Meet Real-life Heroes on World Humanitarian Day 2022

World Humanitarian Day is celebrated every year on 19th August to pay tribute to dedicated heroes and their hard work. 

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World Humanitarian Day honors the humanitarian aid workers who fulfilled their duty of providing life-saving assistance and protection to needy people regardless of the odds. The said day was officially declared World Humanitarian Day by the UN General Assembly in 2009. This day is commemorated every year in remembrance of the 2003 bomb attack in Canal Hotel, Baghdad, Iraq, where chief humanitarian Sergio Vieira de Mello was killed along with 21 other members serving their duty. 

Every year, World Humanitarian Day is celebrated with different themes. The main objective of the theme is to bring people together from around the world to raise awareness for the health and safety of the humanitarian worker. It also focuses on improving the well-being and dignity of people disturbed by the crisis. 

History Of World Humanitarian Day

As we know, it was founded by UN General Assembly in memory of Sergio Viera de Mello and 21 UN aid workers who died in a bomb blast at United Nations Baghdad headquarters in 2003. Sergio was born in Brazil and worked tirelessly to create awareness among the first world countries that everyday people struggle against the odds due to armed conflicts in their countries, which they didn’t desire to be part of. 

Let’s Look At The Timeline Of World Humanitarian Day:

1876 - First Global Relief Effort

The first global relief aid took place during the Northern Chinese Famine of 1876-1879, a famine that killed more than 10 million people.

1984 - Biblical Famine

BBC reporter Michael Buerk showed the images of the Ethiopian famine that terrified the world—also called Biblical famine.

2003 - United Nations Tragedy

Suicide bomber killing chief humanitarian Sergio Vieira de Mello with 21 other aid workers in UN Baghdad headquarter, Iraq. 

2009 - Resolution Passed For World Humanitarian Day

The United Nations General Assembly officially announced 19th August as World Humanitarian Day.

2010 - The First Theme

The first theme for World Humanitarian Day was declared as ‘We are Humanitarian Workers.’

2021 - The Human Race

Last year’s theme for World Humanitarian Day was ‘The Human Race’, which emphasized upon climate change as its primary issue.

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Let’s Try To Understand About Humanitarian In Brief

A humanitarian is a person who is connected or involved in enhancing people’s lives and reducing their suffering. A humanitarian worker works tirelessly to promote human welfare and social reforms worldwide as a philanthropist. Humanitarianism follows some principles to guide their work. Some of them are:

• Humanity- One basic principle is to address and reduce human suffering wherever it’s found. Humanitarian action aims to protect life, improve their well-being and ensure respect for them. 

• Neutrality- Humanitarian workers remain neutral, avoid taking a single stand in hostilities and focus instead on the overall humanitarian outcome. 

• Impartiality- Humanitarian workers avoid making a distinction among people based on nationality, race, gender, religious belief or class. 

• Operational Independence- Along similar lines as the point above, humanitarian workers must steer clear of political, economic, military or other objectives.

Read Also: 65,000 Healing Affirmations For Someone At Their Lowest

Examples Of Most Famous Humanitarians

• Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born in 1910 and gave 45 years in the service of others. Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic nun who read stories about missionaries in Bengal and decided to get involved in humanitarianism. She left her home when she was 18 to become a missionary in the Sisters of Loreto. 

Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India and worked extensively to improve the lives of people with it. Presently, the Missionaries of Charity extended their excellent work to over 133 countries providing care to refugees, orphaned children, older people, people living with AIDS and the mentally ill. 

• Mahatma Gandhi

We are familiar with Mahatma Gandhi, also called Father of the Nation. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader who inspired India’s Independence from British Rule. He advocated the principle of non-violence among people and showed everyone the way to peaceful demonstrations. His actions and philosophy inspired many movements like civil rights and freedom movements in different countries. 

• Martin Luther King

He was an African-American activist who led the Civil Rights Movement. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he followed the non-violence method to promote Civil Rights worldwide. He constantly strived to abolish racial segregation in America, leading Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. However, he was assassinated in 1968, and his legacy of working continuously for human rights lives on, along with his famous “I Have A Dream speech” in 1963. Therefore, making him one of the greatest humanitarians in history.

Theme For World Humanitarian Day 2022?

The theme for World Humanitarian Day 2022 is “It Takes A Village”. 

Yearly themes

2021- The Human Race

2020- Real Life Heroes

2019- Women Humanitarians

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How To Observe World Humanitarian Day 2022?

• Learn about the life and history of famous humanitarians around the world.

• Share and promote this day’s importance on different social media platforms.

• Read some of the inspirational quotes from famous humanitarians worldwide.

• Write and publish blogs to encourage others to get involved in humanitarian acts.

• Organize a small event to promote its importance by giving a small speech about ways to get engaged in humanitarian activities.

• Raise funds for someone requiring emergency financial assistance for medical or personal reasons on a crowdfunding platform

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