In Your Head & On Your Feet (or RADOMSKA)

(Country count 2/10 - Poland)

So barely three sleeps into being in the beautiful Netherlands, I was jet-setting off to Poland for a 10 day vaycay adventure in Warsaw. Sounds great in theory right?

Except it was technically an assignment - a school assignment, with 140 other classmates!

The humanitarian program I’m doing, starts off with an “Intensive” week-long session of “Humanitarian 101” in an attempt to bring us all up to speed on the basics of the discipline and to “steady” us for the program ahead. 

Everyone doing the program from participating universities joins (Ireland, Sweden, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland), which is handy because everyone ends up doing a semester abroad at one of the OTHER partner schools. It’s basically a week long meet & greet/party with wonderful people from all over the world who have the same basic interest in humanitarianism and doing good (I’m not biased at all!).

We do all of this against the scenic backdrop of Warsaw, Poland – but actually (+1 for country count). I’m not gonna sit here and type like Warsaw has always been a prime destination of mine but it truly exceeded my expectations of a post-Soviet era city.

A few of my fabulous classmates and I went down a few days early to actually explore/enjoy the city before the Intensive Program (IP). It was such a beautiful combination of new and old, embracing the destruction and creation that the city endured during Nazi/Soviet occupation. 

Classmates in Warsaw!

Łazienki Park, Warsaw, Poland

We saw the house where famed scientist Marie Curie was born - that's right (#knowledgedrop) she was born in Poland before moving to France to settle with her family.

We were told off for rolling on the grass at Łazienki Park, the biggest park/palace in the country.

"Old Town", Warsaw, Poland

We toured the "Old Town" which holds the heart of historic Warsaw. 

We ate at a "Soviet-era" milk bar which still serves the type of meals people ate back then - economical vegetables, potatoes, soup (nom-na-nom-nom!)

The Intensive Program (IP) was focused on teaching us about humanitarian basics and was framed around the upcoming “World Humanitarian Summit” in May 2016 in Turkey. This was a really powerful and productive way to get us to think about different themes in “Effectiveness”, “Innovation”, “Risk Management” and “People-Centred Response”.

All these buzzwords basically point out that the way forward for humanitarian response is to focus on the people who need help most, creation of new, sustainable and timely ways to deliver aid, and preparedness to reduce the impact of crises.

The IP was also a chance to meet some big players in the profession including the likes of Anthony Val Flynn, Directorate General of the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection (a mouthful, I know!) (ECHO) - a major funder of humanitarian aid. We were also joined by many other speakers with field and management experience from the United Nations' (UN) agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 

(These links are indeed a "hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink" to read up if you're interested in these organisations!)

Escaping shell fire attacks (NOHA IP 2015)
Courtesy of NOHA Warsaw

By far, the most interactive and memorable aspect of the IP was the “Field Security” simulation training. Lectures aside, historical perspectives laid down, it was time to become a fearless, humanitarian “badass” and see if we could hack field life. Thanks to PortArthur Poland, field training specialists, for putting us through the effective obstacle course!

Kicking butt in self-defense (NOHA IP 2015)
Courtesy of NOHA Warsaw

We learned how to make DIY tourniquets (one trainer swore he got them as holiday gifts for family, so watch out!), and rolled through vehicle ambush, self-defense and hostage-taking scenarios. Take a look at our hostage-taking below:

Hostage taking scenario (NOHA IP 2015) - courtesy of NOHA Warsaw

It would be a stretch to say that I came full circle by the end of the week (amazing as it was), but I definitely felt a shift in terms of thinking about how to be effective and make a real impact in this field. Egos and heroic ambitions aside, I’m motivated and optimistic to be surrounded by people (veterans and newbies) who question and attempt to flip the industry on its head.

If not full circle, I feel as though I'm nearly halfway - at a point where the possibilities for change, improvement and impact are within reach. It was a memorable team bonding experience to tie together all of the theory and discussion about what it means to be a humanitarian - in your head and on your feet.

NOHA IP 2015 - courtesy of NOHA Warsaw