Barbara Frost
February 2009
Barbara Frost talks about water, toilets and a successful corporate partnership
How did you move into INGO work?
Having done the old hippy overland thing across Asia, I ended up in Australia, planning to return to the UK via Latin America. But I fell in love with the place and stayed 20 years. I started in government and then lived on a community on the North Coast of New South Wales. It was there that I first came into contact with the ethos of self sufficiency, not to mention the importance of water and sanitation – we dug our own latrine pits and collected water from the roof. After that I joined the management team of the Home Care Service of NSW that helped older and disabled people to live independently at home. A series of coincidences then lead me to a job heading up Australia’s Oxfam – Community Aid Abroad – in Mozambique during the war years.
So how did this develop?
After appointing a successor, I took a series of roles in other development organisations based in Maputo before returning to the UK to head up Action on Disability and Development. When the WaterAid role was advertised I assumed that they would favour a male engineer. But when I looked at the ad again, I was inspired and despite having malaria at the time, sent in an application.
What do you enjoy about your role?
The basic necessity of safe water is so compelling and critical if people are going to get out of poverty. Meeting people in the countries where we work continually inspires me -as do the people that support us and work for us, paid and unpaid. What I didn’t know until I got here was how committed the water industry still is to our work. They created WaterAid back in the 1980s after going to the first United Nations Decade on Water; the lack of facilities in the developing world made them want to do something.
Tell us more about this corporate partnership
To this day the water companies are huge supporters of our work, and the brochure in everyone’s water bill each year is a real win-win for both corporate and charity. Our job is to work with anyone who can reliably deliver affordable water to poor people near their home and make it sustainable, ethical and appropriate.
What positive changes have occurred during your tenure?
Although WaterAid can never deliver to the billions without running water and sanitation, we have delivered through our partners some really fabulous work that demonstrates what can be done and we use this to influence others. WaterAid Australia and America are now up and running and WaterAid Sweden is about to be launched. The G8 Summit talked about sanitation for the first time ever – we’ve got toilets onto the agenda at last. And it was great that WaterAid was selected as the seasonal appeal for the Financial Times.
What do you think are the major issues facing INGOs today?
Now more than ever, because of our global reach, we have got to have standards in place to ensure we are accountable, not just to our donors but also to the people we serve. Demonstrating the impact of our influencing work with the right milestones and realistic timescales is also really important. The other challenge to all INGOs is the whole issue of legitimacy to make sure our role and that of southern civil society is clear. We should be an enabler of others as well a leader in the water and sanitation sector.
How do you relax?
I live in Somerset at weekends and spend as much time there as I can. Long walks with my partner, my big garden, warm fires, a good book and warm holidays are all favourites.
What was the last book you really enjoyed?
Two very different ones. White Tiger, which won the Booker Prize, by Aravind Adiga takes a critical view of the colliding worlds between abject poverty and the rich world in India. The other was Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, which was made into a film. It is completely lighthearted, written by Winifred Watson in the late 1930s and must have been quite risqué at the time.
Music and radio?
I always have the radio on at home and listen mainly to Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. Music tastes range from classical to West African music – I’m a fan of Femi Kuti and went to one of his concerts recently.
Best of times?
Meeting the people who have been able to transform their lives and step out of poverty in Africa and Asia have been real highs.
Worst of times?
Hearing of the untimely deaths of colleagues, family and friends.
Author: Barbara Frost
Barbara Frost joined WaterAid in September 2005 after stepping down as Chief Executive at Action on Disability and Development (ADD) where she had been working in this capacity for nine years. Barbara stepped down as Vice Chair of ACEVO last year after six years on the board. She has previously worked in Africa, for over seven years, with ActionAid, Save the Children, and Community Aid Abroad managing programmes in Mozambique and Malawi.
Photo of Barbara Frost © David Axelbank
There are no comments on this article. Be the first to comment.