Family members of field staff

As a family member, you naturally have many questions, which is quite normal.

Prior to a mission

Before it is time to part, you as a family member may wonder what your life will be like while your next-of-kin is on mission with the MSB. Take the time to talk things through with your next of kin before leaving, and agree on how you will communicate with each other. Discuss when it might be most convenient for both parties to talk on the telephone, and how often you will have the opportunity to do so. In most mission areas, it is usually possible to call, use Skype and to send e-mails. Think about what times would be suitable in view of possible time differences.

If you have any questions about the mission, please ask your next-of-kin to bring them to the pre-deployment briefing that is held before departure.

During a mission 

The contract of employment for the MSB field staff, states whether there will be opportunities to travel home when on leave during the mission. If this is the case, you as a family member will have something to look forward to and hopefully the mission will not seem too long.

If you have any questions in regards to the mission, please contact the HR Officer or Programme Officer at MSB. These contact details are given out to the field staff prior to departure. As a note, it is helpful to know that outside of regular office hours the MSB's Duty Officer answers all emergency calls from field staff and also monitors the security/safety situation in the countries where our staff is stationed.

After coming home

After your next of kin has returned from a mission, it could be very helpful and ease the transition if you are prepared. It is a fact that if you are partners, it may take some time to resume your relationship the way it used to be. It can be quite an adjustment to return home and adjust back into everyday routines.

During the first few days at home, be prepared to keep your expectations at a low level and to not to be disappointed if the transition isn’t instant. It may be important not to plan too much during this initial period and instead allow the person who has been on mission, time to re-adjust to daily life.

As a family member, or partner, it could be helpful if you take the time to listen to what happened during the mission, and it may be important for you to invite the family member, or partner, to talk about their experiences. For other people it might be completely different and they need to process their experiences themselves, before they can share them. If it is your partner who has returned home, it may be useful to know that it can take time to get back to a relaxed relationship.

You may need a little time to get to know one another again. If the person who was on mission has children, it may be worth bearing in mind that children (depending on their age) often experience the period, during which a parent was absent from their lives, as being extremely long.
They may cling to the person who remained at home more than usual as they may have felt a little abandoned. Again, it is important to give the situation time and let the child reassess your respective roles once more.

Try to answer all the questions that the child/children may bring up and allow room for questions. Avoid giving a too generic, or too detailed, account. Instead talk about the family members, or partners, time away on a level that is understandable for the child/children and be observant with respect to any questions that may come up. As a partner it is very helpful if you are supportive and try to ensure that the child/children and the parent, who has been absent, have some extra time together when it is suitable. In the beginning it might only be 10-15 minutes and the time can later increase as both the parent re-adjusts back into everyday life and the child/children adjusts to having the parent back.