How does GOAL find working with the Ethiopian government on food distribution?
RJ: An awful lot of this work is based on relationships, both at a governmental level, which is in the capitals and the cities, and at donor level — what the donors actually require in terms of implementing programmes. But more specifically at an operational level, at the grassroots, where you’re actually doing the work on the ground. That is the key operational attitude — it has to be. It’s all about working within teams. It’s not a ‘them and us’ situation. You’re working in cooperation with the relevant authorities, whether it’s in Ethiopia, whether it’s in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), whether it’s in Zimbabwe, Afghanistan. We work in very difficult situations, but that’s our job. Our job is to overcome those difficulties and be the front-line operators. So there’s nothing at the moment that hinders us in doing our work, as of today. Having our national staff with a keen understanding of Ethiopia, and having learnt from base and relationships there, stands us in good ste
