June 20 is World Refugee Day.
A drawing by 15-year-old Batul in Za’atari Camp to mark World Refugee Day
The theme of World Refugee Day 2020 is “Every Action Counts,” an effort to highlight the incredible needs—and opportunities to help—the thousands of people forced to walk or run away from their homes every day to escape violence, natural disasters, instability, or conflict.
The UNHCR estimates that there are nearly 79 million refugees, internally displaced people, or asylum seekers worldwide. With a number so large, there is a risk that the world forgets that each of these 79 million people is a woman, man, or child who has left nearly everything behind—family, friends, businesses, educational opportunities, all of it—to find refuge somewhere.
Each of these people counts. They matter. They have hopes, dreams, and something to contribute.
That’s why Every Action Counts as we work to support, protect, and empower displaced people. And it is why we do what we do.
“Life with dignity is one of the basic goals of humanitarian organizations,” said Khayal, a Blumont team member in Iraq.
“Getting families to recognize their rights, have knowledge and access services is a great satisfaction,” said Amanda, a nurse on Blumont’s team in Colombia. “To see families adapt to new circumstances, it is an example of courage and strength.”
“Serving others makes us feel useful,” said Omamah, who works in camps in northeast Syria. “We have a role to play in improving the lives of others who were unlucky.”
Every day, Blumont’s teams are taking action:
- In Iraq and Syria, our teams are often the first to greet newly displaced people arriving at a camp. We help provide shelter, food, and care, and more importantly—a sense of safety for people to finally rest.
- In Colombia, teams connect newly displaced families to a network of vital services, including healthcare, schooling, and shelter, so they can start to see a path forward.
- In Syria and Colombia, we’re providing food to help nourish camps and communities.
- In Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, we ensure that the infrastructure and services are in place to support life at the camps.
- In Iraq, we are helping returning families rebuild their homes and in Syria, we’re helping restore electricity and water that enable people to rebuild.
Across our work, we tend not only to the physical needs, but also the loss and trauma that people suffer in displacement. Protection is a priority as we work to minimize risks and help people to cope. We also work with people to help rebuild a sense of connection—engaging people’s talents, skills, and interests to play an active role in shaping their community. And we are hopeful, as all humanitarian actors are, that political situations and conditions improve that will enable displaced people to return home—and when they do, we help to rebuild the essential services, the homes, and the skills to empower them in this journey.
We will mark World Refugee Day this year by sharing stories from our teams working with displaced communities and raising up the voices of some of the beneficiaries we work with across this journey. Because Every Action Counts, each day this week, we’ll highlight a different aspect of the work Blumont’s team is doing to help make a difference.
Teams work with displaced people in Colombia to connect them with services and provide psychosocial support.
Children make up a high percentage of displaced communities, so programs to help engage and care for them are critical.
Maintenance and service delivery supports everyone that lives and works in camps.
