of Conduct
build confidence in systems for reporting and investigations by resourcing them and showing results (e.g. an open accessible dashboard on the website tracking complaints follow-up, timely investigations, and following through with disciplinary actions);
prevent retaliation against those reporting misconduct, even the subtle forms (e.g. letting contracts expire)
create psychologically safe spaces to learn and speak up (e.g. upstander trainings as well as facilitating interactions between men and women, professionals and non-professionals, international and national staff)
obliging every team across the organisation to select a team objective related to values, and assessing progress at the end of the year.

Dr. Gaya Gamhewage is a medical doctor and public health expert with three decades of experience in the health sector. She has worked with the World Health Organization for over 20 years, mostly leading institutional capacity-building initiatives for health emergencies, including COVID-19 trainings. Since July 2021, she has been the Director a.i. for Prevention of and Response to Sexual Misconduct. Prior to this, Dr. Gamhewage was Head of Learning & Capacity Development for WHO's Health Emergencies Programme and worked in the Executive Director's Office where she introduced social learning for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. Previously she led new areas of work for WHO including in health communications & behavioral change; risk communications & community engagement; and most recently, lifelong learning for health which included the development of the first-ever WHO Global Learning Strategy for Public Health. Dr Gamhewage has worked for national and international NGOs including the Save the Children UK and Norway, and was at the beginning of her career the Director of Community Health for Sarvodaya, a Sri Lankan NGO working in more than 15,000 villages. She holds two Masters Degrees in addition to her medical degree - in International Health and in International Policy-Making and Negotiation.

To learn more, check out:

WHO Director-General's opening remarks. The role of CSOs in the prevention, detection, and response to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment – 26 April 2022. https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks.-the-role-of-csos-in-the-prevention--detection--and-response-to-sexual-exploitation--abuse--and-harassment---26-april-2022
Dotiv the Podcast, Episode 3: A journey from journalism to public health https://dotiv.life/dr-gaya-i-ep-3-a-journey-from-journalism-to-public-health/
Twitter: @GayaG
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gamhewage-gaya-36a1677

To learn more about the CHS Alliance work on organisational culture and well-being, see:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*Thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa speaks with Aseem Prakash and Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken about how governing boards of aid organisations can “govern well.” They discuss the power dynamics present in any group of humans, embracing difference and true diversity, prioritising lived experience, modelling behaviours, and asking smart questions.

Professor Prakash studies NGOs and nonprofits, and voluntary/private regulation, environmental policy and climate governance. He is a widely published author. He has a B.A. (Hons) in Economics from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi in 1986 and MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 1988. Since 2002, he has served on the faculty of the Department of Political Science at University of Washington, Seattle. He won the European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on Regulatory Governance's 2018 Regulatory Studies Development Award that recognises a senior scholar who has made notable "contributions to the field of regulatory governance." To learn more about Aseem, check out his website: http://aseemprakash.net. He edited a symposium for Regulation & Governance on Dysfunctional Institutions here https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17485991/2016/10/2.

Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken is an experienced INGO and philanthropic actor-focused consultant, leadership development trainer, and coach, change management expert, author, evaluator, and analyst with strong knowledge of international development, civil society organizations, leadership development, organizational development/organizational change, social development and gender and leadership. Co-author of ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’, with Hans Peter Schmitz and George Mitchell, and published by Oxford University Press (July 2020). Co-author of several academic articles in peer-reviewed journals; author of many practitioner-oriented reports, blog posts, and essays. Podcast host of ‘NGO Soul+Strategy’. To learn more about Tosca, check out her website: https://5oaksconsulting.org/about-tosca/

Tosca’s essay on culture as an explainer for INGO scandals: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/npf-2019-0031/html?lang=en
Tosca’s essay for the CIVICUS State of Civil Society report related essay (2019): https://www.civicus.org/index.php/re-imagining-democracy/overviews/3371-internal-democracy-within-transnationally-operating-non-governmental-organisations-are-we-as-democratic-as-we-think
And the episode featuring Tosca's and Aseem's conversation on the virtue narrative: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/037-we-need-to-rethink-the-virtue-narrative/id1498390711?i=1000558519586

To learn more about the CHS Alliance work on organisational culture and well-being, see:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*Thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show, and to Johannes Plenio for his photo of oak trees on Unsplash.*

Accountability has been defined in the latest version of the CHS guidance note as "the process of using power responsibly, taking account of, and being held accountable by, different stakeholders, and primarily those who are affected by the exercise of such power.”

Dr. Emilia Roig, author of “Why We Matter” explains in this Embodying Change episode that “a lot of people don't see power, and that's a problem. Because if you don't see power, then you cannot tackle power imbalances. What we need to do is to make it visible. And currently power is not visible.”

In this conversation, Melissa asks Dr. Emilia Roig about how power shows up in our work, her concept of “radical solidarity” and her thoughts on self care.

Dr. Roig is a renowned social justice leader, author, and expert on intersectionality, diversity, equity, inclusion and non-discrimination. She created the Center for Intersectional Justice (CIJ) and published a book called “Why We Matter.” To learn more about Dr. Roig and her book check out her website at https://www.emiliaroig.com/ and Instagram feed at emiliazenzile.

*Thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa talks about organisational culture with Umut Dilara Baycili, a child psychologist working for Mavi Kalem. This humanitarian NGO and CHS Alliance member supports women and children in Turkey with a team that includes doctors, psychologists, sociologists and social workers.

It is not unusual for people working for NGOs like Mavi Kalem to experience stressful and traumatic situations. In addition, local and national NGOs often face an uphill battle in accessing sustainable funding. What can be done to support staff and treat them fairly and equitably (Commitment Eight of the Core Humanitarian Standard)?

Dilara gives examples of leadership recognizing and tapping into staff members’ inherent skills, prioritizing learning and skills development, non-hierarchical communication infused with empathic understanding, ritualised conversations about organisational culture, annual exchanges of personalised feedback, a pragmatic handling of mistakes, and a realistic setting of targets.

To learn more about Mavi Kalem and Umut Dilara Baycili, check out:

· Twitter: @Mavi Kalem

· İnstagram: @mavikalemdernegi

· Youtube: Mavi Kalem https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuxxdEqGpST00mS-5l-IVYA)

· Web Site: https://www.mavikalem.org/

· Mavi Kalem’s E-mail: mavikalem@mavikalem.org

· Umut Dilara Baycılı’s E-mail: u.dilarabaycili@mavikalem.org

To learn more about the CHS Alliance work on organizational culture and well-being, see:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa speaks with Dr. Liza Jachens, an occupational health psychologist, lecturer and research associate who has partnered with six major humanitarian organisations looking at their staff’s experience of work-related stress and its effects on their mental health.

Humanitarian work carries a “high emotional load” often exposed to trauma. Dr. Jachens has found that humanitarians are two to three times more likely to develop a mental illness (like anxiety, depression and PTSD) than the general population. This phenomenon is often more related to organisational stressors than to operational stressors. Experiences vary according to location, gender, professional status, and role – but everyone is affected in their own way.

Dr. Jachens has noticed a reluctance of aid organsiations to share their mental health outcomes publicly, but she has also has seen the benefits when peers come together to compare notes, as many are facing common challenges endemic to the sector. Learning Mental Health First Aid is one way to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and practice having conversations with struggling colleagues. Some stress caused by organisational stressors can be addressed through the better design and management of the workload, including through techniques like job crafting. Ultimately, everyone should prioritise their own mental health and contribute to positive workplace environments.

To learn more, check out:

Dr. Jachens’ publications at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Liza-Jachens
Mental Health First Aid resources at https://www.imogenwall.co.uk/training-courses and https://www.ensa.swiss/en/
Information on job crafting at https://hbr.org/2020/03/what-job-crafting-looks-like
The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organisations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Shawna Wakefield, Kristen Zimmerman and Rufaro Gwarada tell the story of Root. Rise. Pollinate! - informed by their previous experiences in aid and development. They share learning from their ongoing experiment to shift culture through connecting inner and outer transformation. They discuss practicing new ways of being and doing the work, counter-balancing harmful systems, accountability, responsibility and relationship, decision-making, inter-generational dialogue and much, much more.

Rufaro Gwarada is committed to gender justice, migrant rights, African-led solutions for Africans, and utilizing art and cultural expression as conduits for healing, liberation, and joy. Rufaro practices Zen Buddhism and grounds all she does in unhu/ubuntu – the understanding and way of life in which collective and individual well-being and thriving are one and the same. She co-founded ThriveAfrica.us and Wakanda Dream Lab and is a core-team member of Root. Rise. Pollinate!. Rufaro writes fiction investigating gender, power, and familial dynamics inspired by her homeland, Zimbabwe, is a Move to End Violence Movement Maker, and a Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Citizenship Fellow.

Shawna Wakefield is a facilitator, consultant and women's rights advocate with 25 years of experience advancing gender, racial and economic justice internationally and in the U.S. She accompanies leaders and their social justice and movement building organizations in feminist leadership and building organisational cultures that embody care, justice, equity and inclusion. She is a practitioner of Buddhism, trauma-informed yoga and somatics, with training in respectful confrontation. She is a co-founder Root.Rise.Pollinate!, Associate with Gender at Work, and was formerly Senior Gender Justice Lead at Oxfam International. Shawna is committed to the healing, well-being and freedom of gender justice, Black, Indigenous and POC activists around the world.

Kristen Zimmerman is committed to a world rooted in our fundamental interdependence and collective thriving. She is an artist-storyteller, coach, strategist, and facilitator with 30 years’ experience integrating embodied and creative practice into movement building, community and social transformation work. She is the co-founder of Root. Rise. Pollinate! Movement Strategy Center, Youth In Focus, and Community LORE and she helped to design and launch projects including the Transitions Ini tiative, Move to End Violence, and Decolonize Race. She is a practitioner of Zen Buddhism and is currently working on a graphic novel that explores themes of home, belonging and cultivating family.

To learn more, check out:

Their website: https://www.rootrisepollinate.us/
Their blogs: https://medium.com/@rootrisepollinate
Reimagining Resilience: supporting feminist women to lead development with transformative practice ://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13552074.2020.1717198?journalCode=cgde20
Email them at RootRisePollinate@gmail.com

Read about the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations here: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa and Brian Stout of Building Belonging discuss how transformation happens – for individuals, groups, societies and the planet. This includes inviting others to co-create compelling visions, holding space in containers with maximal diversity, stepping into our power and agency, and embodying the change we want with accountability, compassion, grace and challenge.

Brian Stout is the source for the emergent collaborative that has become Building Belonging. Drawn to mediation and social justice, he worked for anti-genocide civics organization Facing History and Ourselves in Boston. He pursued an MA in International Relations & Conflict Management at Johns Hopkins SAIS, before joining the U.S. Agency for International Development, where he focused on conflict management and mitigation in East Africa, and the Middle East during the Arab Spring. After a detail to help launch the USAID Mission in Myanmar in 2012/2013, he joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle. As the social movements he’d been looking for began to emerge (Occupy, the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock) he left in 2016 to explore the many tributaries that would ultimately become the source for Building Belonging.

To learn more, check out:

Building Belonging

website: https://www.buildingbelonging.us/
medium: https://medium.com/@buildingbelonging
YouTube channel with conversations on transformation: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRrui9FZqM43NPfB5TFp0Ag

Thought leaders mentioned in this episode:

Mia Mingus’ on accountability: https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/2019/05/05/dreaming-accountability-dreaming-a-returning-to-ourselves-and-each-other/
Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy http://adriennemareebrown.net/tag/emergent-strategy/
Donella Meadow’s work on finding places to intervene in a system: https://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/
Shanelle Matthews on storytelling and persuasion for social good https://helloshanelle.com/
Brené Brown’s podcast episode on feedback: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-barrett-guillen-on-the-hardest-feedback-ive-ever-received-part-1-of-2/
AnaLouise Keating on Post-Oppositional Politics of Change https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=78atf8nh9780252037849
Teju Cole on the White-Savior Industrial Complex: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/
Conflict Transformation and Belonging: https://medium.com/building-belonging/reflections-conflict-transformation-belonging-7ffabcd6d0c9
Brian Stout’s newsletter: https://citizenstout.substack.com/

Check out the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations at https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

This episode is dedicated to humanitarians around the world on World Humanitarian Day.

Melissa and Torrey Peace of Aid for Aid Workers Leadership Podcast do a podcast exchange about people-centred leadership.

In this conversation they cover:

The importance of empowering the people closest to the problem, as they know best how to solve those problems. This relates to high performing teams as well as to the localisation conversation.
Three common limiting beliefs that hold leaders back and what to do about them:
“Leaders always have to be available.” Actually, leaders are more effective when they – and their teams – schedule and protect regular, uninterrupted time for focused work.
“Leaders have to have all the answers.” On the contrary, no leader has all the answers. A coaching approach that supports individuals in solving their own problems can bring profound results to management relationships as well as partnerships.
“Setting boundaries is selfish.” In reality, saying “no” when someone asks you to do something that doesn’t work for you or the organisation can protect the quality of work. It is okay to say no!
Topics that are currently in demand in the aid sector from Torrey’s vantage point as a coach, podcast host, teacher and blogger:
Time management
Well-being
How to set boundaries
How to be more inclusive
Decolonising aid and nationalising positions
Creating cultures in which people and partners feel comfortable speaking up.
- Ask for feedback and take action on that feedback. We don’t have to call it feedback, as the word itself can be triggering, but consider methods from compassionate communication to connect and improve.
- Make the organisation's values come alive by being clear on what they are and what they look like in action and revisiting them often.

With twelve years experience as a leader in international development Torrey facilitates rising and established leaders in the aid world to achieve optimal fulfillment in life and work through creative solutions that align with their organization’s values as well as their own. Torrey coaches leaders and shares learning through her blog, through a podcast, and through a digital course to teach supervisors in international development how they can coach their teams.

To learn more, check out:

Aid for Aid Workers: https://www.aidforaidworkers.com/
Write to her at Torrey@aidforaidworkers.com
Check out these Aid for Aid Workers Leadership Podcast episodes:
How to Measure Trust with Partners and Communities
Is Your Leadership Style Preventing Community Engagement?
A Case Study on Nationalizing Staff Positions and Lessons Learned
Stop Being Inconsistent and Start Aligning Your Values to Your Actions in Aid Work
The Leader’s Role in Promoting Well-being in Humanitarian Work
The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. Thanks to ICVA for collaborating in this joint project engaging leaders. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa talks with Paula Ramírez of Breathe International.

In their conversation they cover:

Her journey from focusing on peacebuilding for nations to peacebuilding from within.
The political aspect of being mindful and aware
The body as a source of learning
How to be a living example of mindfulness in the workplace
The irony that humanitarian work usually doesn’t make space to get to know each other as humans
Examples and benefits of leaders and emergency responders introducing awareness into their work

Paulabelieves in the pivotal importance of promoting self-care for humanitarian actors. Studying anthropology and experiencing an auto-immune illness, she started to be curious about ways in which human beings can build peace from within, and how resilience and healing could be inspired and guided through the body. Paula has been co-directing RESPIRA since 2013, working closely with teachers and survivors of torture, GBV and landmines in Colombia, South Sudan and Bangladesh. She is an MBSR-Teacher from the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY)-Facilitator from the Trauma Center.

To learn more, check out:

Breathe International at https://breathe.international/
Respira en Colombia: https://respira.co/
The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organisations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. Thanks to ICVA for collaborating in this joint project engaging leaders. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa talks with Hope Chigudu, reflecting back on the 20-21 May Global Gathering entitled “Living our values: Care, culture and power in aid organisations” held by the CHS Alliance.

In their conversation they cover:

The connections between power, culture and care
The importance of leadership, of using language that people can understand in different contexts, of raising awareness about power in our spaces
The value of rituals, for individuals and communities
The idea of accountability: In a world of external accountability and upward accountability, how are we accountable to ourselves?
Ideas for how to follow-up the Global Gathering in a way that takes into consideration enthusiasm and energy

Hope Chigudu is feminist activist and a gender, organisational and development practitioner. In her earlier days in the women’s movement, she co-founded the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network. She later used her skills in governance and management to serve as Chair of the Board of Urgent Action Fund-Africa and prior to this as chair of the Global Fund for Women. Hope is an internationally renowned consultant with experience in "healing" organisations, governance and creative monitoring and evaluation. She co-authored with Rudo Chigudu “Strategies for Building Organisations with a Soul.”

To learn more, check out:

10 session recordings from the Global Gathering on the CHS Alliance YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh1w1Ldo3QjUh7q_coN5ifrnUZqlop8cI
“Strategies for Building an Organisation with a Soul” by Hope Chigudu and Rudo Chigudu, edited by Jessica Horn, published by the African Institute for Integrated Responses to VAWG and HIV/AIDS (AIR): http://airforafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Strategies-for-Building-an-Organisation-with-Soul-WEB.pdf
The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. Thanks to ICVA for collaborating in this joint project engaging leaders. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

In this conversation Mary Ann Clements explains the background and the hopes for the 20-21 May 2021 CHS Alliance virtual Global Gathering on Living our values: Care, culture and power in aid organisations.

This free virtual gathering is the first of its kind in our sector which will bring together leaders and practitioners who are interested in the question of how we live our values in aid organisations. The combined focus of how we treat ourselves and our staff brings together themes of power, privilege, identity, culture and wellbeing in aid. We will be asking together how do we move towards more compassion, equity, inclusion, accountability and solidarity? You can sign up for the event at https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/event/living-our-values-care-culture-and-power-in-aid-organisations/

Mary Ann Clements is a feminist author, facilitator, activist & coach who has worked for two decades in international development. Her work combines analysis, reflection and holding space for new and unusual conversations with a body-based and trauma-informed approach. She is a coach and also the creator of Healing Solidarity, a project she now co-leads and co-author of “Red Tents: Unravelling Our Past and Weaving a Shared Future.” You can learn more about her work at https://maryannclements.com/

To learn more:

Check out the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/
Read the ICVA-CHS Alliance joint report, “Leading well: Aid leader perspectives on staff well-being and organisational culture” https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/resource/leading-well-aid-leader-perspectives-on-staff-well-being-and-organisational-culture/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. Thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

At the end of January 2021 Naser Haghamed completed his 5-year stint as the CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide. Melissa reflects back with him about leadership, staff well-being and organisational culture for the ICVA-CHS Alliance “Leading Well” project.

In their conversation they consider

What it’s like to be in constant “firefighting mode” as a CEO of an organization operating in multiple conflict zones and navigating complex donor and regulatory requirements
The importance of constant, transparent communication with teams and stakeholders, including engaging Boards on the issue of staff well-being
What leaders can do to set the tone at the top and manage their stress
The need for collective, sustained action on staff well-being in the aid sector

Naser Haghamed was born in Eritrea but was forced to leave his homeland as a refugee before he could complete his schooling – an experience that shaped his life and later fuelled his passion to serve the world’s poor and marginalised through Islamic Relief. He was with the organisation for 27 years, having initially joined as an IT Manager and risen through a variety of roles before being appointed CEO in April 2016. During his Islamic Relief career Naser led the International Programmes Division through a period of positive growth and diversification; oversaw the establishment of the Humanitarian Academy for Development as a global centre of excellence; and expanded TIC International as a retail subsidiary generating income from charity shops and recycling. He activated Islamic Relief’s global £20 million programme to support vulnerable communities threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic; led a far-reaching reform of governance structures; spearheaded global campaigns on gender justice and climate change; and cemented Islamic Relief’s position as a key strategic partner for governments, UN agencies and NGOs. Naser Haghamed said towards the end of his time at Islamic Relief Worldwide: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the millions of people we support around the world, and it is with great sadness that I am stepping down. I have seen for myself in so many countries that the impact of what we do is hugely positive and we have made great progress, but there is a lot more to do. Islamic Relief has been a big part of my life and I will continue to support the organisation’s work and the next CEO in any way that I can.” Today he is the CEO of AIC Ltd. specializing in governance and risk management.

To learn more:

Read the ICVA-CHS Alliance joint report, “Leading well: Aid leader perspectives on staff well-being and organisational culture” https://www.icvanetwork.org/resources/leading-well-aid-leader-perspectives-staff-well-being-and-organisational-culture
You can follow Naser on Twitter at @NaserHaghamed and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/naser-haghamed-15bb3820
Check out the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

To get involved:

A live podcast episode on "Leading Well" will be held in conversation with two aid CEOs on 29 April at the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks: https://vosocc.unocha.org/GetFile.aspx?xml=7099mNSNuyt2ObIjn0rASVQuOcrk99i1yNbKXSwpylU9vDMx_B_l1.html&tid=7099&laid=1
A virtual Global Gathering on "Living our values: Care, culture and power in aid organisations" will be held 20-21 May: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/event/living-our-values-care-culture-and-power-in-aid-organisations/

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. Thanks to ICVA for collaborating in this joint project engaging leaders. And thanks to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa talks with Julia Sánchez, Secretary General of ActionAid International. The conversation was part of an ICVA-CHS Alliance joint project engaging aid leaders on the issues of staff well-being and supportive organisational culture.

ActionAid’s ten principles of feminist leadership include elements that explicitly link to staff well-being, like self awareness, self-care and caring for others. They also include ingredients for a supportive organisational culture like: dismantling bias, inclusion, sharing power and using it responsibly and transparently, accountable collaboration, courage (learning from mistakes rather than fearing failure), respectful feedback and zero tolerance for discrimination and abuse of power in the workplace.

In their conversation Melissa and Ms. Sánchez cover:

Reflections on how important it is to know our values, and how hard it can be to apply them in our daily work
Why we seem particularly stressed in this sector
The importance of leaders modelling healthy relationships to the work
Lessons learned on collaborative management (vs. micromanagement) for building trust and giving space to learn
An open question about how we “recharge” when we can’t travel and see people in person

Ms. Sánchez is a development practitioner, feminist and environmentalist who has been promoting equity and sustainable development for more than 25 years. Born in Peru, Julia grew up in Latin and North America. A global citizen, she is tri-lingual and has lived and worked in numerous countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Early in her career, Julia worked with a Canadian INGO for many years, first in Guatemala, then in Canada and finally as regional director for Asia based in Nepal. From 2009 to 2011, she was then national campaign coordinator with the global secretariat of the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA) based out of Delhi. She was appointed as president-CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC) in 2011, a position she held until 2018. Subsequently, she ran as a federal candidate for the Canadian parliament in 2019 and completed a research contract with the largest union in Canada, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), on privatisation of municipal services. Julia has served on numerous Canadian and international boards and advisory bodies, including as co-chair of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) from 2016 to 2018. She served as the chair of CIVICUS and was previously treasurer from 2016 to 2019. Julia has designed and managed programs in areas such as humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, governance, democratic development, community-based economic development, international volunteering and, more recently, campaigning on climate change. She is an economist and political scientist, with a BA in Economics and Political Science and an MA in Economics, both from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

To learn more, check out:

ActionAid’s Ten Principles of Feminist Leadership: https://actionaid.org/feminist-leadership
The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/
The forthcoming ICVA-CHS Alliance joint report, “Leading well: Aid leader perspectives on staff well-being and organisational culture”

*We would like to give a special thanks to the Initiative’s supporters: the CHS Alliance members, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO) and the Netherlands. Thanks to ICVA for collaborating in this joint project engaging leaders. And much gratitude to Ziada Abeid for editing the show.*

Melissa talks with Gozel Baltaeva and Adrien Muratet about Commitment Eight of the Core Humanitarian Standard. What are the data and the practitioners saying about people management in the humanitarian sector, especially during COVID?

Gozel Baltaeva is the People Management Adviser and point of contact for tailored support on all people management topics for CHS Alliance members. With a master’s degree in Business Administration and Strategic Human Resources Management, Gozel offers 15-plus years of experience leading multi-cultural and multi-skilled teams in challenging environments working with MSF, ACF and ICRC. Gozel loves helping HR professionals improve their strategies and solutions by providing guidance and tools and facilitating exchange of good practice, notably by bringing people management professionals together and creating powerful experiences at the Humanitarian Human Resources conference. Gozel also enjoys mentoring up-and-coming HR professionals where she shares her knowledge and passion for people management.

Adrien Muratet is the CHS Verification Manager. He is a humanitarian practitioner with experience in various international NGOs (Oxfam, IRC) and UN agencies (UNHCR). He started working in the field, in the Democratic Republic of Congo primarily, as coordinator of protection clusters and a program manager, before transitioning to headquarters, and from protection to protection mainstreaming, and finally to quality and accountability in humanitarian action. He joined the CHS Alliance in 2016 focusing on the support to organisations completing a self-assessment, and progressively extended his responsibilities to oversee the entire verification portfolio and participate in building a stronger verification system.

To learn more, check out:

CHS Alliance People Management Support: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/people-management/
CHS Alliance Verification Support: https://www.chsalliance.org/verify/
The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

As we close the year and the season, we would like to give a special thanks to the supporters of the Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations: the CHS Alliance, the Government of Luxembourg, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (DFCO), ICVA and soon the Netherlands. We would also like to thank Ziada Abeid for editing the show.

How can we know how staff are doing during these crazy times? Ask them.

Melissa talks with Roger Parry, Director of Agenda Consulting. His organisation specialises in employee and volunteer engagement surveys for non-profits. He shares his insights on how staff engagement has increased in the turbulent year of 2020, on how people are experiencing stress differently based on their gender, age and race, and on what it could look like if we tried – as a sector – to track well-being and culture over time using time-tested survey tools.

Roger is the Founder of Agenda Consulting. He has worked since 1985 in the public and not-for-profit sectors as a management consultant – 8 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers and a similar period with Compass Partnership. He has worked with boards, chief executives and senior managers in the following sectors: social care, housing, international development, associations and unions, central Government and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. Internationally Roger has worked in Kenya, South Africa and in Tanzania where he started and led a new consultancy practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers for 2 years. Roger has an MBA from London Business School and a BA in Mathematics from Oxford.

To learn more about Agenda Consulting visit https://www.agendaconsulting.co.uk/insights/ .

The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations is described here: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

Melissa and Jules Frost talk with Rachel Coghlan about what humanitarians can learn from palliative care.

Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and their families who face problems associated with life-threatening illness. Like the topic of mental illness, the subject of death and dying can be difficult to discuss. Compassion is a common theme that comes up in both domains.

This conversation highlights small but potent acts of compassion that can be carried out in difficult circumstances, like giving genuine attention, empathic listening, bearing witness and offering a smile. It reflects on the duty of care -- not only self-care but also institutional support for people doing difficult work and supportive conversations between peers. It explores the concepts and benefits of working with dignity, humility and compassion.

Rachel Coghlan is a public health professional with 20 years experience in clinical practice, and in international public health research, policy and advocacy. She is currently undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy at the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, Deakin University. Her research is exploring the place of palliative care in humanitarian emergencies and crises, with a focus on armed conflict settings. She is also a palliative care physiotherapist at Calvary Health Care Bethlehem in Melbourne and a researcher with Palliative Nexus at the University of Melbourne.

Jules Frost is the Head of Programmes and Partnerships at the CHS Alliance. She has 25 years of experience across the globe. At the CHS Alliance she oversees programme development and management, partnership building, and fundraising efforts in support of Accountability to Affected People (AAP), Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH), and People Management. Before joining the CHS Alliance, Jules was Medair’s International Director and before that she had an extensive career at World Vision.

To learn more,

· Watch the Sphere webinar on “Palliative care and COVID-19: Challenges for the humanitarian sector” held on 28 October 2020 in partnership with the CHS Alliance, H2H Network and UKaid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY_v3kIpdoc

· Read Rachel’s blog in the ICRC’s Humanitarian Law and Policy called “Palliative care, COVID-19 and humanitarian action: it’s time to talk” dated 2 July 2020: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/07/02/palliative-care-covid-19/

· Read Rachel’s September 2019 paper for the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, “Palliative care in humanitarian crises: innovation or radical reclaiming of roots” https://centreforhumanitarianleadership.org/research/publications/palliative-care-in-humanitarian-crises-innovation-or-radical-reclaiming-of-roots/

The CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring Compassionate Aid Organizations is described here: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/.

In this episode, Melissa talks with Brendan McDonald, co-founder and COO of Uncomfortable Revolution. They explore lessons learned from a big push to get the issue of aid worker well-being on the agenda in the run-up to the World Humanitarian Summit.

To learn more about Brendan’s work, you can find him:

· on Twitter at @7piliers

· Uncomfortable Revolution at https://www.urevolution.com/

· his 2015 article in the Guardian at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/jul/31/aid-workers-casualties-mental-health

· The petition discussed at: https://bit.ly/3oW1hJi

· Uncomfortable Revolution’s mental health video series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClJ70hiDjK1HWCvGgu-re5Q

Other resources

· WhatsApp’s Global Suicide Hotline Resources page is here: https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/security-and-privacy/global-suicide-hotline-resources/?lang=en

· CHS Guidance notes on non-disclosure agreements is here: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/resource/non-disclosure-agreements-guidance-note/

On the Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate Aid Organisations here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

Melissa talks with Melly Preira, the Human Resources Director at the Jesuit Refugee Service about why she is passionate about employee well-being and how she went about introducing major changes her humanitarian organisation's staff support.

Melly’s HR Department supports 56 countries in 10 regions and implements HR management practices, tailored to both the field and HQ. She guides senior management on the development and promotion of strategic policies and projects to support the well-being and performance of their employees. Her focus on organisational well-being consists of organisational policies, specific self-care practices, and tailored health and psychosocial support services.

To learn more, you can hear Melly when she speaks at the 3 November 2020 Humanitarian Human Resources (HHR) conference, organised by the CHS Alliance: https://www.chsalliance.org/hhr2020-online/. You can also check out her organisation at https://jrs.net/en/home/ and her LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/preiramelly.

Dr. Gemma Houldey shares with Mary Ann her views on well-being in the aid sector, particularly the nuances that arise as a result of gender, race and professional status. She previews some of the concepts explored in her forthcoming book, including perfectionism, vulnerability and daring to have difficult conversations. During this period of COVID-19 and stark reminders of racial injustice, we have an opportunity to pause, slow down, and be with the parts of ourselves we don’t like. This conversation touches upon some of the key challenges identified in our mapping report, particularly the importance of supportive organisational culture.

Gemma, an advisor and facilitator for aid sector professionals and change-makers, has over 15 years of experience with human rights and humanitarian programmes, particularly in the Middle East and East Africa, and 5 years of research and learning focused on staff care in the aid sector. Whether working on advocacy campaigns in Palestine, or with peace-building groups in northern Uganda - she has seen how unhealthy working practices and lack of self-care affect our ability to respond effectively to the communities we serve as humanitarians and human rights defenders. Her PhD, completed at the University of Sussex, investigated how the intersections of gender, race and nationality and organisational policies and systems contribute to stress among aid workers in Kenya.

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.

Learn more about Gemma Houldey's work at https://gemmahouldey.com/

Lana shares how International Rescue Committee (IRC) implement their Duty of Care programme, providing professional mental health support that covers all staff and their families. They provide comprehensive support in a number of different languages, offer virtual wellbeing support and are thinking about the cross-cultural issues that are important in meeting their Duty of Care to their staff around the world. Our conversation with Lana is an important example of how good practice is being developed in the sector to meet some of the key challenges identified in our mapping report in terms of the provision of mental health care to staff.

Lana Baqaeen is a Staff Care Specialist at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), where she works as part of the global Duty of Care program covering the Middle East and North Africa. Staff wellbeing is at the core of everything she does in her role at IRC. Lana comes with 10 years of HR experience and a Master of Science in Organizational Psychology.

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.

Imogen Wall is a former BBC journalist and UN spokesperson, now an independent communications trainer and advisor. She specialises in crisis response with a particular emphasis on mental health, peer support, critical incident management and safeguarding in humanitarian contexts. Her previous frontline humanitarian work includes field postings in Indonesia (Aceh), Sudan, Haiti, Philippines and HQ work in New York and Geneva. Recent clients include DFID, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, CrisisCast, Care International and RedR. She is also the founder and lead administrator of the Fifty Shades of Aid group, an independent aid worker support community on Facebook.

Imogen is a qualified Mental Health First Aid instructor and has a lot of experience in crisis management, particularly in an international context and with reference to reputation management and staff care. You can find Imogen via her website: https://www.imogenwall.co.uk/ where there are also more resources that support this conversation.

Mental health and employers - Refreshing the case for investment

: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consulting/articles/mental-health-and-employers-refreshing-the-case-for-investment.html

Mental Health in the Workplace, Mind
https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.

Dr. Mills trained in medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London. He is an accredited specialist in respiratory diseases and still practices medicine on a part-time basis at the Whittington Hospital in London. In addition, he has a masters degree in Infectious diseases and a PhD in the field of cell biology.

Peter has been at the forefront of the digital health “revolution” over the past two decades, having helped a number of organisations in the UK and US develop their innovative solutions. He has published extensively in the scientific literature on the efficacy of digital health interventions.

Peter has been Medical Director for Cigna since 2015; responsible for the clinical management of their European plans. More recently he has taken on an external-facing role and works closely with clients and providers to drive global high-quality care, and ultimately superior outcomes.

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.

Hitendra Solanki is a senior lecturer in development studies at London South Bank University. He’s been active in the development and humanitarian sector for over 16 years. Most recently, he worked as a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Adviser in Action Against Hunger UK. He also led the 3-year Mindfulness & Wellbeing project as part of the Start Network’s Transforming Surge Capacity programme. You can see us reference his work in the recently published paper, “Working Well? Aid Worker Well-being and How to Improve It.”

You can find Being Inside, the project he describes in the show, here: https://www.beinginside.com/

‘Being. Inside.’ is a wellbeing initiative that brings regular live guided mindfulness meditation online, as we move through these uncertain times.
Mindfulness practice has been scientifically proven to enhance self-awareness, improve psychological wellbeing, increase general health, reduce stress and anxiety, and strengthen mental resilience. These live, hourly sessions, professionally delivered by qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) trainers, with long-standing experience in the humanitarian and academic sectors, are provided completely free, and are open to everyone, everywhere, every weekday. To book a place, please visit the Being. Inside. website where you can register for any of the live sessions you wish to participate in.

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.

In this show, you'll hear Melissa interview Don Bosch, Director of Risk Psychology and HEAT Training at the Headington Institute. Don is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst with 35 years of experience and understands human behaviour and brain function. Outside of Pandemic, Don is often in the field doing debriefs, working with global response teams, and providing psychological support for security trainings. He is a lifelong mountaineer with a love for adventure, travel, exercise, and family.

In this episode, Melissa talks with Don about his recent paper, “Managing Emotions During a Pandemic: Understanding the Effect of Uncertainty.” It can be found here: https://headington-institute.org/files/academic-article--pandemic-w-images-correct_50321.pdf

The Headington Institute, has a team of psychologists helping humanitarian and development organisations ensure the well-being of individuals. They’ve created a suite of materials related to COVID-19 - including 2-pagers on managing emotions, media exposure, social distance/ isolation and moral injury – all consolidated here: https://headington-institute.org/topic-areas/732/covid-19.

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.

In this show, you'll hear Melissa interview Kristin Duncombe a therapist and couples counsellor, life coach, and author. She’s based her career on working with international and expatriate individuals and families following her own experience of growing up across Africa and Asia as the child of a diplomat and having lived internationally most of her adult life. You can check out her work at her website here: https://www.kristinduncombe.com/

The cognitive distortions identified by David D. Burns can be found in his 1999 book, The Feeling Good Handbook and the article Kristin referenced was published on 19 March 2020. It was an opinion piece in the New York Times by Jennie Weiner, an associate professor of educational leadership, called “I refuse to run a Coronavirus home school: my kids are watching TV, playing video games and eating cookies.”

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.

In this show, you'll hear Melissa interview Tanya Wood, Executive Director of CHS Alliance. You can find out more about CHS Alliance at https://www.chsalliance.org/ and about Tanya here.

This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here:

https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassionate-aid-organisations/

If you'd like to get involved with or support the work we are doing please do get in touch at compassionateorg@chsalliance.org.