The global humanitarian agenda increasingly requires the presence of volunteers who can act in different emergencies such as natural or environmental catastrophes and humanitarian responses to socioeconomic crises or conflicts that arise on the world stage. Faced with this reality, the Fraternity – Internacional Humanitarian Federation (FIHF), through its affiliate Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM), has been operating since 2011 providing assistance to refugees and migrants, whether in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe or the Middle East.
Today, with 25 humanitarian missions carried out in 18 countries, the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) is ready, where its presence is necessary, to carry out the activities that need to be carried out. Volunteer service seeks to build a more just, supportive and socially inclusive world, in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met. But whose hands and arms serve in humanitarian missions?
In this article, we tell the story of two people who participated as volunteers in some humanitarian missions, and here they share their experiences, as well as what moved them to volunteer service.
Raquel de Souza, from Caçapava-SP, who since childhood demonstrated a propensity to serve others, participated in her first humanitarian mission with Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions(FIHM) in 2016, comments: “When the invitation to participate came in 2016 for missionary experiences, something inside me said yes, that I could participate and should start this journey”.
Tissianie Cardoso, from Belo Horizonte-MG, began to follow the news of each mission being carried out, participating in her first mission in 2017. She says that: “I had already done voluntary work with other institutions, in Brazil and in Africa, when I participated in my first mission with the Fraternity – International HumanitarianMissions (FIHM). As I was already familiar with the serious work carried out by the institution, I managed to organize myself at some point and have a four-month experience. After that time, I was sure that I could not be happier in any other activity that I would perform. I recalculated the plans and continued as a full-time volunteer.” Tissianie participated in seven humanitarian missions promoted by Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM), four in Brazil and three abroad.
Acquired learning
For Raquel, who has already participated in the RoraimaMission and the Angola Humanitarian Mission, volunteer work helped her to improve her relationship with others and the quality of the service provided. “In addition to the learning provided by the relationship with others, with different cultures, with the breaking of prejudices about certain social beliefs, I also expanded my ability to work in a team, communication and knowing how to listen. The training and courses we participated in also promoted a maturation of the work. So all this expanded my vision”.
Tissianie says that the main characteristics that are developed in the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM)volunteer are flexibility, neutrality and fraternity. “Internalizing what neutrality is was one of my great lessons. I can remember the day I felt, literally on my skin, this need and understood the learning that lay ahead. It was from the face of a child, and I cried a lot. I was in Roraima, dealing directly with homeless people, many in extreme vulnerability. Being ready to perform a function, witnessing the need and suffering of the other, not letting yourself be destabilized and being able to carry on with the task, not just for a day, but being able to respond to the needs that arise daily”, she emphasizes.
Currently, the Roraima Humanitarian Mission remains active, welcoming Venezuelan migrants and retraining them, so that survival, autonomy and cultural reference are a reality among their ethnic groups.
About tasks performed in missions
According to Raquel, “When we are working with the children, the interaction and love they transmit, the desire they have to do the activities, to grow, to learn, this is all very rewarding, I love being with them, so that for me is what most tells me it’s worth it: this love that unites us, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity. It is this feeling that we have that, despite everything, there is love”, she expresses.
For Raquel, the most challenging experience was at the Roraima Mission, coordinating the Janokoida shelter, in Pacaraima, Roraima, Brazil. “It was very challenging to have to solve several things at the same time, a trial by fire for me. It was only for a month, but I took great lessons from these situations”.
Is it worth dedicating yourself to volunteering?
According to Raquel, “When we are working with the children, the interaction and love they transmit, the desire they have to do the activities, to grow, to learn, this is all very rewarding, I love being with them, so that for me is what most tells me it’s worth it: this love that unites us, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity. It is this feeling that we have that, despite everything, there is love”, she expresses.
Tissianie recalls that: “There is no better feeling than the happy look or smile of a child, an elderly person, an animal. They are short moments that are engraved in the heart for a lifetime. When looking at current conflicts, climate change and social crises, I am sure that if we don’t come together, look at what happens outside of us and act consciously, we will not be able to turn this page of indifference and violence”.
Reflecting on the experiences shared by the two volunteer workers, we realize that the main driving force of the volunteer lies in the very meaning of the word altruism: disinterested love for others, when the voluntary actions of an individual benefit others.
In volunteering, when putting themselves in a position to make significant contributions to make societies more inclusive and egalitarian, people realize that they overcome and transform themselves, that they connect with other people and raise a sense of purpose in themselves, contribute to peace and development through cooperation and reciprocity.
