WatSan pre-training Part 3 : Ken Gibbs

WHICH BEAST NOW ?

The skills needed for a reasonable UNICEF WatSan staff member, in retrospect, might best be put into three different categories:  Technical, hardware, and software.  Naturally, there would be overlapping and if we include the essential moral aspects implicit in the delivery of any programmes, the sum of all parts is complex.  It should be noted that basic knowledge should be available as a starting point, and that any staff member in any sector would be expected to continue learning throughout his/her career in the agency.

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 WatSan practical skills – to be useful – should include many different aspects of ‘Logistics’.  Supply Division staff required a spread of skills to accomplish the selection, supply and delivery of, well, almost anything that was needed for UNICEF supported programmes.  WatSan programmes in support of Government needed many of the same skills.

Readers of the XUNICEF blog may have read how three Japanese made GRP boats that had been damaged on delivery were ‘repaired’ by someone not even working for UNICEF or the host government at the time.  This is what I wrote on Sept 12th, 2023:  https://xunicefnewsandviews.blogspot.com/2023/09/why-me-oh-lord-why-me-ken-gibbs.html   

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One holiday when I returned to the farm from university, the only brother in residence was running the farm while my parents were working elsewhere.  However, there was still the inevitable list of ‘To-do’ things beside the telephone.

At breakfast on the first day, I asked if there was something that needed prioritising ?  Apparently, there was.  It was the pump at the dip that didn’t do what it should.

‘The dip’ was an agricultural treated bath which the cattle on the farm were obliged to plunge into to once every two weeks, to ensure that they wouldn’t be infected by tick related diseases.  If the pump didn’t work, the necessary chemicals couldn’t be circulated and the cattle risked contracting a range of diseases.  I said that I’d look at it after breakfast.

Suitably equipped with pliers, wrenches, screwdrivers and, yes, even a 4lb hammer, and gloves in case I needed to be insulated while working on the 3-phase device, I proceeded to the dip.

Mains electricity can be electrifying to handle, so I started with hands gloved and opened up the cover to find a complex 3-phase switching device inside.  I examined it – visually – and after about five minutes, I switched off the electricity as I was going to have to handle some of the wires.  About 30 minutes later, I switched on the electricity and made a test to see if it was working as it should.  It was, and I proceeded elsewhere to attend to some other item on the ‘To-Do’ list.

At lunch, my brother asked if I had managed to attend to the motor at the dip ?  “Yes,” I said, “and all seems to be working correctly now”.

“Good” says the brother.

We were at lunch, so eating took precedence but about 5 minutes later I asked, “Who is your electrician ?” 

The answer came back straight away, “Johnson and Fletcher”. 

“Mmmm”, said I, “Time you fired them”.

There was a distinct pause before brother mentioned that Johnson and Fletcher hadn’t installed the switchgear, he (the brother) had.  That explained it all, and I mentioned that it was usual to connect the incoming wires to the poles marked “In” and the outgoing to the motor itself was marked “Out”.  I had switched them correctly and then everything worked as per plan.  I was aware that he hadn’t had a technical training in matters electrical, but common sense was in short supply on the day he had ‘connected’ the device.

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Curiosity is a valuable ‘skill’ if I may call it that.  If you don’t come to UNICEF with a goodly dose of curiosity, then you are unlikely to be able to make much of a splash for children.  Sitting back having arrived to UNICEF equipped with the standard ‘Advanced university degree plus up to 10 years prior experience’ and then doing no further studying is unlikely to improve the situation of children.  Incidentally, I didn’t have an advanced degree when I was recruited by UNICEF, nor by the time I left the agency, so ‘curiosity’ and common sense seemed to serve me well enough.

It is obvious that WatSan professionals who have no understanding of social anthropology, are less likely to be able to craft successful programmes for children.  For instance, a very useful tool for incoming staff is the most recent national census data from which one can extract a whole series of data describing the situation of women and children in the area.  Speaking personally, I preferred to go back to the data rather than reading ‘The State of Women and Children in Xxxxxxx’ where I would have been reading how someone allegedly interpreted those data (but often had skipped over such a venture).

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‘Curiosity’ – or more simply put, ‘analysis’ – can so easily guide staff to choose the best course of action.  For example, when I arrived to take over a disastrous situation where huge sums of money – and I mean seriously large sums of money - had been raised to implement water supply systems to a sparsely populated rural area, it was quite obvious that the choice of technology was so far above the capability of local communities to maintain their systems that a complete reversal was necessary.  The normal checks and balances like the Contract Review Committee; Supply Division checking that the equipment being requested was appropriate; and even Audit Section periodic inspections had all completely failed to put a dampener on hugely over-ambitious technologies.

Looking back on what was required to bring that office back to ‘UN norms’ leads me to make some – perhaps – unwelcome suggestions.  So far had that office strayed that a three hour meeting took place between the then Deputy ExDir, the Regional Director, the Country Representative and me where I was told that what was said in that meeting, stayed in the room.  If such importance was attached to the situation that the Deputy ExDir and the Regional Director had to be flown in for that specific meeting, then surely at least the Audit Section should have been advised – but it seems that they may well not have been.  Everything points to avoiding letting the ‘disaster’ become common knowledge.  One can but ask if staff can’t be told when mistakes have been made, how can they possibly avoid them in the future ?

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All the foregoing notwithstanding, it seems that ‘trouble’ accompanied me wherever I was posted.  There were times when I had to ask myself whether I was the problem rather than the solution.  Looking at how current world events seem to be headlined by a president who believes that if he wants something – however improbable it is - then everybody must stand aside and let him have his wishes.  Was this how UNICEF behaved, one wonders ?

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