INTHEBLACK May 2022 - Magazine - Page 34
MEMBER PROFILE
// L E A D E R S & I N N O VAT O R S
“PLAY THE LONG GAME. WHILE
TIMING IS, OF COURSE, ALWAYS
CRITICAL, DON’T BE RUSHED
WHEN MAKING YOUR DECISION.
STOP, THINK AND REFLECT. ASK
YOURSELF, WHAT IS ABLE TO BE
ACHIEVED?”
JENIFER AUSTIN CPA
Austin spends at
least one morning
each week on site
at installations.
34 ITB May 2022
More than half of the Gaza Field Office’s
13,000 staff are teachers. The office also
runs 22 primary health centres, services
eight Palestinian refugee camps and
provides food relief to 1.2 million refugees,
with an annual cost base of about
US$500 million (A$675 million). In the
aftermath of the May tensions last year,
there was an influx of additional donor
funds to assist with the reconstruction
and post-conflict needs.
COVID-19 brought significant health
risks for the people of Gaza, who live in
one of the most densely populated areas
in the world. The global health crisis had
financial ramifications for UNRWA and
required modifications to the delivery of
its programs.
“Working through COVID lockdown
was not easy,” says Austin. “National staff
generally don’t have access to regular
electricity, sometimes only for a few hours
a day, so working remotely is not an option
for everyone and can be problematic for
who do.”
Food deliveries have been made
compliant with COVID-19 safety
measures, vaccination clinics have been
set up and new efficiencies, such as
telemedicine for health consultations, have
been introduced.
There is a fine balancing act between
closing schools and keeping them open.
Students rarely have access to laptops and
may only have one smartphone in their
household, so printed learning materials
have to be distributed.
During the height of the pandemic, there
were the challenges of having to backfill
for staff away due to COVID-19, the need