Help That Really Helps” — Rethinking Humanitarian Aid with Marina Kobzeva

In this episode, Tom Colley speaks with Marina Kobzeva, Director for Impact and Locally Led Practice at MapAction, about the future of humanitarian aid and the growing push for locally led response. Drawing on nearly two decades in the sector, Marina reflects on her experiences with the Red Cross movement, the UN, and international NGOs, while challenging many of the assumptions that shape modern humanitarian work.The conversation explores the forgotten local roots of humanitarianism, the gap between localisation rhetoric and reality, and why communities often know best what support they actually need. Marina shares insights from her “Already There” research project, which asks communities a simple but powerful question: “What does help that really helps look like?”Together, Tom and Marina discuss power, mutual aid, dignity, funding inequalities, and why genuine humanitarian reform requires shifting trust and decision-making closer to communities themselves.Check out MapAction's work here, they're really great! https://mapaction.org/ Aiding & Abetting is a podcast about the politics, power, and contradictions of humanitarian aid.Hosted by humanitarian worker and researcher Tom Colley, the series explores how aid really works, who benefits from it, and why efforts to help can sometimes reinforce the inequalities they seek to address.Through conversations with aid workers, activists, researchers, and community leaders, the podcast examines the colonial legacies, political interests, and institutional incentives that shape humanitarian response today.Produced by Karama, a network supporting locally led mutual aid initiatives across conflict-affected regions, Aiding & Abetting offers an honest, critical look at humanitarianism and explores what a more accountable, community-led future could look like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.