WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY “THE WORLD NEEDS MORE” DATE: 19TH AUGUST 2013 “A person who has sympathy for mankind in the lump, faith in its future progress, and desire to serve the great cause of this progress, should be called not a humanist, but a humanitarian, and his creed may be designated as humanitarianism.” Irvina Babbitt Year after year, we see doctors, nurses, psychologists, engineers, logisticians, programme officers, information managers, security advisors and the rest of the humanitarian community worldwide give up the comfort of their homes while they go out into difficult territories and put their lives on the line to help those in need. They embark on dangerous missions to countries and parts of the world characterized by catastrophic conditions such as natural disast ers, war and conflicts, droughts and poverty. They endure bad conditions with lack of good health facilities and close to none basic needs and yet they still continue to persevere in their missions. The theme for this year World Humanitarian Day “The World Needs More” draws the world into coming up with solutions to what the world needs more. It is a campaign of words in support of those who are victims of the humanitarian crisis. In the past and in most recent times, a lot of humanitarians have lost their lives and have been victims of rape, torture, kidnapping, while they were working on missions in various parts of the world. The numbers keep escalading and this is a cause for concern, hence most missions have been pulling out of high risk areas in order to protect humanitarians. At World Assembly of Youth (WAY) we recognize and acknowledge the struggles and achievements of all the humanitarians. Their great effort to bring aid is well appreciated. WAY is also playing its role by raising awareness on issues such as eradicating hunger and poverty, gender equality, environmental sustainability and many more. We also encourage volunteer programs that are involved in counteracting these issues. The World Needs more people of Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela caliber, people who cherish peace, are selfless, humble and brave. Only then can there be peace, and can the efforts of our humanitarians be highly appreciated and their safety be intact. Youth around the world should look up to such figures and work on making the world a better place by taking part in humanitarian activities.The World Needs LOVE. Chinedu Felix Opara Follow @Nedumblaze