{"id":25975,"date":"2017-10-05T10:59:13","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T08:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/?p=25975"},"modified":"2017-11-17T07:49:46","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T06:49:46","slug":"rethinking-innovation-means-emergencies-case-angola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/rethinking-innovation-means-emergencies-case-angola\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking what innovation means in emergencies – the case of Angola"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is a part of our ‘Innovation in Angola’ series where we highlight innovative ways of working and best practices in emergencies. Stay tuned for new articles and the complementary video series that can be found here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYour application is authorized and the visa is attached with this e-mail.\u201d <\/em><\/h2>\n

This was the message I received a mere four hours before my flight was supposed to leave for Angola. I had given myself only one more hour before rescheduling my first emergency mission. In reality, I had not expected this message to come through as continued delays with visas had been experienced by my colleagues that had already arrived in the operation. A wave of emotions washed over me – relief, excitement, and a nervousness I was not initially expecting. I was off on my first emergency mission to support UNHCR\u2019s Angola operation for the next three weeks.<\/p>\n

The violence in the Kasai region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which erupted in August 2016, has resulted in the displacement of large numbers of Congolese. Currently, there over 31,000 Congolese refugees registered in Dundo, Angola \u2013 having sought refuge from the violence in the Kasai region of the DRC.<\/p>\n

UNHCR\u2019s operation in Angola had expanded rapidly in response to the conflict in the Kasai region. At the beginning of 2017, the operation had a small office in Luanda and was focused on asylum seekers that had been in the country for numerous years and primarily in an urban context.\u00a0 By the time I arrived, they had expanded the response with a new Field-Office located in Dundo and over forty staff dedicated to the emergency and needs of refugees within the region.<\/p>\n

UNHCR\u2019s Innovation Service had been requested to support the Angola operation through a direct mission to Dundo, with a specific focus on Communicating with Communities. With the establishment of services in a new site and the first relocations of refugee occurring in August, open communication with communities and consistent messaging across a variety of new partners was identified as a critical space where Innovation could support. We had long debated as a team whether you could innovate in emergencies or not \u2013 I was hoping we could answer this question in Angola.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like a sponge\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n

While I had gone through the required UN training exercises and felt prepared for my first emergency response, I still didn\u2019t know exactly what to expect. The operations I had supported previously had always had an urban or protracted situation focus. A few months prior I found myself in Tindouf, Algeria where we supported refugees who had been living in the five camps located there for over forty years. This mission was different. It wasn\u2019t long ago that refugees from Angola were moving into DRC and surrounding countries \u2013 for the first time, now they were hosting the communities that had previously hosted them.<\/p>\n

After my first few days in Dundo, one of the first things I learned was that in an emergency you can wear many different hats based on the needs of the operation. While I had brought my innovation focus and detailed ToRs to drive my support, there were days when the operation just needed an extra hand in supporting the registration team for relocations or someone to drive into town and buy equipment for the new Communicating with Communities task force. We often promote this idea of \u201ccontinuous learning\u201d<\/a> within the Innovation Team. \u201cIt\u2019s about looking outside and seeing what\u2019s out there, experimenting and trying things out, working together with others and continuous learning. You need people with passion and willingness to change<\/em>,\u201d explains Emilia Saarelainen, UNHCR\u2019s Innovation Fellowship Manager.<\/p>\n

I felt as though at some points I was being selfish during my mission to Angola. Selfish in the sense that I was taking more than I was giving in my work. I showed up for the long days and contributed as best as I could, but what I was learning from those around me was more valuable than what I was giving in return. I was meeting refugees every day who showed more resilience and drive than most people I knew. I met colleagues who had come from UNHCR operations around the world \u2013 South Africa, Jordan, Chad, Columbia, Lebanon \u2013 who had dedicated themselves to working in this challenging environment. Whether they knew it or not, the refugees and the UNHCR team supporting them were already innovating \u2013 and they didn\u2019t need us to tell them that.<\/p>\n

I often described myself as a sponge during those three weeks. Constantly learning from the refugees and colleagues around me. While my role is leading communications for UNHCR\u2019s Innovation Service, I soon found myself understanding how to map connectivity points within a settlement or assisting in distributions during the relocation process. As mentioned previously, you can end up playing many different roles when working in an emergency context.<\/p>\n

I spoke to one of my colleagues in Dundo, Alessandro Pasta, who was also on his first emergency mission, about his experience in Angola. \u201cAs a Field Officer, it is easy to say \u2013 but you are really in the field. You have to be quick and you have to make decisions \u2013 I feel like you are even more a part of UNHCR because you can see the impact immediately. It is absolutely different to daily life in Headquarters,\u201d<\/em> he explained.<\/p>\n