This year, Islamic Relief was recertified against the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) – a rigorous global standard for humanitarian work. As we celebrate this achievement, Islamic Relief Jordan’s Ahmad Alaghawani explains how the spirit of CHS helps to guide his work.
As a safeguarding officer my duties include establishing safeguarding systems to protect the people Islamic Relief supports in Jordan.
I’ve always loved humanitarian work and was inspired by Islamic Relief’s safeguarding policy, which lays out our organisation’s commitment to protecting everyone we come into contact with. It’s a clear commitment that empowers me in my role.
At an Islamic Relief summit on the topic, safeguarding was described as: ‘the responsibility that organisations have to make sure their staff, operations, and programmes do no harm to children, young people and people at risk, and that they do not expose them to the risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.’
I returned from the summit excited to apply what I’d learned to my day-to-day work in Jordan. My first step was to visit the people Islamic Relief supports see how they felt about our organisation. I asked how people felt about staff commitment and conduct, whether they believed they were treated with dignity and if they knew the different ways they could submit feedback and complaints.
During these conversations, we also discussed rights, making sure they were aware that aid is free and that they have a right to make complaints and can do so anonymously through a variety of different channels.
Preparing for the CHS audit
I must admit that I had never heard of the CHS before Islamic Relief Jordan was asked to participate in the audit for Islamic Relief Worldwide’s recertification, but I became involved because of my safeguarding role.
I know how hard our office works to serve Jordanians and Syrian refugees through projects focusing on health, education, food and shelter, and I promised myself that I would do my best to make sure we continue to offer the most suitable support to those who need us most.
For the audit, I was asked to demonstrate how we integrate safeguarding into all of our projects, and I was determined to work night and day to showcase our vital work. While preparing, I spoke to as many staff as possible, conducting reviews of the safeguarding system and making sure everyone knew how to report concerns.
When the time came for the audit interview, I was full of energy because I was confident that we were doing everything we could to support the people we help in the most appropriate way. After making my main points, I asked the auditors to give me 5 minutes to show them that what I was saying was true.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the interview was conducted virtually, so I carried my laptop through the floors of the office, showing the auditors our complaints boxes, posters describing the staff code of conduct, flyers with information about protection and inclusion, and a ramp to make the building more accessible for people with mobility issues.
Safeguarding and inclusion are not theoretical concerns, they should be incorporated into everything we do at Islamic Relief, and I wanted to show the auditors some of the ways we tried to do so.
Heartfelt thanks
At the end of the interview, I was told to ‘keep up the good work’ and left feeling that I’d done my best to show how Islamic Relief Jordan puts those we help at the centre of everything we do.
When management shared the results of the and told us we’d been recertified, I was overjoyed. An enormous amount of thought and care goes into planning projects and designing mechanisms with safeguarding in mind and having our work recognised made me very proud.
What made me even happier, though, was getting calls from some of the people we help to tell us that they had also been interviewed and had said nice things about Islamic Relief and how our work has had a positive impact on their lives.
They were as passionate as me when it came to telling the auditors about the good work that Islamic Relief does, and said they’d meant everything they’d said from the bottom of their hearts.
We always hope that the work we do will genuinely help to improve people’s lives, but having our methods certified against the CHS reaffirms that Islamic Relief does indeed strive to put those we help at the heart of everything we do.
The certification is something for all Islamic Relief staff to be proud of, and I hope it inspires us to continue to work hard to serve those in need.
