FROM SIMPLICITY COMES TRUST

Karina is a Social and Wellbeing Worker in Huari, Peru. She ensures that frontline teams have what they need to do the best job possible – from a healthy diet, to up-to-date insurance for themselves and their families.

Having worked in health centres, hospitals and with the police, she excels in her ability to communicate with a wide variety of people.

Karina is responsible for everything to do with workers’ wellbeing, including their nutrition, recreation and medical facilities.

My first job in the mining sector was as part of a social impact study. I worked with a team of psychologists, teachers and social workers, to comprehensively evaluate an area before we worked there. We spent three or four months going from door to door. But it wasn’t just a visit. It was about interacting with families and getting to know them. Some people were initially opposed to mining, because they worked in agriculture. I couldn’t just lecture them about mining. They wouldn’t have listened.

Openness is about having empathy with others. You always have to consider things from multiple perspectives. Not everyone thinks and acts in the same way. I used real examples to communicate with them. I explained what they could gain from it, that it could even improve their agriculture and benefit cattle breeding.

The objective is quality. There are always going to be difficulties along the way. You need to consider the measures that must be taken to achieve your goal, and the challenges that must be overcome. The solution has to be something that is sustainable in the long-term, that won’t fall at the first hurdle, but will improve bit by bit.

Food really changes everyone’s mood. If they eat well, they’ll be happy and they’ll work well. Having had a career in social work it’s taught me not to overcomplicate things. The workers often come to the office to talk to me. Sometimes they’ll sit down for a while and tell me stories about their life. This closeness helps me communicate with them. I try to speak in a simple, practical way, so that they understand.

Simplicity is about doing things in a pragmatic way without compromising safety or quality. It’s not about getting rid of someone’s problems, it’s about making them simpler and more manageable, so they can move on and accomplish things.