Allen Amanya
Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, Cox’s Bazaar, World Food Programme
How long have you been working in international development?
Over fifteen years. I started in December 2005, so it’s been quite a number of years.
You must have seen quite a lot of shifts and changes in that time.
Yes, very exciting changes - it’s a good industry to be in. I enjoy it. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Which countries have you worked in? Obviously at the moment you’re in Bangladesh.
Yes, Bangladesh most recently. I have also worked in Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia briefly. I spent a significant time of my career working in Uganda, as that is where I am from. I also worked in Rwanda - I’m partly from Rwanda so that was a good change.
How has it been working in Bangladesh? Are there many other Black colleagues there?
Yes, one thing I liked about the response in Bangladesh is the fact that there are a lot of Africans working in the humanitarian response. I think this is largely due to the African staff having a lot of humanitarian experience from situations back home. It may sound selfish but one of the things that made me happy here was seeing Africans in positions of leadership. Back on the continent, you aren’t used to being in that type of leadership position but coming here it’s a whole different dynamic. It’s a good change and built my confidence.
Bangladesh as a country is not very different from back home. You see the same challenges as you see back home, so it’s easy to adapt and provide solutions here. I couldn’t go home for a full year because of COVID, but by the time I did get home, I felt I was more Bangladeshi than Ugandan!
I arrived in October 2019, working with IRC and then I joined WFP. It was interesting to see the differences between working for an international organisation and the UN. Because of the sheer size of the humanitarian response here, this has meant a lot of exposure and sharing of experiences between the foreign humanitarian workers now here, and the Bangladeshis, allowing for us to adapt and contextualise our work here. You feel relevant here.
“It’s important when you can see yourself in positions of leadership”
That’s important - I like that point you made about feeling relevant. Also I don’t think it’s selfish what you said, as you said back home, you don’t see so many Africans in leadership positions. I think the Deputy Country Director of Operations in WFP Bangladesh is Alpha Bah, yes?
Yes - I actually met him for the first time this week.
It’s important when you can see yourself in positions of leadership. It’s different because you have been on the other side of the table - as you work and supervise people, you are very conscious about the power dynamics because you’ve experienced it back home. I think this is something to be constantly aware of as you work.
What has been your biggest personal challenge working in international development?
It’s a bit of a lonely road because you’re always moving and changing duty stations. It’s great because you meet new people, form new friendships and new alliances but you lose your relationships back home with family and friends. This can be challenging. You start to feel like you don’t have a place where you belong.
In the humanitarian sector, you don’t get to stay in one place for more than two years. You end up with a nomadic lifestyle - it’s exciting but sometimes you feel like you should have roots and settle down somewhere. But in the end, the good outweighs what you lose.
Why did you choose to specialise in monitoring and evaluation?
I like logic and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is about logic. It’s about finding reasons why things work. It’s a combination of research and project and program design.
The first time I heard about M&E was when I was doing my bachelor’s degree. We did a very small course unit on it and it sounded interesting, but I was interested in working in health research and policy for the Ugandan government. I had dreams of setting up a health insurance scheme which was cheap and affordable because I had seen how difficult it was for people to get health services in the villages. Research seemed like the pathway to entering the industry.
When I got my first job, I was doing a small project management role in Gulu, the northern part of Uganda. The LRA war had just ended and there was insecurity as funding suddenly stopped. Then my boss took a chance on me and he was like “I think you can do this, I think you can do M&E. It fit right in with research.”
I thought at the time M&E was more like operational research, using evidence to design new projects to change things. I didn’t like the usual approach people had in development, for example, if projects were focused on life skills for youth, everyone focused on tailoring as a solution. Why aren’t we focusing on ICT instead? Why aren’t we focusing on things that youth in the rest of the world are doing? I’ve always been positively competitive - I felt that Africa should be on the same level as elsewhere in the world.
I saw M&E not only as an opportunity to contribute to gathering evidence but also designing projects. That’s why I chose M&E and why I still work in it. When you’re in M&E, you’re always in the room because people need you - people need data and this is where you can influence decisions. Again, being sneaky and competitive.
“When you work in emergencies, there’s a lot of flexibility in what you can do.”
This brings me to my next question. When working in emergencies, what are the biggest challenges and/or opportunities associated with data collection and analysis?
I’ll start with the opportunities. When you work in emergencies, there’s a lot of flexibility in what you can do. You don’t have to go through as many loopholes and processes. When you come up with an idea, it’s fast and easy to implement it.
The previous organisation I worked with had a policy when an emergency occurs, you can go and conduct an assessment, and on the same day recommend either to disburse funds or not. I felt that was very revolutionary because the person who came up with the idea said, “Say you go to a village and someone has just survived a disaster, they’ve lost their home - why should we put the villagers through so many assessments?” Make the decision on the same day, using simple criteria and give them the money. This is an example of the opportunities that you have where you can test to see if something work because sometimes in development, you go round and round in circles.
However, the challenges are that sometimes you don’t have access to the plans where you need to collect data. For example, right now in Bangladesh, the government is moving people to an island called Bhasan Char. We will need to do assessments at some point, and we may not have access. Similar to when I previously worked in Sudan, where we worked in areas that were in active conflict.
You have to rely on others collecting data, but you cannot rely on data alone - you need to have context as that informs how you design your project. When you visit a place, it changes the way you think about the response - it’s very informative. So, sometimes not having access really affects the extent to which you can make relevant decisions.
Which has been the most challenging for example between Sudan and Bangladesh in terms of access?
Definitely Sudan. Sudan was in active conflict in the places where we worked, for example the Nuba mountains. We worked with local partners collecting data, but I personally could not travel there. You need a pass to travel from Khartoum which wasn’t possible or safe. Working in Somalia was hard as well. There were restrictions of course for women. I couldn’t leave the hotel and travel. I had to stay in the hotel and lead training sessions.
This was something I hadn’t thought of initially - that sometimes you will need to work in places which aren’t safe. You sometimes question why you came there or why you’re doing the work. Then again, while you are in a hotel bed, you are better off than the people who you have come to work for. That’s a reminder to be grateful.
Last year during COVID, I couldn’t go home for one full year so that was difficult. There was fear and hostility towards foreigners. People were trying to find reasons why COVID arrived. If you are a foreigner, sometimes you will be assigned blame. We couldn’t go out to buy groceries. The office was shut down for most of the year. We were working in our apartments, then converted into offices. It was a bit unsettling at first, but because we are a large community of expats, we got together and somehow got through it.
This hostility towards foreigners can be challenging on the professional side, as well. It’s not directed against you as an individual, but you must think about the space in which you work. It can be a conflict zone, so the reaction towards a foreigner will be from a place of stress. We experienced that last year with COVID. Additionally, there is the complication of job security and the uncertainty of continued donor funding.
It can be difficult making sure you feel safe especially when you don’t have family around as a support system. You do have a new family though - the people you’ve just met but it’s not the same.
“When you are working internationally as a humanitarian, you are already in a place of privilege”
It sounds like a tough balancing act.
It is! You need to have emotional strength to manage in this industry and appreciate all the opportunities you have been afforded. Most times, when you are working internationally as a humanitarian, you are already in a place of privilege in contrast to the people you have come to work for.
I wish more people in the sector came with the mentality of understanding that you are in a position of privilege, right?
Yes, you are in such a position of privilege. You have a lot of power. Even if you are living in a hut in a village, you will still be living in the best hut. You still have power - you must always remember that.
Given your impressive career trajectory now to the Head of M&E in Cox’s Bazar, what advice would you give to Black development professionals hoping to advance in their career?
Keep on keeping on! I’ll speak from my experience. It’s a combination of factors that led me to where I am now. One, be innovative. Don’t always go down the path that has been set out. Contrary to what people say, Africans are also creative. So, don’t be afraid to change things and speak up. Second, be diligent in your work. Be diligent even when you fail and feel you have not done the best you can do - pick yourself up. Have a positive attitude and aim for great things. If you can, as much as possible, travel so that you can see and experience different ideas.
Third, do your research. You don’t have to decide early on what part of the industry you would like to specialise in. But if you can, try and work towards a field that will make you relevant internationally. Lastly, network. This is something I’m growing in, but you need to network with different professionals. Listen to podcasts and join different professional groups. Most importantly, be your biggest cheerleader. Look in the mirror and say to yourself that you can do this. I believe when you hope for big things, they somehow always come to you.
It can be very intimidating for Black professionals, especially for those coming from the African continent. it has been drilled into our subconscious that we always tend to follow what people from other continents tell us. We shy away from leading and taking our place at the table. It’s not our fault, it’s just how we have been socialised, especially with the continent always being seen as a recipient of aid.
Having the confidence to speak up and know you have a right to be at that table. No one is doing you a favour. But sometimes we are afraid - I’ve worked in a national office, so I know that fear. Language is a big challenge as well. Most communication in this industry is in English. I have seen situations where there is someone with great ideas but because of language, they shy away from providing those ideas. We need to remember that English is not a measure of intelligence, but rather your ideas.So don’t be afraid to speak up with confidence or make mistakes - people see that confidence and respect it.
There’s a tendency for people who speak English well to be dismissive of ideas provided by people who are not native English speakers. You have a responsibility as a project leader to give everyone’s ideas equal opportunities to be heard and explained. Even if it means, spending an hour extra in a meeting to make sure you have understood the Arabic speakers who doesn’t speak English as well.
I do wish any young professional reading this all the best and I’m available to help anyone.