This week we say goodbye to David Steele. Dave began his humanitarian work in 1989 as a pilot, flying food and supplies into war-torn South Sudan. Over the next 12 years, he worked for the UN World Food Programme as an Emergency Field Officer in Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and parts of SE Asia. The last two years have been spent with the UN as Security and Safety Officer and trainer of trainers based based at WFP HQ in Rome, Italy. Dave joined USAID/OFDA as a member of the Support Response Group (SRG) working on a contract basis to assist with quick onset disasters when Disaster Assistance Response Groups (DART) were deployed to meet urgent humanitarian needs; again in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Darfur Sudan, Burundi, but also in Afghanistan, Yemen, and other countries/areas needing immediate assistance. He Ccame to Majuro, RMI in June, 2014 to serve as the Regional Advisor for the mid-Pacific Region (Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau). During this stay, he assisted with review and amending the Operational Blue Print, under which USAID/OFDA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinate responses to both slow onset disasters (droughts) as well as quick onset disasters (Typhoons, tsunami’s and other inundation/storm events.) In the 6 months Mr. Steele served as Regional advisor, 4 ‘super typhoons’ swept through the north and mid-Pacific region. Though none of the typhoons caused major damage, Mr. Steele was responsible for disseminating tracking information, forecasts, and present conditions to multi-agencies, including USAID/OFDA Bangkok and Wash. DC, FEMA, and USG Embassy personnel. The latest typhoon, ‘Hagiput’ crossed directly over the Federated States of Micronesia, hitting the islands of Yap, Pohmpei, and many remote islands and atolls. After the typhoons passage, Mr. Steele traveled to the most affected areas to assess damage and assist in the coordination of humanitarian relief operations. Mr. Steele will return to his home in Oregon for a month after which he will be serving in Sierra Leone to act as Security Officer in the current Ebola outbreak.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 21:15:56 +0000
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