Concern for the Poorest

An Interview with Dominic MacSorley, Dominic MacSorley with Concern’s team in Chief Executive Offi cer, Concern Worldwide the Democratic Republic of Congo

EDITORS’ NOTE In February of this Over the past 45 years, our com- of support that are largely determined by the com- year, renowned humanitarian mitment to impacting the lives of the munities themselves. And what we do works. Dominic MacSorley was appointed world’s poorest people has never Should more be done to bring organiza- to CEO of Concern Worldwide. For swayed. We are at our core a humani- tions together in order to coordinate efforts? the past 10 years, MacSorley served as tarian organization and respond to the There is signifi cant coordination that does al- the Operations Director of Concern needs of people affected by natural di- ready occur, particularly in large-scale emergen- Worldwide U.S., its affi liate organiza- sasters, famines, and confl icts, but unlike cies where you have multiple players from the local tion based in New York City. A Belfast many other NGOs that specialize in either government, UN, and NGOs. More could be done, native, MacSorley joined Concern in emergency response or development, as these structures can be complex, for newcom- 1982, and over the past three decades we remain in communities long after the ers and local NGOs in particular. One important he has responded to some of the world’s crisis has subsided to break the cycle of initiative that we are working on is the ‘Building a most devastating humanitarian crises extreme poverty over the long-term. It Better Response’ project, which is developing an and worked in some of the toughest Dominic MacSorley is also important to note that while we e-learning tool for NGOs to better equip them to environments in the world, includ- were founded by two priests, we are a participate in coordination structures. It’s funded by ing Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, non-religious organization – our focus is always the U.S. government and we are working in part- Afghanistan, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of on serving the needs of the poorest. nership with International Medical Corps and the Congo, and Haiti. His outstanding leadership and How have you had such deep impact Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. contribution to humanitarian relief and develop- when you’re working in such difficult areas? But we also are working on improved coor- ment have been recognized by Queen Elizabeth II, By maintaining a very active and involved dination with the private sector. A great example of who invested him in the Order of the British Empire presence on the ground, we are able to understand that comes from our engagement as an active mem- (OBE) “for services to International Humanitarian the context within which we are working and can ber of the Clinton Global Initiative and the work that Aid” and the Northern Ireland All Party Group on directly engage local communities to ensure they are doing in Haiti. In the aftermath of the earth- International Development. MacSorley also repre- that they become the drivers for change. We have quake, the Haiti Action Network was set up by Bill sents Concern and Interaction, the representative found over 40 years of working in countries caught Clinton and Dennis O’Brien, CEO of Digicel. This body for U.S.-based, nongovernmental organiza- up in natural disasters or prolonged confl ict that network brings together representatives from the tions (NGOs), at the United Nations. having the right team on the ground matched by NGOs, the private sector, and the Haitian govern- strong systems and close monitoring is essential. ment to fi nd practical solutions such as creating jobs ORGANIZATION BRIEF Concern Worldwide Take Pakistan, for example, which is a par- and building factories, which bring about a sense of (concernusa.org) is an international, nongov- ticularly challenging country; through a rigorous renewal. It is a really strong example of coordina- ernmental humanitarian organization dedi- vetting process, we identifi ed local partner organi- tion, learning, and complementary efforts that hap- cated to reducing extreme poverty, with more zations that had a humanitarian commitment and pen on the ground level. I’d love to see more of it. than 3,200 personnel working in 25 of the mission, that had no political or terrorist affi liations, Where does the international community world’s poorest countries in Africa, Asia, and and that had the fi nancial systems and capability to stand today in terms of addressing poverty? the Caribbean. Concern Worldwide targets the deliver. We now have a network of 60 or so trained Much has been achieved, and global pov- root causes of extreme poverty through programs partner organizations that we can reliably plug into erty and the portion of people living on less in health, education, livelihoods and microfi - to mount fast and effective responses. than $1.25 per day is half what it was in the 1990s. nance, HIV and AIDS, and emergency response, The U.S. government became aware of our The progress is largely as a result of eco- directly reaching more than 8.5 million people. approach and they subsequently awarded Concern nomic developments in China and India, while a grant in excess of $20 million to respond to mul- sub-Saharan Africa is still home to deeply in- How has the mission and vision of Concern tiple crises, including the devastating fl oods in 2010 grained poverty. Confl ict, inequality, and natu- Worldwide evolved? that affected 20 million people ral disasters are all on the rise. In 1968, a famine in Biafra (Nigeria) was claim- How broad is your reach? The global statistics are brutal – 850 million ing the lives of an estimated 6,000 children every We work in 25 countries, reaching more than people will not fi nd enough to eat and will go to bed week. Images and reports of the crisis in Biafra 8.5 million of the poorest with a diverse range of hungry. Confl ict and disaster have forced 43 million were televised throughout the world and struck a programs. One of the reasons I’ve remained with to fl ee their homes, the highest number of displaced deep chord with the Irish public. Ireland had close Concern for so long is that we are effective in both in 30 years. Sixty-one million children, most them links with Nigeria – and Biafra – through the thou- emergency response and development, and we girls, never go to school and 9.7 million children will sands of Irish missionaries working there. Among don’t limit ourselves to a single blueprint approach. die this year from easily preventable diseases. This them were two young brothers, Father Aengus and We work on a whole range of sectors includ- is intolerable and unacceptable. Eliminating poverty Jack Finucane. They turned to Ireland for support, ing education, health, water, sanitation, income stands as the greatest challenge of our generation. launching an appeal to “Send One Ship” to sail from generation, disaster risk reduction, and emergency We know what the solutions are. We can Ireland to Biafra with relief. The public response response. There are many factors that drive pov- end global poverty. We have the knowledge was overwhelming and what started as one ship erty and, because of this, if you go into any of our and the technology. We simply need to mobi- turned into nightly deliveries of life-saving supplies. project areas, you will fi nd different combinations lize the resources.• VOLUME 36, NUMBER 2 DISTRIBUTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2013 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. LEADERS 59