Lisa Hickman shares her experiences of supporting relief staff in Nepal after April's earthquake
As the global HR coordinator at Age International, a charity that supports older people living in developing countries through the HelpAge global network, I’m normally based in London, where I focus on recruitment and employee relations for our worldwide team.
But after the devastating earthquake in Nepal on 25 April, I went to help out on the ground and support our team there.
When I arrived in Kathmandu on the 8th of May, many of our staff were living in tents - too afraid to return to their homes - while still working on our emergency response strategy. We urgently needed to recruit additional staff to support the current small team to provide the best possible assistance to older people and their families. And that was where I came in.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, we decided to provide cash assistance to 10,000 older people so they could buy essential items. It turned out that we were the first agency to distribute money in this way to survivors. We ate together as a team that night - my first in Nepal - to celebrate our achievement and build trust between us. It is this sense of teamwork and community that are the cornerstones of a successful humanitarian response, so it was fantastic to get to know the wonderful people who were working so hard in the face of unrelenting tragedy.
The next morning, I met with the team in Nepal - including Peter McGeachie, our South Asia regional director - and consulted with our colleagues in London to understand what roles we needed to fill and what types of people we needed to recruit. We had received more than 700 applications for five positions that had been advertised before I arrived.
It was up to me to cut this into a manageable shortlist, and it took a few days to go through the list of candidates with the recruiting manager, invite people in for interviews, and advertise the extra positions we needed to fill to implement our relief programme.
Meanwhile, three field staff returned from a two-day trip to plan another cash distribution in remote areas that had been badly affected by the earthquake. Their journey was hard: a six-hour drive followed by a four-hour walk over rough terrain. At the forefront of my mind was the safety and security of staff, as well as practicalities such as transport, food and water. Every detail has to be well thought-out and planned so that our staff are protected and we are able to reach as many older people as possible.
In the midst of so many people in need, I have to make sure that staff are looking after themselves, too. They have to take time to mentally and physically recuperate from living and working in such traumatic conditions. It’s important they have time to arrange things like repairing their own homes and checking on friends and family.
Also on my mind is the training provision for our new line managers. All new staff need to be given a proper induction and training programme so they understand our code of conduct and our policy on the protection of vulnerable adults and children. It’s also important that they understand our organisation as a whole: our structure, thematic areas of work and the support they can expect from headquarters. An emergency situation is not the right time for your HR standards and practices to slip.
Four days into my trip the earthquake alarm went off and my stomach flipped. I was in the office and saw all the staff running out of the building as fast as they could. I followed quickly. We stood outside and watched as the building wobbled from side-to-side like jelly. The ground was shaking so much we could have been at sea. This only lasted for around 30 seconds, but it felt much longer. It was terrifying.
Initially we thought this was just another aftershock, but soon realised it was actually a second earthquake. People were crying and shaking, fearing for their families and homes. After 20 minutes there was a huge aftershock; the building, wall and floor moved again.
Our director Peter was a great support: local staff checked on their loved ones, and UK staff phoned home. The hotel was deemed to be structurally secure and safe enough to stay in overnight. But Peter advised us to stay together and to go outside if any more aftershocks hit.
The next day we went back to the office and worked as best we could, but it was scary and the earthquake alarm kept going off. Our minds played tricks on us: we had to keep checking whether the ground was actually moving or not.
This second earthquake was a terrible set-back: it damaged more homes but also had a tremendous psychological impact. We had to cancel interviews to make sure staff and candidates were okay and in the right frame of mind; as a recruiter, you always want to get the best out of people - no more so than in such a dangerous and terrifying situation as this.
Before I left Nepal we managed to fill two roles, finalise job descriptions for the extra roles, and prepare interview questions and exercises for each role. Three months after the earthquake, all the roles are filled, meaning we can continue to deliver and expand our emergency response programme and reach as many affected older people as possible.
I feel privileged to have been in Nepal and witness the amazing work our team is doing to ensure older people have access to the healthcare and shelter they desperately need. Their efforts continue to inspire me to work harder here in the UK to continue to support the international team who continue to work day in, day out, to make others’ lives better.
For more information about Age International’s work in Nepal, visit www.ageinternational.org.uk/what-we-do/emergencies/Nepal-Earthquake/