Huda: Transforming Humanitarian Training for Crisis-Affected Communities

Huda’s experience with the Training of Trainers (ToT) in Humanitarian Emergencies course has been a “real turning point” for her work to ensure people most affected by conflict in Sudan have agency over their livelihoods.

Huda Mohammad Al-Khair Al Tayeb has extensive hands-on experience working in areas affected by conflict and actively engaging with local communities. She works as the General Manager of
Al-Salam Organisation for Care and Development, a humanitarian organisation that provides livelihood training to people who have been made vulnerable, focusing on women and children
and working with them to improve self-sufficiency. Al-Salam collaborates with qualified and experienced trainers to deliver various capacity-strengthening programmes in multiple states.

The war in Sudan has significantly hindered Al-Salam’s work, displacing many of its trainers and volunteers. Some are among the 11 million internally displaced people; others have been
scattered across different locations and time zones as part of the 3 million who fled as refugees. This displacement, along with travel restrictions, safety concerns, and logistical
barriers, made it difficult to coordinate meetings and deliver training in-person as they had before.

Previously, their in-person training required them to rent venues, organise transportation and accommodation for trainees from remote areas and refugee camps, and cover meals and travel
expenses – challenges that had become increasingly unsustainable due to the conflict. Recognising the need to adapt their approach, Huda and her team made the strategic decision
to transition to online training.

At an individual level, Huda’s role was also transitioning from a purely supervisory position to direct involvement in training. She wanted to develop her training skills because she wanted to
share the insights that she had gained from her hands-on experience working in conflict-affected areas, and be able to train others more effectively within the organisation, reducing their reliance
on external trainers and strengthening internal capacity.

Huda chose to enrol in RedR’s ToT in Humanitarian Emergencies course to refresh and expand her knowledge and skills and support her organisation’s transition to online training.

How the training has impacted Huda’s work:

Unlike previous trainings Huda completed, which were largely theoretical, this course emphasised practical, hands-on learning. Huda and her organisation have gained real-world skills
that they can apply to address critical gaps in its work and refine their approach in light of the challenges they face.

For instance, Al-Salam has shifted from a traditional approach to conducting needs assessments to a more systematic approach. This is especially valuable, as Al-Salam uses the insights from
these assessments to guide their work and meet the needs of the most affected groups. Another example is how the organisation has strengthened its strategies around community engagement
and communication.

According to Huda, the training provided has “helped boost our confidence and improved our ability to interact with the communities we serve.”

The training also presented a tool to support Huda and Al-Salam’s adoption of online training, including how to use Zoom to evolve their approach to meetings, programmes and training
sessions. This has now made real-time sharing of information and updates possible within Al-Salam, including from those working inside conflict zones, meaning the team is better equipped
to identify and respond quickly to people’s changing needs.

Huda also appreciated the comprehensive training materials that RedR provided before, during, and after the training sessions, describing them as “extremely valuable” and allowing for “deeper
engagement and continued learning”. Training materials from the course were shared with Al-Salam’s volunteers to support their work. In turn, many of these volunteers have become trainers
themselves, leading large training sessions in high-risk areas and further spreading the knowledge within their communities.

Another key aspect of the training was how it fostered peer-to-peer learning and knowledge-sharing. Huda had the opportunity to learn from the other participants, exchanging insights
beyond the structured training sessions about their real-world experiences in different humanitarian contexts.

Next steps for Huda & Al-Salam:

Even after the training, Huda has remained connected with other participants through a Community of Practice (CoP) knowledge hub, initially set up by RedR via WhatsApp. The CoP has
since moved to being fully managed by the training participants with the ability to invite new members. In the long term, this means Huda and her colleagues can continue to share
experiences and learn from each other more effectively, fostering stronger professional relationships.

For Huda, the training was “a turning point” for her on her path to becoming a qualified trainer. Going forward, it has inspired her to further develop her skills to better serve local communities.

Training of Trainers in Humanitarian Emergencies course is part of our Transforming Aid: Training for Humanitarian Impact and Response (TATHIR) project in Sudan. This project is generously funded
by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office via the H2H Network, and delivered in partnership with Humanitarian Academy for Development.

If you’d like to give financially to support this and similar projects for disaster-affected communities all over the world, you can do so here.