Emergency water for a refugee camp: a volunteer's perspective

This paper is a personal account by a volunteer engineer supplied to Oxfam by RedR—Engineers for Disaster Relief, to provide emergency water supplies within a refugee camp in Macedonia. Originally planned for 5000 people, the camp grew to over 50 000 people within just a few weeks, requiring a rapid escalation in supply infrastructure despite limited availability of materials and expertise. In addition to being able to design a technically simple yet effective and flexible infrastructure system, the paper highlights the fundamental importance of interpersonal skills when working in crisis situations.