Professor Peter Guthrie

Professor Peter Guthrie is an example of how an individual can successfully apply the skills of his trade for the good of others. 25 years ago Peter founded the charity RedR - Engineers for Disaster Relief - which responds to crisis situations, alleviating the suffering caused by disasters by selecting, training and providing competent and committed personnel to humanitarian programmes worldwide. The concept of RedR was Peter's own but, more than this, through his leadership he has guided a creative idea into an efficient and effective organisation.

In 1979 Peter, a civil engineer, was seconded by Oxfam to work with the Vietnamese 'boat people' arriving in Malaysia. During his three-month assignment as the only engineer in the camps, he designed and built shelter, drinking water supplies and sanitation systems for refugees who were in desperate need. On his return, he saw how difficult it was for relief agencies to recruit skilled workers. The experience inspired Peter to create RedR, with the help of his wife, Lorna (then a student nurse), receiving early support from Jim Howard, the then Technical Director at Oxfam.

The original concept was to provide a register of carefully selected engineers that could be called out at short notice to work with front-line relief agencies, such as Oxfam, Medecins sans Frontieres, Save the Children and others. It was designed to support and improve the effectiveness of these agencies. The general concept still continues but has been broadened by widening the skills base on the register (it now includes environmental health workers, water specialists, logisticians, project managers and accountants) and increasing the period of assignments.

Peter's endless commitment and enthusiasm as Chairman of the governing council and Board of Trustees have now resulted in RedR International, which has groups in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, India and Nairobi. As well as his hands-on role as chair, he has been mentor and advisor, interviewer and trainer. He is now Vice-President of RedR, whose President is HRH The Princess Royal. As a result of his vision of and dedication to RedR, large numbers of front line non-governmental organisations are able to obtain the qualified, trained and technically skilled people who are fundamental to the success of these disaster relief operations.

Peter has been the Royal Academy of Engineering/DEFRA/AEA Technology plc Professor of Engineering, for Sustainable Development, at Cambridge University since 2000. Prior to this he worked for 25 years in consulting engineering and has lived and worked in many countries including Nigeria, Lesotho, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Botswana and the Philippines.

"Peter's leadership, innovative advice and guidance were fundamental to setting up the enormously successful and highly respected charity that RedR now is."

Roderick Macdonald, Chair of RedR

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