How Save the Children’s Humanitarian Director Gets It Done

There was an outpouring of emotion in Save the Children’s Gaza office when it was recently announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a cease-fire plan . “It was a very special moment,” says Rachael Cummings, the aid group’s humanitarian director. “Big men were crying and hugging each other.” Cummings has been working in the territory for almost two years to get families the basic necessities they need to survive the war. The former nurse has spent most of her career working in crisis zones, like Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak or Bangladesh during the Rohingya refugee crisis. But the 52-year-old has navigated unique challenges during this conflict, including Israel’s blockade, which cut off supplies, and watching members of her own 241-person staff, most of whom live in Pa