INTEGRAL MEMBER AGENCY
Food for the Hungry Joins Integral
We are very pleased to announce that Integral has a new Member - Food for the Hungry, based in the USA. To introduce Food for the Hungry to our readers, we interview Dave Evans, their U.S. President and Global Executive Officer...
Where are you from?
Originally from Pennsylvania, USA, but have lived in many parts of the USA, as well as Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Bolivia. I currently live in the Washington DC area.
What has been your most interesting job, apart from your current one?
My three years as a Mennonite Central Committee volunteer in Burkina and Chad. I focused on water resource development and agricultural development.
What is the main motivation for your work?
It goes back to a clear call that I received at the age of 18 in my first year of university. I sensed very strongly that the Lord was leading me to help end world hunger. I still draw strength from that call today.
What has been your most memorable country visit with work, & why?
Having lived for 10 years in the developing world, my best memories run throughout those years. I have very vivid memories of each of the four countries and it's hard to narrow it down to one memory.
What do you enjoy the most about your current job?
The challenge of co-leading a complex organisation through the ups and downs of ministry to the poor in over 25 countries.
What do you find the most challenging?
The perennial reality of having to make very difficult resource allocation decisions across the ministry in what seems to be an increasingly constrictive funding environment. The funds never seem to go far enough.
What has been your work highlight so far this year?
Having left 15 years ago, my family and I travelled back to Bolivia to visit old friends - it was wonderful to see the work of Food for the Hungry through new eyes.
What do you find inspiring about Integral?
The unified vision and focus, and the camaraderie among the Members.
What is your main reason for joining Integral?
We are looking forward to being part of larger, joint responses to major disasters, as well as to learning and growing together in how to engage more effectively in those responses.
How do you relax?
Vegetable gardening, cycling, home improvement projects - to name but a few.
What’s your favourite quote?
Never, never, never give up! - Winston Churchill.
What is the most useful piece of work advice you ever received?
"Don't do for others what they can and should do for themselves". This is good advice when managing others, as well as when working with partners and beneficiaries.
INTEGRAL SECRETARIAT
Integral Gains a New Staff Member!
We are delighted to introduce Jan Eyre to Integral news readers – she has joined the Secretariat as the new Disaster Management Implementation Project Manager. Jan carries on the work of Cressida Thompson and Colin Walker who worked on designing a flexible and responsive Disaster Response Process, and all the tools that go along with it. Jan will oversee the implementation phase of the project...
Jan says, “I am here to support Integral Members as they look at their internal systems and how to integrate our new Disaster Response process across their organisations. This will include how to brief their teams (from HQ to field level) on the why’s, what’s and how’s of it all. And once we are ‘live’, I’ll be working with Members during and following an Integral response to see where we can fine-tune the process.” Jan continues, "As I begin the work, I am very struck by the fact that through Integral we can share expertise, experience and resources to do what we do better, and that we have the potential to serve devastated communities more effectively, whether it is a high profile disaster, or a hidden crisis.”
Before joining Integral, Jan previously worked in London for 8 years in a variety of project management roles, including 4 years working for Alpha International on their national advertising campaign. She joined Medair in 2001 and worked on the field in Afghanistan and Sudan carrying out relief activities. Jan was in Afghanistan during a period that covered Taliban rule, coalition bombing campaign, early transitional administration, through to elected government. In 2006-2007 Jan spent time in Sudan, where Medair was providing relief and rehabilitation in South Kordofan and West Darfur.
Jan is currently working on a toolkit of materials aimed at helping Member Agency staff ‘spread the vision’ about the Disaster Response Process throughout their organisations. Jan says: “I appreciate that induction requirements will be different for each of our Members, so I will be in touch to find out how I can best support the plans being made. We are also working on a web-based platform to enable us share information, communicate with each other and track progress during our Integral Responses – so, watch this space…!”
Integral news asked her to tell us about her most memorable field experience. She says: “I remember a very cold, mountainous and bone-shattering journey through Central Afghanistan in early 2002, following a community that had been displaced by the Taliban as they returned to their homes. We encountered incredible resilience and determination in the face of broken and burned houses, and destroyed agricultural land. It was hugely humbling. It is just one of many deeply ingrained memories from both Afghanistan and Sudan.”
Integral news also asked Jan how she relaxes: "I really enjoy a quiet hour or two at an art gallery, getting lost in other people’s ability to express so much through painting or photography. I’m a regular at Manchester Art Gallery with my two little girls, although I still miss being able to pop into the Tate Modern after more than 10 years living away from London."
And her favourite quote? "The Afghan proverb, 'qatra qatra darya mesha' (drop by drop, it becomes a river)" - a very fitting saying, and our prayer, for the work of Integral!
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