Humanity First
Encyclopedia
Humanity First is an international charitable trust
established to promote and safeguard the preservation of human life and dignity. The organisation works with vulnerable communities in over 40 countries spanning 6 continents, and is now registered in 33 countries. The organisation is run by volunteers around the world, and even in operations, expert medical, engineering, educational and technical staff often pay their own way to support international projects. The organisation cites efficiencies through the extensive use of volunteers, partnerships and global sourcing resulting in over 90% of funds going straight to projects, and the actual aid value (including free man-hours of doctors, engineers etc) delivered is significantly (often 50 times) greater than the value of donations received.
In two decades, Humanity First has grown into a multi-national aid agency and non-profit charitable organisation, regularly working alongside many other agencies such as the Red Cross, Oxfam
, Save the Children
and others. The organisation has access to thousands of volunteers across the globe. Humanity First also now has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
.
The organization splits its work into two areas; disaster relief and long-term sustainable projects.
Approach: Humanity First approaches its human development projects with sustainability as the overarching goal. The projects are rooted in a community deeply affected by a natural disaster, war, or poverty. After the relief phase of the project has subsided, Humanity First works with the community to identify viable opportunities for growth and recovery.
Programs: Human development programs can be categorized under the categories of: 1) Health & Medical Programs, or 2) Educational & Vocational Programs
Health & Medical: Designed to provide much needed health and medical services and supplies to some of the world's most vulnerable populations.
Educational & Vocational Programs: Designed to help create capacity and self sufficiency through providing support for primary education for children and vocational training for adults in various under-privileged communities in the US and around the world
, 1999 İzmit earthquake
in Turkey, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia
and Sri Lanka, Hurricane Katrina
, and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
in Pakistan. More recently, they have responded to catastrophic flooding in Suriname, Guyana and Kenya, as well as the 2010 Haiti earthquake
and also the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
The table below illustrates disasters that HF have been involved in and level of assistance they have provided to local victims:
and Asia
:
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
established to promote and safeguard the preservation of human life and dignity. The organisation works with vulnerable communities in over 40 countries spanning 6 continents, and is now registered in 33 countries. The organisation is run by volunteers around the world, and even in operations, expert medical, engineering, educational and technical staff often pay their own way to support international projects. The organisation cites efficiencies through the extensive use of volunteers, partnerships and global sourcing resulting in over 90% of funds going straight to projects, and the actual aid value (including free man-hours of doctors, engineers etc) delivered is significantly (often 50 times) greater than the value of donations received.
Objectives
- Relieve suffering caused by natural disasters or man-made conflicts
- Promote peace and understanding based upon mutual tolerance and respect
- Strengthen people's capacity to help themselves
Origins
The concept of Humanity First originates from a desire to provide aid on the basis of need alone, irrespective of race, religion, colour or political allegiance. The organisation was established in the UK and formally registered in 1994.In two decades, Humanity First has grown into a multi-national aid agency and non-profit charitable organisation, regularly working alongside many other agencies such as the Red Cross, Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
and others. The organisation has access to thousands of volunteers across the globe. Humanity First also now has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
The organization splits its work into two areas; disaster relief and long-term sustainable projects.
Human Development
Restoring Communities, Building a Future are the guiding principles for Humanity First USA. Humanity First works to assist people afflicted by natural disasters, war, and poverty by first providing the needed disaster relief services and then by building capacity of these communities. Our aim is to restore dignity by providing the resources to help people get back on their feet quickly.Approach: Humanity First approaches its human development projects with sustainability as the overarching goal. The projects are rooted in a community deeply affected by a natural disaster, war, or poverty. After the relief phase of the project has subsided, Humanity First works with the community to identify viable opportunities for growth and recovery.
Programs: Human development programs can be categorized under the categories of: 1) Health & Medical Programs, or 2) Educational & Vocational Programs
Health & Medical: Designed to provide much needed health and medical services and supplies to some of the world's most vulnerable populations.
Educational & Vocational Programs: Designed to help create capacity and self sufficiency through providing support for primary education for children and vocational training for adults in various under-privileged communities in the US and around the world
Disaster relief
Disaster relief covers the provision of humanitarian aid, medical relief, shelter, food and safe water in response to both man-made and natural disasters. Examples in the last 10 years include responses to the following: Kobe earthquake in Japan, Kosovo WarKosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, 1999 İzmit earthquake
1999 Izmit earthquake
The 1999 İzmit earthquake was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey on August 17, 1999, at about 3:02am local time. The event lasted for 37 seconds, killing around 17,000 people and leaving approximately half a million people homeless...
in Turkey, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Sri Lanka, Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
2005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005...
in Pakistan. More recently, they have responded to catastrophic flooding in Suriname, Guyana and Kenya, as well as the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
and also the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
The table below illustrates disasters that HF have been involved in and level of assistance they have provided to local victims:
| Disaster | Year | Countries Affected | Scale of Disaster | People Assisted | Nature of Help |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kosovo | 1997 | Kosovo, Albania, Serbia | 10k killed, 850k displaced | > 10,000 | Medical, Food, Clothing |
| Izmit Earthquake | 1999 | Turkey | 17k killed, 60k homeless | 15,000 | Medical, Shelter, Food, Clothing |
| Gujarat Earthquake | 2001 | India | 20k killed, 166k injured, 600k homeless | 5,500 | Medical, Shelter, Food, Clothing |
| Asian Tsunami | 2004 | Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia | 220k killed, 1.6 Million homeless | 30,000 | Medical, Shelter, Food, Clothing |
| Hurricane Katrina | 2005 | USA | 1.8k killed, Millions homeless | 1,050 | Medical, Shelter/ Re-Furb, Food, Clothing, IT |
| Kashmir Earthquake | 2005 | Pakistan | 80k killed, 3.3M homeless | 60,000 | Medical, Shelter, Food, Clothing, Counseling |
| Latin American Flooding | 2005-06 | Suriname, Guyana | 30k displaced and homeless | 10,000 | Food, Clothing, IT |
| Peru Earthquake | 2007 | Peru | 250k homeless | 2,000 | Food, Clothing, Shelter |
| Cyclone Sidr | 2007 | Bangladesh | 5k killed, 34k injured, 500k affected | 7,000 | Medical, Water, Food, Clothing, Shelter |
| Kenya Post-Election Violence | 2008 | Kenya | 1.5k killed, 600k displaced | 2,500 | Medical, Food, Clothing |
| Cyclone Nargis | 2008 | Burma | 146k killed, 1M displaced | 2,000 | Clothing, Water |
| Gaza Violence | 2009 | Gaza, Israel | 7k killed or injured, 100k homeless | 7,000 | Food, Education |
| Sumatra Earthquake | 2009 | Indonesia | 4k killed or injured, 1.2M displaced | 1,000 | Medical, Food, Shelter |
| Cyclone Aila | 2009 | Bangladesh | 8.5k killed or injured, 1M homeless | 1,600 | Food, Water, Clothing, Shelter |
| Haiti Earthquake | 2010 | Haiti | 230k killed, 300k injured, 1M affected | 55,000 | Medical, Water, Orphan Care, Shelter |
Long-term projects
Humanity First runs a number of long-term projects largely in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
:
- Feed a Family - provision of basic necessities to deserving and vulnerable families, normally for a fixed period of 6 months. Over 700 Tonnes of food and aid has been shipped to Africa for poor families. HF is now establishing a Feed a Village program; it has also established a Feed the Homeless program in the heart of Montreal.
- Water for Life - set up or repair of water pumps to provide clean and safe drinking water to remote villages in the 3rd world. Humanity First are working on these projects with Water Aid and IAAAE and have built or refurbished over 420 pumps and filter units in West AfricaWest AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, Latin America and Asia. - Learn a Skill - training in IT or tailoring. IT training results in certification, and tailoring leads to the provision of a sewing machine and assistance in setting up a tailoring business. In both cases, the aim is to leave students self-sufficient. So far, over 20,000 students have graduated from the 23 vocational training centres across 12 countries.
- Orphan Care - running and support of orphanages covering the needs of orphans including accommodation, education, food, clothing and health. Orphan programmes are currently running in the Gambia, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Burkina FasoBurkina FasoBurkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
and BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
. - Gift of Sight - work with a network of hospitals to provide sight treatment ranging from glasses, treatment of infections and in extreme cases, operations to rectify cataracts.