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Program Manager, Yemen
Umelto (Alto) Labetubun grew up in Indonesia. He began working for Mercy Corps in 2000, when he was in his final year at university. The province where he lived was rocked by sectarian conflict that killed thousands of people, and Alto was invited to contribute to a short-term needs assessment project with Mercy Corp’s Global Emergency Operations team. He was hired as a full time logistics and security officer at the end of that year.
Alto made good use of his first two years with Mercy Corps, taking on additional responsibility at every chance. He learned needs assessment, project development and SPHERE training. He left Mercy Corps for five years while he worked at USAID on the development of conflict prevention programs and earned a master’s degree in peace and conflict resolution.
With new skills and experience, he returned to Mercy Corps to became a peacebuilding advisor for a Mercy Corps civil society program in South Sudan. He then ran a Mercy Corps conflict management program in Iraq. Today Alto serves as Mercy Corps program manager in our newest country program: Yemen. He arrived in his new post just in time to experience the changes that are sweeping through the Middle East.
Alto reflects on his busy time with Mercy Corps. “I like the work because there’s a commitment to local knowledge, norms and values,” he said. “I have experienced no boundaries among staff, or between expat and national staff – and I have been on both sides of that. This creates a strong bond among all of us. And it carries over to the implementation of our programs. Even though Mercy Corps has years of experience in so many countries, they always put forth the local context – in the program design and implementation, and in the adjustment and adaptation of lessons learned. It’s grassroots work with the communities that need our help. And the advantage for a staff member like me is, you can see the impact of our work. You see the change in the attitude of local people, their hope – it’s something that can make you go home and say, ‘We did it!’”
Another thing Alto appreciates is the opportunity to keep learning. “Mercy Corps has such a commitment to the skills development of its staff,” he said. “And there are various ways to do this. You can get training in-country or abroad, and you can get the chance to prove yourself in new tasks and responsibilities. It’s learning-by-doing.”
For Alto, who has worked in challenging environments from Indonesia to Sudan to Yemen, as national staff and as an expat, the secret to success is staying flexible. “You’re always adjusting and adapting,” he said. “But you have so many opportunities to take on increased responsibility, to grow professionally and to be recognized through your contribution.”
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