We need to talk about power.

In the doing good sector, the people who are in the positions of power are those who make decisions about money. Who gets it, how much, when, how and why. In many cases, these decision makers are not representative of the communities who are meant to benefit from these decisions. They don’t have lived experience, they don’t share cultural backgrounds, and their understanding of the issue itself is limited.

In a time when diversity and inclusion is high on the agenda for many organisations, there is a serious need to examine power structures and how they impact the allocation of resources. To unpack this further, I invited Weh Yeoh on to the podcast. Weh lived in Cambodia for 5 years, where he founded OIC Cambodia. Now back in Australia, he’s the co-founder of Umbo - an initiative to improve access to services for children in rural and remote communities.