Misfits, Mercenaries & Missionaries
by Peter Mclaren
Price: $9.99 USD. 180550 words.
Published on November 15, 2011. Nonfiction.
An unemployed ex special forces soldier applies for a job as a humanitarian aid worker in northern Iraq.
Despite the bombs bullets and bad intentions from agents within Saddam's Baath party, he finds the real enemy, are the other charities. Petty jealousies, big egos and some low intellects combine to make this mission the hardest he has ever encountered.
Location: Viet Nam
Member Since: July 19, 2011
Peter Mclaren
Biography
Peter has over 12 years of professional work experience in international emergency operations with NGO’s and UN agencies with a specific focus on project management and reporting. Prior to this Peter has served in the Australian army, attained a Finance and Accounting Degree and has worked for a publically listed bus manufacturing company.
His first aid work posting was to northern Iraq from 1992-1994. During this period he was placed in charge of procurement, storage and distribution of hundreds of millions of litres of petroleum products, he was also in charge of safety and security issues relating to all aspects of this program, and liaised with several government agencies and police force to ensure the security of his team and all their assets. Misfits Mercenaries’ & Misfits is a true story based on this initial mission.
During 2001 Peter worked for Feed The Children International, an NGO that was keen to recruit an experienced aid worker to run its operations in Moscow. This project involved buying Russian made pressure cookers for installation in hospitals and schools to improve nutrition to fight the rise of Tuberculosis. In additions to the cookers, FTC provided donated soybeans from the US Department of Agriculture and cookbooks and training in how to prepare delicious hearty meals for Russian persons.
After the Russian sojourn Peter was sent to Afghanistan where he submitted a proposal to WFP from FTC-UK, in conjunction with Islamic Relief, and the two charities where given an $900,000.00 cash grant to construct bakeries in Masluck refugee camp outside He-rat. At the time, WFP had never made such a large cash grant to any NGO. During this phase, Peter negotiated all contracts, hired all staff and set up reporting lines and financial controls in conjunction with his Afghan staff and small team of expatriate aid workers. Since then he has worked in northern Uganda, with victims of the Lords Resistance Army, and along the Thai Burma border supporting Burmese refugees and displaced people.
More recently, Peter took a break from the issues involved with emergency & disaster relief and runs the leading scuba dive shop in Nha Trang Vietnam along with several partners. This has allowed him to recharges his batteries, (aid work can be stressful) and he is currently contemplating life, the universe and everything, and also considering writing another book ☺
His first aid work posting was to northern Iraq from 1992-1994. During this period he was placed in charge of procurement, storage and distribution of hundreds of millions of litres of petroleum products, he was also in charge of safety and security issues relating to all aspects of this program, and liaised with several government agencies and police force to ensure the security of his team and all their assets. Misfits Mercenaries’ & Misfits is a true story based on this initial mission.
During 2001 Peter worked for Feed The Children International, an NGO that was keen to recruit an experienced aid worker to run its operations in Moscow. This project involved buying Russian made pressure cookers for installation in hospitals and schools to improve nutrition to fight the rise of Tuberculosis. In additions to the cookers, FTC provided donated soybeans from the US Department of Agriculture and cookbooks and training in how to prepare delicious hearty meals for Russian persons.
After the Russian sojourn Peter was sent to Afghanistan where he submitted a proposal to WFP from FTC-UK, in conjunction with Islamic Relief, and the two charities where given an $900,000.00 cash grant to construct bakeries in Masluck refugee camp outside He-rat. At the time, WFP had never made such a large cash grant to any NGO. During this phase, Peter negotiated all contracts, hired all staff and set up reporting lines and financial controls in conjunction with his Afghan staff and small team of expatriate aid workers. Since then he has worked in northern Uganda, with victims of the Lords Resistance Army, and along the Thai Burma border supporting Burmese refugees and displaced people.
More recently, Peter took a break from the issues involved with emergency & disaster relief and runs the leading scuba dive shop in Nha Trang Vietnam along with several partners. This has allowed him to recharges his batteries, (aid work can be stressful) and he is currently contemplating life, the universe and everything, and also considering writing another book ☺