The journey of a humanitarian worker with Hanadi Mehdi

Jun 26, 2019

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Growing up in a civil war is –unfortunately- no that uncommon for many of us. But raising someone to break the cycle of vengeance and hate in the midst of war is remarkable. This was the childhood of today’s guest. Born and raised in the midst of Beirut’s 15-year cruel civil war, Hanadi Mehdi, learned from her parents the value of education and on-the-ground peace and reconciliation. In Episode 8 of Season 4 hear about her experience in the Graduate Program at the Heller School for Social Policy & Management and what she is doing now to bring about positive social change through her work at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Episode 8 of Season 4 is brought to you by The Rotary Peace Fellowship and the Graduate Program in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence at the Heller School for Social Policy at Brandeis University.

In this episode we discuss:

War as “normalized” day-to-day practices for Hamadi as she grew up
Hamadi becomes a teacher and how she dealt with the problems of how to tell “the history of the war”
While Hamadi’s always wanted to be a humanitarian worker, she studied to have a degree in English Literature and became a teacher.
How volunteering became her entry point to doing humanitarian work
How a good mentor was the key for Hamadi’s finding her graduate program (Heller School for Social Policy)
Hamadi’s take on why to do a graduate degree
Hamadi’s first job after graduation in South Sudan with ICRC
Reasons why ICRC didn’t hire Hamadi when she first applied
From South Sudan, to Iran and back to Beirut with the ICRC
A day in the work of Hamadi (in Irak and Beirut)
Growing her family and returning to Beirut
Top three things to pursue a career in the humanitarian/social good space
How Hamadi copes with the stressful nature of her job

Links:

Heller School for Social Policy

International Committee for the Red Cross