Medair Logs Workshop 2019

In early April we had a Medair Logistics workshop in Dubai. Logisticians from all of the Medair programs around the world came together to discuss different aspects of logistics - from the new procurement software that Medair will be using to negotiation skills. We also talked about a lot of

Medair logisticians from around the world!

nuts and bolts issues such as how to avoid disallowances with donor auditors.

One of the reasons we held it in Dubai is that this is one of the few countries in the world where Afghans can get visas.

It was an amazing group of people! Here are some of the nationalities represented: Kurdish, British, Afghan, Cameroonian, South African, Dutch, Syrian and Bangladeshi (my senior logs officer, Juwel, attended with me – he is in the middle on the other side of the table that I am at). So it was really amazing to interact with such a diverse group of people doing amazing work in all the different countries where Medair works and at headquarters!

Logistics (logs) varies so much from one country to another. The South Sudan program, for instance, is one of the most complicated logistics programs (along with Afghanistan and the Democrat Republic of Congo). South Sudan and Afghanistan are both long-running programs, which means that there are multiple bases in each of these countries. So logs often is buying at a central location (like the capitol city) and then expediting to far flung bases around the country. In South Sudan a lot of that expediting happens by air cargo, which is obviously quite expensive. In Afghanistan there are places in the highlands were all supplies are moved by horses. In comparison, Bangladesh is a pretty simple program. We have one base alone. And we have good enough roads to move all our supplies with trucks and other vehicles.

Simulation NSAG

One aspect of the learning during the workshop was negotiation training. There is, obviously, a lot of negotiation involved in logs. One of the primary procurement principles we live by is “best value for money.” So we are negotiating to get that best value for the money that both donors, and individuals like yourselves, give to the Bangladeshi program. But while we were at the workshop a Cameroonian colleague relayed to me how he had had to negotiate with an armed faction in a neighboring country for the release of a couple of his staff who had been taken hostage. This picture is from the simulation we did during the negotiation training. This simulation had to do with negotiating with Non-State Armed Groups (NSAG). My colleague from Afghanistan played the part well! But the training was really helpful! Negotiations are not something that I would say I am necessarily naturally gifted in. So it was really helpful to learn more about negotiating methods and styles.

The things that we learned at the workshop will definitely help my team to better execute our duties. I am grateful for the learning opportunities!

Prayer points:

1. Pray for Medair logs personnel around the globe: for integrity, for strength and for grace to offer others.
2. Pray for Christine as the UN Food Programme project reporting system weighs on her these days.
3. Pray for Rohingya and Bangladeshi alike as almost all celebrate Eid al Fitr over the next 3 days (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Fitr)

Time recently came out with a great exposé on the Rohingya. Check it out!

http://time.com/longform/rohingya-muslims-exile-bangladesh/