ABSTRACT
Humanitarian action is a global phenomenon – humanitarian workers hail from all countries and carry out their work all over the globe. Humanitarian workers are aware that giving aid is not straightforward. Humanitarian workers get energy from a belief that the world can be made a better place, even though, to do so, they must have their feet in a messy reality. Humanitarian workers very often make fun of the stereotypical worker depicted in movies as a lonely cowboy, surrounded by an aura of heroism, who travels the world to save communities all on his or her own. Living and working in gaps means humanitarian workers are often at that spot. Organizations pay attention to, and respond to, different conditions than do individuals. Organizations make decisions at a different level than individuals, tending to look at the bigger picture when they decide where to put funding and energy.
