World Humanitarian Day: 17 million volunteers. Half a million aid workers. 190 countries. 1 day.
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5:00 am, Pakistan: Rise and shine
A staff member of the Pakistan Red Crescent gets up and going after spending the night at a local school. He’s on his way to a relief camp set up for evacuees after flooding in Gilgit-Baltistan.
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6:00 am, Iraq: Time to hit the road
Ahmed Awadalla, an ICRC employee in Baghdad, and Paolo Pellegrin, a photographer for The New York Times, head out for displaced people’s camps in al-Khalidiya, Iraq. The ICRC has been working in the camps since 2014. Since June 2016, more than 15,600 people have abandoned their homes to live there because of the fighting.
Everlyn S. Morris volunteers at the Liberian Red Cross branch in Montserrado, where she educates people about good hygiene. She has been volunteering with the Red Cross for the past three years. “I feel happy that I can meet my own people and teach them about what is good,” she says with a smile.
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8:00 am, Somalia: Have wheels, will travel
Hajir makes his morning commute by bike. He's headed to the ICRC office in Baidoa, Somalia, where he supervises a nutrition centre for malnourished children. One of two such centres supported by the ICRC, the Baidoa one is vital to cutting the high rates of malnutrition among children in Somalia.
Philippine Red Cross volunteer Helbert leads a warmup before the Zumba class held by the Red Cross health team in Cebu. Aside from creating a fun and encouraging atmosphere to get healthy, the community health volunteers track individual progress by measuring class-goers’ blood pressure every three months.
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10:00 am, South Sudan: Low battery anxiety?
In South Sudan, running out of battery can mean losing touch with your loved ones. The ICRC and the South Sudan Red Cross have set up temporary phone-charging stations so that displaced people can get news to their families.
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11:00 am, Russia: Ladies who lunch!
A mother and daughter laugh together after picking up their food parcel. The ICRC and the Russian Red Cross provide food and hygiene products to about 9,000 displaced people in the south of Russia.
Two Myanmar Red Cross volunteers hang out after giving a health education class in their village. Their work is part of a programme aiming to improve access to health care for mothers and children in this remote village in Chin state.
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1:00 pm, Syria: A shoulder to lean on
After arriving early at the shelter for displaced people in Yalda, Syria, these ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent workers take time out to play with the children. One says, “Seeing those children reminds me of my childhood memories, the ones they probably don’t get to enjoy. So we play and laugh with them.”
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2:00 pm, Nigeria: Naptime, anyone?
Every day across the world, children show that they can sleep anywhere. Here, at a health centre in the Nigerian town of Damboa, a baby gets some shut-eye.
Thousands of people have fled to Damboa after violent clashes. The ICRC and the Nigerian Red Cross help those living in Damboa and other areas largely cut off from humanitarian aid.
3:00 pm, Italy: The most important job in the world
Italian Red Cross nurse Daniela and her team rescue a group of people stranded in a sinking boat in the Mediterranean. The work on board the rescue boat is relentless, with hundreds of people rescued from the water every day. One of the medics’ most important jobs is to ensure people feel safe and protected.
Georgia Nikolaou and Efryhia Staramopoulou joined the Hellenic Red Cross in 2004 and 1997. Since February, both have been delivering first aid at the port of Piraeus, where earlier this year a makeshift camp accommodated the thousands of migrants who arrived from the islands. "At the beginning of the year, we were sometimes treating up to a 100 people a day," says Efryhia. "The situation has changed so much. But we'll be with migrants as long as they need us," adds Georgia.
In these times of unprecedented need, working together is more important than ever. Both the IFRC and the ICRC have placed significant emphasis on strengthening Movement cooperation and coordination. Here, IFRC Secretary-General Elhadj As Sy and ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord share a lighter moment after a meeting at the IFRC’s headquarters in Geneva.
Therapy dog Twm and his owner, Sarah Disney, head to their home in Carmarthenshire, Wales, after visiting people as part of a British Red Cross independent living project. The Camau Cadarn (Welsh for “Positive Steps”) project supports people who may feel isolated due to bereavement, illness or a stay in hospital. Twm visits care home residents and brings comfort to people living at home who may feel alone.
Student volunteers from Takaoka Junior High School, Japan, enjoy a bit of fun after spending the day learning about becoming nurses in the Japanese Red Cross’s Himeji Hospital.
Dr Dewindra Widiamurti works as a clinical health coordinator as part of the IFRC’s Population Movement Programme in Tanzania. Today, Dewindra cooked Ayam Bumbu Rujak (chicken with mixed spices), a spicy Indonesian dish. “Cooking is one way of releasing stress and having a normal life while doing this kind of work,” says Dewindra. “We are far from our home yet still surrounded by family. This is our comfort zone, which we need to be able to do our work effectively.”
9:00 pm, Canada: A friendly face in time of crisis
A Canadian Red Cross volunteer in Calgary provides emergency financial assistance to an evacuee following the wildfires in Alberta. Red Cross volunteers provided this form of assistance in shelters and reception centres across Alberta while individuals and families were unable to return home.
Here, ICRC staff members Abraham, Hector and Olferin burn the midnight oil in their “office” in Noanamá, Chocó, an area in the west of Colombia that is hours away from the nearest town and only accessible by boat. Over 50 years of armed conflict in Colombia has left eight million people in need of help in places like Noanamá, where very few humanitarian organizations can go.
It’s been a long day in the field for IFRC delegate Isara Iose, who’s responsible for water, sanitation and hygiene promotion in Fiji. He’s been working in Fijian villages ravaged by Tropical Cyclone Winston, supervising the building of communal and household toilets. In some villages, only a few houses were left standing and local infrastructure was badly damaged. Isara’s wife Mau and two-year-old son Tau are back in Samoa and he hopes they can join him soon. But until then they make do with late-night Skype calls, for which Mau and Tau have to catch a bus to town so they can get Wi-Fi.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement supports millions of people around the world – in times of conflict, natural disaster, and crisis. Drawing on over 150 years of experience, we are committed to providing essential humanitarian service to vulnerable communities worldwide. This World Humanitarian Day, we follow a day in the life of our volunteers and staff on the ground from dawn to dusk. Join us.
