- About the Lecture
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About the Lecture
As the United Nations and worldwide NGOs face the challenges of providing basic services to the survivors of the January 2010 Haitian earthquake, Oxfam’s Raymond Offenheiser scrutinizes what will ultimately be “crucial to the outcome, in the Haitian context, of a successful recovery and rehabilitation by the Haitian people and for the Haitian nation—distributed leadership.”
He describes the overwhelming levels of destruction and suffering he witnessed in the weeks just after the quake. The numbers are hard to imagine—4000 schools compromised or destroyed, children orphaned, 100,000 amputees in a country where annual health care spending is $100/year/person, and the approach of the rainy season. Offenheiser goes on to explain the intricate humanitarian response that unfolds in the aftermath of any natural disaster involving the UN, world governments, and NGOs in their efforts to coordinate the recovery.
The quake destroyed most of the government’s physical infrastructure in Port au Prince where Ministry buildings lie in ruins and where untold numbers of government officials and civil servants were killed. Leadership is currently distributed over large numbers of organizations, rescue personnel from many nations, and people from all walks of Haitian life. Offenheiser asserts that “even if the government were intact, it would not have the capacity to deal with the enormity of the catastrophe and emergency it faces.”
Using anecdotes from three survivors of the earthquake, Offenheiser describes how seemingly ordinary citizens can become leaders in a crisis. In one example, he illustrates how an individual created a “Cash-for-Work” program, which allowed displaced residents to be paid for putting together much-needed “Family Kits.” The kits could have been bought ready-made and easily distributed to refugee camps. Instead, the component parts were purchased and assembled. The Oxfam employee had the autonomy to make this decision; the refugees had money that would go back into their local economy and the dignity of having earned a salary for themselves and their families. “You can’t teach that kind of leadership, but you can distribute it.”
Offenheiser observes that resolving the larger questions of Haiti’s long-term future also lies in an 18-month multinational plan for reconstruction. This plan includes the involvement of Haitians and non Haitians that will form the core of a future Haitian development authority. In keeping with Oxfam’s own philosophy, Offenheiser affirms that “we believe that the solution always lies with the people who face these challenges. Our job isn’t to fix their problems for them, but rather to help governments and citizens meet and define their own development needs. In Haiti, that’s going to mean working alongside the government, enabling the nation to take ownership of its own future. It means, ultimately, empowering the Haitian people. In other words, it means being a long-term partner in locally-driven recovery and building efforts.”Related Videos
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Rebuilding Haiti
Paul Farmer
October 29, 2010
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Rebuilding Haiti
Erica James, Cherie Abbanat, Dale Joachim and Michel DeGraff
February 23, 2010
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Hines: The Man,
The CompanyGerald Hines
October 1, 2010
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- About the Speaker
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About the Speaker
Raymond Offenheiser
President, Oxfam America
Raymond Offenheiser has been President of Oxfam America for thirteen years. During his tenure, he has overseen the growth of Oxfam America from a small non-profit agency into a recognized world leader in the global social justice movement. Under his direction, Oxfam America has increased its annual budget fivefold to $75 million, substantial increased its donor base and created a diverse and highly professional staff.
Offenheiser has also positioned Oxfam America as a leading actor in the field of corporate social responsibility by initiating the Private Sector division at Oxfam America. Under his leadership, Oxfam America has initiated a variety of innovative partnerships with Fortune 500 corporations.
Recently Offenheiser joined a high-level group of think tanks to promote the modernization of foreign assistance. The intent is to replace the Kennedy and Cold War era vision for American aid with a new strategy, mandate, legislation and structure to guide America’s international aid efforts into the 21st century.
Before joining Oxfam America, Offenheiser served for five years as the Ford Foundation Representative in Bangladesh and, prior to that, in the Andean and Southern Cone regions of South America. He has also directed programs for the Inter-American Foundation in both Brazil and Colombia and worked for Save the Children Federation in Mexico.
Offenheiser earned his Bachelors Degree from the University of Notre Dame and holds a Masters Degree in Development Sociology from Cornell University. - About the Host
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About the Host
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the world’s leading business schools — conducting cutting-edge research and providing management education to top students from more than 60 countries. The School is part of MIT’s rich intellectual tradition of education and research.
MIT Sloan began in 1914 as engineering administration curriculum in the MIT Department of Economics and Statistics. The scope and depth of this educational focus have grown steadily in response to advances in the theory and practice of management to today’s broad-based management school.
A program offering a master’s degree in management was established in 1925. The world’s first university-based executive education program — the MIT Sloan Fellows — was created in 1931 under the sponsorship of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., an 1895 MIT graduate who was then chairman of General Motors. A MIT Sloan Foundation grant established the MIT School of Industrial Management in 1952 with a charge of educating the “ideal manager.”
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From Relief to Reconstruction — Practical and Policy Challenges
- Raymond Offenheiser
- April 21, 2010
- Running Time: 52:46
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