WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY 2022
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Fred Rogers
“There is a saying that goes: It takes a village to raise a child. Similarly, it takes a village to support a person in a humanitarian crisis. With record-high humanitarian needs around the world, this year’s World Humanitarian Day (WHD) builds on this metaphor of collective endeavour to grow global appreciation of humanitarian work
Whenever and wherever people are in need, there are others who help them. They are the affected people themselves – always first to respond when disaster strikes – and a global community that supports them as they recover. Far from the spotlight and out of the headlines, they come together to ease suffering and bring hope.
The 2022 WHD campaign shines a light on the thousands of volunteers, professionals and crisis-affected people who deliver urgent health care, shelter, food, protection, water and much more.”
https://www.un.org/en/observances/humanitarian-day
“The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” originates from an African proverb and conveys the message that it takes many people (“the village”) to provide a safe, healthy environment for children, where children are given the security they need to develop and flourish, and to be able to realise their hopes and dreams.”
https://www.frontiersin.org/
In honour of helpers the world over, past and present, we are sharing the stories of some of the people who have given their lives to save and serve others.
Doctors and nurses, dancers and musicians, sports stars who take on governments to fight for the rights of children and communities, people who have paved the way for others to have if not equal rights then fairer treatment. There are so many people, all remarkable in their own special way, who give of themselves to help others and to fight for what they know is right.
They are all heroes and their stories deserve to be heard, their actions recognised and remembered. These are stories that matter, books that matter and that we should be sharing without children to show them that there are people in this world who are doing good, who believe in them and that they too can use their voice, stand up and take action and be part of the village that together can make a difference.
Together we stand to make change
Because it does, as it always has, take a village.