We can all make a difference on World Humanitarian Day and beyond

One of our family sayings that brings a smile to us all many years later, was a question raised by the oldest child in our blended family as we listened to former President Jimmy Carter teaching his Sunday School class at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, some 30 years ago.

We had the good fortune of being seated near the front of the sanctuary and just behind some well-dressed muscular men who were discreetly wired. This may have been the highlight for the children. I know when Rosalynn was escorted in and seated on the row right in front of us, I was awestruck.

As was his custom in teaching Sunday School, Jimmy Carter asked everyone in the 300 plus member audience in the sanctuary to call out where they were from. That particular Sunday we had 17 nations and many US states represented. It was impressive.

He then proceeded to give a brief report on the work of the Carter Center in Atlanta, mentioning some of the ways in which they were working for election fairness, affordable housing, safe drinking water, and eradication of disease across the globe. In his distinct South Georgia drawl, Jimmy Carter mentioned the Carter Center a good number of times before Shena took a welcome card from the sanctuary pew rack, along with one of those short pencils positioned nearby, and wrote: “What is the Cadda Senna?”

Helping 'No Matter What'

As we come to World Humanitarian Day on Aug. 19, I am reminded of Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, who I think of as remarkable humanitarians throughout their long lives. When I consider the work of the Carter Center, I realize their humanitarian efforts will extend beyond their long lives in helping the most vulnerable among us. What a legacy.

World Humanitarian Day was established by the United Nations five years after the tragic killing of 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, on Aug. 19, 2003.

The bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad that day profoundly changed the way in which humanitarians operate. This move from being respected to being targeted is what led to the creation of a day to advocate for the survival, well-being, and dignity of people everywhere affected by crises, and for the safety and security of the aid workers who come to help them.

Each year the UN selects a theme for the day. Past themes have included topics like, “It Takes a Village” or “Unsung Heros.” The theme for 2023, marking the 20th anniversary of the bomb attack on humanitarians that shifted the way they had been viewed, is “No Matter What.” The theme seems like a commentary on our times with all the overwhelming need across our planet.

In a beautiful one-minute video on the UN Humanitarian Day website, worldhumanitarianday.org, it tells of the commitment of so many in our world to help others no matter the danger, the hardship, the blood, the sweat, the tears, the politics, the hostilities, the race, the religion or the creed.

It continues with a brief reminder that what matters is not what side you are on, but that we are by your side. What matters is not our differences, but that we make a difference. In the last seconds of the video, it states that we are here for one reason only. To help. No matter who, what, or where.

The Sparklers make a difference

This week I had the opportunity to speak to a group of residents at Westminster Oaks about a program that is near to my heart, “The Sparklers.” This is a group committed to bringing a spark to the lives of people on campus who are living with dementia. As we talked about some of the obstacles they face in connecting with their “buddies,” and their fierce commitment to make a connection no matter what, I thought of World Humanitarian Day and what the Sparklers are doing to make a difference.

Also this week, I went with one of our refugee team members to help the family we are co-sponsoring on their first day of school. As I watched the father comforting his 5-year-old son in a new country, speaking a foreign language, as he left him in a kindergarten classroom, my heart was broken.

I was deeply moved by the kindergartner sitting next to him, who scooched his chair closer and laid his hand on his new friend’s hand. This child’s kindness was but one humanitarian act that day as the principal, registrar, teachers, and office staff at the remarkable Bond Elementary School all rallied to help an anxious father and son.

Taking humanitarian action

An important dimension of World Humanitarian Day is the realization that we all have the opportunity to be humanitarians. By definition, a humanitarian is someone involved in or connected with improving people’s lives, reducing suffering, and maintaining dignity.

And while we can name persons whose exemplary lives come to our hearts at the mention of the word “humanitarian,” names like Saint Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi or Malala or Jimmy Carter, it is vitally important to realize that every contribution by people working for the good of others and the benefit of humankind is a humanitarian act and helps to heal the world.

Like the kind kindergartner at Bond, we can all be humanitarians, and the need for humanitarian action is greater than it has ever been. So many of the critical issues that we face today are not localized, but global. It will take all of us, everywhere, claiming our common identity as humans, and working for the good of others to help repair the world.

This World Humanitarian Day, I pray we all will create the time to thank those we know who are devoted to promoting the welfare of others and become more committed ourselves to improving the plight of those who suffer, whether near or far. May remembering those aid workers who gave their lives or who are wounded survivors of attacks against humanitarian aid workers, inspire us to greater love and care of all our brothers and sisters.

The Rev. Candace McKibben is an ordained minister and pastor of Tallahassee Fellowship.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: World Humanitarian Day a reminder we can make a difference