Sunday, April 10, 2016

Leadership, As Important in Humanitarian Aid and Development as Coordination

Coming from Bangladesh, “a country of 1000 rivers,” a far-away world where millions of people live on less than a dollar a day, I am considered to be in a leadership position. It was not my goal to be a Leader. I started with passion, purpose and clarity of vision and refused to be stopped by all those who told me “it cannot be done”.

Runa Khan speaking at DIHAD 2016
At 27, I had a ladies boutique. Situated on the main road, walk-in customers especially men were discouraged unless escorting a woman. One day, when I was away from the shop, a prominent local thug came in, and a staff asked him to leave. He was very upset, saying he was the cousin of a well-known ruthless mafia leader. He threatened to return with his group and burn down the shop.
I returned at 4 pm and was informed about the incident.

He returned soon afterwards with about 40 of his goons and at least 10 guns amongst them. Holding some to my head they demanded the name of the man who had been rude to their leader. The staff had only followed my instructions. I was responsible, not him. I refused to give his name. It took time and strength, but I held my ground, and they ultimately left. That was 29 years ago and to this day each staff member of that shop will receive my call, even at midnight, to offer assistance if I am in need.

Moral of the story is that I had established myself to my staff, though involuntarily, just by doing what I felt was morally right, as someone who can be trusted. This cannot be gained when you lead by words, and not by truthful actions. One must be one’s self, and be courageous to carry words through in action not only for yourself but also for those whom you lead.

15 years ago I started Friendship because I saw unimaginable poverty. It was poverty without any hope. One instance amongst many was seeing 18 families in an area who had not eaten in two days, and was without visible means of income. When I realised I could do something, I could not walk away, for I deeply believe ‘Realisation must lead to Responsibility’.

In Bangladesh 60% of the people in some way or another have a connection to water, yet people of the rivers lack access to basic services, and are voiceless for they lack the capacity to become an organized voice loud enough to be heard. Friendship started with the vision of carrying care to these very people.

This meant going to a new area, which had its own culture. People were territorial, and the environment was violent. Doctors did not want to go there without a gun. River taxis stopped plying in the evening due to fear of dacoits, and mafia groups. My philosophy was that if you secure your position with a gun, you will be attacked with a gun, and they will certainly shoot you before you shoot them. I felt my strength had to lie in ensuring our services were of high quality, and in earning respect. That would make the receiver of our service protect us. Over 15 years, this is what has happened. Today millions of people in the area, direct beneficiaries or not, respect and trust us. Not even a lifebuoy has been stolen from our ships, and we have no guards.

We deliver direct services in the grassroots level in healthcare, education, sanitation, disaster preparedness, and sustainable economic development. We run programs on Good Governance, and work on Cultural Preservation of their most loved heritage, the boats of Bangladesh. Our services reach over 500,000 people monthly. Friendship has its own aims and vision, and we make sure we effectively communicate that to donor organizations. Integrity and verity of work, quality of services and humility has earned us trust and respect within the communities with whom we work.

In the developing world where donors give big money but within their own mandate, leadership needs to be strong, to have deep long term impacts in the community. A field organization has to work hard, and deliver well to match international organizations. It is akin to being a woman who has to work twice as much as a man and be twice as good to be thought of as his equal.

DIHAD 2016

Each “donor” organisation has their own agenda, in spite of their goodwill, skills and money. The agenda unfortunately may not always fit the community’s needs. Thus, it is up to us to be confident, to deliver results, and to communicate our methods and philosophy. This means we have to be better than good. We have to stand out be exemplary in all sense; in innovation, understanding needs, and being able to have most efficacy of output in terms of funds and skills.

I was not working for the sake of working but had a definite purpose which was to provide service to my people, and ensure that the communities we work with are able to move with on in their lives with dignity and hope; ultimately to a better economic position than the one in which I found them. This was a single-minded target. To articulate this target clearly, we had to show impact, have a non-negotiable set of values. Sometimes it meant giving up funds offered, if it did not suit the purpose or objectives of the organization.

We must stand our ground. We must never pander, but show strength and commitment of vision and action. We must also have the humility to learn from them but have the ability to teach them as well.

Last year due to a drop in Euro, most of our projects were at 22% deficit. Two donors offered 300,000 Euro for a project but because the implementation procedure laid out by them would not have been beneficial for the communities, we refused the project. Friendship was a single voice: everyone believed that we should refuse. Just for money we could not compromise on our beliefs.

Growth cannot be a purpose as that may lead to wrong decisions for the wrong reasons. You have to communicate your vision clearly and earn respect, then even if funding organisations do not agree, they will not force their program design on you. They will respect and trust your model enough to work with you.

The field organisations can and must have leadership qualities because they are on the front line. Working in an office requires a certain type of leadership skill. When leading millions of thirsty, hungry people in relief operations over a vast area; keeping peoples dignity in mind, or making long-term changes within controlled budgets and skills, it needs leadership which is not only listened to, but believed in, with love and faith.

Control, monitoring, rules and regulations are important, but faith, trust, loyalty, compassion and ability to bring all this together even when no one is monitoring, is leadership. A true leader will ensure that in an emergency her people will respond correctly and humanely. A true leader creates a second line of leaders.

I am proud to observe that today, Friendship family members – national and international – are all likeminded people. They have thus understood easily and internalized its values, respect its ethical base, and the principles on which the organization’s work is based.. This has created ownership, and today I listen to them speak and move to the background, because everyone’s voices are unified, and the organization belongs to each and every one of them.

Friendship was possibly the first southern NGO to open an International organisation in the north. We have Friendship International based out of Luxembourg, which I co-chair with the Chairman of Luxembourg. It facilitates activities of others based in France, UK, Holland, and Germany. We have great people, friends helping in all these countries, pro bono.

At the end of the day, leadership is about having and communicating a strong set of values, ethics, and vision. It is to have conviction in one’s own capacity, confidence, humility, and ability to establish trust and respect. It is to know one’s strengths, and use it for the greater good. Good actions cannot be sustainable if the intention behind the action is bad.

On a functional level, as a grassroots organization, it is about delivering results, showing impact, and building a proven unique model of interventions that can convince others that field-level organizations do not need to pander or follow but can be deep and real partners for pushing a common vision together.

Being a leader is not difficult. It requires sense of responsibility, courage and deep belief in the goodness of people. Decisions and actions need to be based on goodness, not on suspicions and insecurities.

It is with that hope and vision we need to stand together and work together in convergence and harmony, in creating a beautiful world for ourselves.





Speech by Runa Khan, Founder and Executive Director, Friendship
At DIHAD 2016 special session: Leadership, As Important in Humanitarian Aid and Development as Coordination

To learn more about Friendship visit www.friendship-bd.org