There are many people working in the field of aid and development across the globe with minimal support and guidance. As development workers ourselves, we are aware that resources are limited
in the humanitarian field. However, we also know that through support networks, and specifically, peer coaching, we can increase the return on investment for these workers and enable them to be more effective in helping the world's poorest and most vulnerable
people.
We want to provide a service that matches them up, so that they are able to support and learn from each other via Skype, email or other methods. This service therefore does not require more resources to be added to the sector (in the form of professional mentors,
coaches or counsellors), but rather, builds on existing resources that are not connected.
Since asking for expressions of interest on the 2nd of February, we have had close to 300 people respond to
our survey, telling us that they want to be part of our program. A common response has been along the lines of
this person's comment:
“I feel isolated, uncertain and a little forlorn about finding my way into development-related work, and would like to have someone to share my experience with, who is perhaps also experiencing the same thing.” - E, 18-25 year old male, Honduras.
We know that there is a high rate of
burnout in humanitarian workers. Stress, isolation and a lack of support are certainly key factors in this. We believe that peer coaching is a cost effective way in which isolated humanitarian workers can support
each other.
Funding that we receive will be crucial in helping us set up this platform, to support those who are working daily to support others. Once the platform has been set up, we will no longer
require seed funding to sustain the platform.
