In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the island nation of Haiti a few years ago, Oregon-based Mercy Corps arrived with a team of emergency-response experts from around the world. Focusing on immediate humanitarian needs, the team deliv- ered food to overwhelmed hospitals and set up services to provide clean water. Mercy Corps also initiated a work-for-cash pro- gram that paid survivors to aid in clearing debris and restoring buildings, thus providing them with a little dignity along with the means to purchase supplies for their families and jumpstart the local economy. In addi- tion, the organization set up trauma centers for children, using counseling methods that it had helped to develop in the wake of the 9/11 terror- ist attacks in New York City 8 years earlier. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, Mercy Corps delivered emergency supplies and set up such programs as Comfort for Kids to help children deal with the emotional effects of a large-scale disaster. Obviously, Mercy Corps isn’t a newcomer to the enterprise of providing humanitarian aid. Founded in 1979 as the Save the Refugees Fund, a task force to help victims of famine and geno- cide in Cambodia, it expanded in 1982, becoming Mercy Corps International to reflect its broader mission. Since its founding, the nonprofit organization has provided $2.2 billion in humanitarian aid and development assistance to people in 114 countries and annu- ally reaches over 19 million people in 39 nations. Mercy Corps’s approach to on-the-ground assistance also involves more than immediate-response and emergency-relief ser- vices. According to its mission statement, Mercy Corps has learned that communities recov- ering from war or social upheaval must be the agents of their own trans- formation for change to endure. It’s only when communities set their own agendas, raise their own resources, and implement programs themselves that the first successes result in the renewed hope, confi- dence, and skills to con- tinue their development independently. Mercy Corps thus works to foster “sustainable community development that integrates agriculture, health, housing and infrastructure, economic devel- opment, education, and environment and local management,” as well as launching “initiatives that promote citizen participation, accountability, conflict management, and the rule of law.” In India, for example, Mercy Corps has taught small-scale tea farmers sus- tainable ways to grow organic teas and get fair prices for them. On plantations owned by big tea companies, it’s helped not only to improve living and economic conditions in worker villages but to form self-governing Community Initiative Groups to manage ongo- ing community needs in education, infrastructure, and employment. In southern Sudan, which has been torn by Africa’s longest civil war, Mercy Corps has built networks of local organizations to provide such essential services as adult literacy, orphan care, and HIV/AIDS coun- seling; other programs have helped to build roads and community centers and to electrify villages. In Indonesia, where sanitation is a major area of concern, Mercy Corps has launched a long-term Hygiene Promotion Program. On Hand Washing Day, for instance, community representatives take to the streets with colorful buckets and teach children how to wash their hands with soap and water; similarly equipped hand-washing stations have been set up in neighborhoods throughout the capital of Djakarta. (Dirty hands can cause diarrhea, which kills 2 million children under the age of 5 every year.) Other programs focus on education and equipment for harvesting rainwater and removing solid waste from residential neighborhoods. In addition to the devastating effects of war, social upheaval, and natural disaster, Mercy Corps is also concerned with the effects of climate change on developing communities. It therefore works to provide “viable economic options as communities adapt to new environmental realities,” especially in helping poor communities to cope with “the rising incidence of climate-related disasters such as flooding and drought.” According to Mercy Corps, its climate- related programs fall into three main areas: ? Alternative energy: promoting energy sources that support sus- tainable economic activities Sustainable resource management: supporting a community’s ability to provide its own environmental and ecological services Advocacy, outreach, and models that work: inspiring govern- ments and communities to rely on proven environment- and climate-friendly programs When drought in the African nation of Niger threatened nearly 8 million people with malnutrition and starvation, Mercy Corps not only mobilized efforts to provide food commodities but also helped local farmers deal with chronic debt arising from inefficient methods and prior crop failures. A year later, Mercy Corps responded when Timor-Leste, an island nation northwest of Australia, faced just the opposite in climate-related crises: Because seasonal rains continued throughout the dry season, when farm- ers plant and harvest the country’s food supply, drainage systems failed and crops could not be delivered over impassable roads. In addition to providing immediate relief, Mercy Corps trained local blacksmiths to make portable silos for storing rice and corn, the country’s main staples.
1. In what ways is HR for Mercy Corps to be similar to HR at a global business like Starbucks or Dell? In what ways is it different?
2. In general, why do people choose to work for a not-for-profit organization? What unique advantages and disadvantages does this pose to managers?
3. Are there special issues of diversity that may be highly relevant to organizations like Mercy Corps? If so, what are they?