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Heidi McCulloch raises COVID-19 awareness with Live & Learn

MoDDD graduate Heidi has been working with Live & Learn Environmental Education on its COVID-19 public awareness campaigns in the Asia Pacific region, providing information on good hygiene practices and social distancing. Adapted to local contexts, the materials are distributed via Live & Learn’s offices throughout the region. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Heidi was working in Tuvalu on Live & Learn’s Tuvalu Food Futures Project, looking into ways to increase food production. Back in Melbourne, Heidi has continued work on a case study, home gardening manual and Tuvaluan cookbook.

David Anderson appointed Shelter Lead for UNHCR Turkey/Syria border operations

David, a MoDDD graduate, has just been employed as Shelter Lead for UNCHR’s cross border operations in Turkey for the Syrian refugee crisis. David will ensure UNHCR’s Field Operations are supported in carrying out shelter and settlement needs assessments, provide guidance on standards and best practices, and organize and provide trainings in construction techniques and practices, with a focus on durable solutions and the use of local building practices and materials. David was previously deployed to lead a refugee camp planning team in Nepal.

Lauren Holmes works with SES during Black Summer 

During the ‘Black Summer’ of 2019-2020 many MoDDD students were involved in emergency response in a range of capacities, both paid and voluntary. In December 2019, Lauren Holmes was deployed to the Yanchep fires in NSW to work with the SES communications team.

Lauren and Rebecca head to Nepal with Aussie Action Abroad

For their Industry Engagement project, Lauren Holmes and Rebecca Kerr traveled to Nepal in late December with Aussie Action Abroad. They visited UNCHR’s Kathmandu office, the Beldanghi Refugee Camp and attended a camp planning workshop run by MoDDD graduate David Anderson. They then traveled to Bhubule to help rebuild a path to a kindergarten, where monsoonal rain had caused land slips and erosion. The group also joined a team of architects and locals completing a women’s centre in the village of Sera using locally sourced materials and building techniques. Read Lauren and Rebecca’s report here.

Heidi McCulloch joins Live & Learn for Angkor Wat resilient development project 

Upon graduating in 2019, Heidi took up a position as a Project Coordinator with Live & Learn. She will be responsible for the ‘Resilient Development in World Heritage Communities’ project and will focus on the Angkor Wat Archeological Park in Cambodia. The project will involve looking at agricultural systems, the effects of climate change and health and environmental protection. She will also travel to Live & Learn’s office in Tuvalu to write a report on food security and how climate change is affecting the nation.

Elmah Panisi Sese meets with Prince Charles in the Solomon Islands

In November 2019, Elmah had the opportunity to meet with Prince Charles in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara. Prince Charles is a strong advocate for forest conservation and climate action. Elmah (to the right of the prince) is Live & Learn’s Solomon Islands country manager and will work with the Nakau Programme on three new conservation projects next year.

David Pace undertakes inclusive DRR management assignment to the Philippines

In October 2019, David began a 12-month assignment through the Australian Volunteers Program as a Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer in Naga City, the Philippines. His work focuses on two main areas: Improving the capacity of two city government offices to deliver disability inclusive DRR and resilience training to at-risk communities and assisting the Public Safety Office to institutionalise disability inclusive resilience approaches in legislation and local partnerships.

Elmah Panisi Sese receives first Live & Learn scholarship

MoDDD is thrilled to welcome Elmah Panisi Sese, Live & Learn’s country director for the Solomon Islands, to the program as the first recipient of MoDDD’s scholarship program for Live & Learn staff. Live & Learn works with communities throughout Asia and the Pacific to encourage individual and community attitudes, values and actions that are ethical and sustainable. To find out more about Live & Learn’s work in the field of disaster, design and development visit livelearn.org.

Lewis McNeice travels to Indonesia, India with CERES

As part of his Industry Engagement project, Lewis interned Ceres Global from November 2018 to April 2019. Ceres Global focuses on the mutual exchange of knowledge and linking local communities and international movements for sustainability. During his internship, Lewis worked with the Sembalun Community Development Centre in Indonesia and the Sustainable and Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Festival in Goa, India. He gives a recap of his experience on our blog.

Sarah Schoffel builds anganwadi in India

MoDDD graduate Sarah has spent the last six months with The Anganwadi Project working hand in hand with the local community in Bondalawanda, India, to design and construct an anganwadi (preschool), which will be an inspiring place for children to learn and grow. The community named the anganwadi ‘Harivillu’, which means rainbow in Telegu. To see more photos visit our Instagram page and for more information about the project visit www.anganwadiproject.com/rdt-preschools.

MoDDD alums launch disaster management, response publication

The Design Between is a new collaborative publication initiated by MoDDD alums Alice Lake-Hammond and Robyn Mansfield focusing on the issues of disaster, design and development. It explores how design, and designers of all disciplines, are responding to complex global challenges, including poverty, natural disaster, civil conflict and climate change. The publication is open to submissions from researchers and practitioners working in the field.

Ikra Indra interns with UN-Habitat Laos

Ikra is currently completing an internship with UN-Habitat Laos. He has helped engage and give presentations to ministries and has witnessed a great positive push for a more collaborative and transparent approach to project implementation to avoid duplication and improve effectiveness. Ikra will soon travel to the central and southern regions of Laos to assess the implementation of an ongoing project.

Jaspreet Kaur interns with GAD Pod

Jaspreet has just completed an internship with the Gender and Disaster Pod (GAD Pod). The purpose of the organisation is to educate and raise awareness about the role gender plays in disaster response. Jaspreet has detailed what she learned during the internship on our blog. After her internship, Jaspreet accepted a research assistant position.

Understanding water security in the urbanizing Andes mountains

Current student Raphael Kilpatrick and graduate Robyn Mansfield recently participated in an international workshop on water security in the rapidly urbanizing Andes mountains. The workshop took place on site in the mountains of Peru.
To read Raph and Robyn’s short report on the aims and outcomes of the workshop visit our blog.

Alumni stories

Where are they now?

David AndersonDavid Anderson – UNHCR shelter lead

“MoDDD is a unique degree that gave me an opportunity to study how architects and design professionals can contribute to the humanitarian sector and work with communities in need. For those looking for a pathway into the humanitarian sector I highly recommend undertaking the MoDDD degree.”

David Anderson has been appointed as Shelter Lead for UNCHR’s cross border operations in Turkey for the Syrian refugee crisis. He has previously been deployed by RedR to work with UNHCR to lead a site planning and shelter team to replan and upgrade two large refugee camps for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal.

Sarah Schoffel Anganwadi ProjectSarah Schofell – Anganwadi Project coordinator

“As an architect, MoDDD has helped me to consolidate and align my built environment background with the goals and imperatives of the humanitarian sector.”

Sarah, a 2017 graduate, is currently in India working with the Anganwadi Project, a NGO that builds schools with disadvantaged communities in India. Her role is to help establish a partnership “on the ground” by designing and coordinating the construction of the first anganwadi school in rural Andhra Pradesh.

Alice Lake-Hammond – Project AF8 program coordinator

“I studied MoDDD to extend my skills toward the disaster and development sector so I could support impacted communities, be more useful where assistance is needed and be able to participate in the ongoing conversations on reconstruction, rebuilding, resilience and sustainable development.”

Since graduating, Alice has worked as the Project Leader of Alpine Fault magnitude 8 (AF8), a government funded initiative designed to build collective resilience in preparation for the next magnitude 8 or higher rupture of New Zealand’s Alpine Fault.

Andrew Hurley World BankAndrew Hurley – World Bank advisor

“I am passionate about effecting positive change and working with and learning from vulnerable communities. It’s been great to put into practice what I have learnt from MoDDD and this has reinforced just how relevant and essential the degree is.”

In his role with the World Bank, MoDDD graduate Andrew has worked in Myanmar, with the Yangon City Development Committee and the engineering department of the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Management Project. As Yangon is in a ‘moderately high’ seismic zone, one of the aims of the project is to improve the structural performance of public buildings during earthquakes.

Robyn MansfieldRobyn Mansfield – PhD student

“I saw MoDDD as an opportunity to connect my two fields of study to enact positive change in disaster-affected communities. The course content has ignited a desire to work in post-disaster reconstruction with an emphasis on community driven decision-making, specifically children’s roles.”

Robyn, a 2017 MODDD graduate, is completing her PhD in the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) program run by Monash University’s Sustainable Development Institute. The RISE program aims to improve human, environmental and ecological health in informal settlements in the developing world through a water sensitive cities approach in 24 settlements in Indonesia and Fiji.

Lisa Skillern – Heritage Foundation of Pakistan

“MoDDD embraces new initiatives through exchange and collaboration. With my background in fine arts and engineering, and having had a career where creative solutions are required to solve complex problems, MoDDD has consolidated so much for my trajectory going forward.”

Lisa has been working in ceramics conservation and education with renowned humanitarian architect Yasmeen Lari and the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan. The Heritage Foundation applies disaster risk reduction design principles to make shelters, toilets, hand pumps and chulah stoves and empowers women through education, allowing them to gain dignity and respect through achievement.

Zoe D'ArcyZoe D’Arcy – NSW SES research and policy officer

“I became interested in community response to bushfire after my own town was impacted by a bushfire in 2017. The MoDDD program showed me that there is still so much to learn in this space! I want to explore what a fire-adapted community might look like in Australia. Who would have to adapt, and how?”

Zoe has recently taken up a role as a research and policy officer with NSW SES’s newly formed Risk Reduction and Avoidance branch.