Humanity First International and service to humanity

HUMANITY First International will be celebrating its silver jubilee – twenty-five years of serving humanity – tomorrow, 19 September 2020.

The organisation, an international charity that provides disaster relief and long-term development assistance to vulnerable communities in 52 countries across six continents, was established in London, United Kingdom, and registered in 1995 by then worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Tahir Ahmad.

The organisation is run by volunteers with diverse skills across the world and thousands of extra volunteers worldwide. The volunteer workers (operators, expert medics, engineers and teachers), uniquely, often support the organisation’s projects at their own expense.

The value of the aid delivered (projects as well as free man-hours of doctors, engineers and teachers) is greater than the donations received. As immediate disaster responses are concluded, the charity also often begins rehabilitation services through orphan care, water infrastructure and vocational training.

During the global lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, Humanity First extended it relief projects to additional 25 countries, making it a total of 77 countries across six continents with over 5,000 volunteers. This has been the largest disaster relief project of the organisation.

The organisation has assisted over 15 million families across Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), food, water and awareness on how to stay safe during the pandemic.

Despite restrictions easing around the COVID-19, Humanity First teams across Europe have been supporting people who are most vulnerable with food and PPE. Teams are active in France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Scotland, Georgia, Switzerland and Croatia.

In Nigeria, the charity organisation donated food items to families and journalists. Iits local team is in the process of freely distributing over 30,000 face masks to protect the public from the novel COVID-19.

Humanity First team in Kenya has been providing emergency food and face masks and assisting communities through COVID-19. The team has been working in Nairobi and towns near Eldoret. It has been providing hand sanitiser to policemen in Ndejje, Uganda, to help them serve safely. With the support of Humanity First Switzerland, the team in Zimbabwe has started to distribute food packs for families outside Harare.

In other parts of Africa, local Humanity First teams are reaching out to help the elderly, orphans, people who are homeless and those with disabilities. Teams are ensuring they have food and hygiene products to get people well-equipped during this pandemic.

The organisation has gained Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Humanity First teams from across Europe responded to the 1999 and 2001 Izmit and Gujarat earthquake in western Turkey and India. During the civil war in Liberia in 2004, Humanity First was on the ground supporting victims across the country. With the drought in East Africa in 2011, Humanity First took aid convoys across Kenya serving around 63,300 people.

Fifteen years ago, the organisation responded in New Orleans to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina working with partners on the ground. When Hurricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana a few days ago, Humanity First US team was on the ground to assist affected families. Volunteers from the charity organisation in Canada are at work in the food bank serving the Greater Toronto area as well as Guyana.

In recent months, the team has been providing emergency food packs to vulnerable families across Malaysia, India and Indonesia.

As part of an effort to support education in Africa, the organisation set up ‘Live Appeal’ to build and transform schools, provide scholarships and send equipment and books for children on the continent. It is also offering a range of vocational training courses, including tailoring across Africa, for two decades.

Humanity First has done tremendous work in the health sector, varying from free eye surgeries for over 784 people in Kano, Nigeria. This was extended to Republic of Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Chad and Ghana. The organisation is also running Al-Ain Mobile Eye Clinic in Frankfurt, Germany and two maternity clinics in rural Bangladesh.

In order to provide clean water for Africans in the rural areas, Humanity First has embarked on massive sinking of boreholes in Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Kogi, Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Nasarawa and Kwara states.

It is also reassuring that two cottage schools were opened at Igbo Oruwo and Iye Osa in Oyo State. HF Nigeria also runs orphan care under a foster parent model. Several medical camps are held annually and many IDP camps have benefitted from the organisation’s free relief materials distribution. Flood victims have also been supported in Kogi and Edo states with relief materials.

In other parts of Africa, Sikasso region of Mali, Djalakoro village in Mali and spring water protection to Kapwati region of Uganda were iconic areas where Humanity First registered its presence.

A Democratic nominee for the United States election, Qasim Rashid, who worked for the organisation for over two decades tweeted that Humanity First delivered over 10 million meals during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

He tweeted: “I’ve been privileged to work with Humanity First for the better part of two decades. Hunger threatens our humanity and a recent report showed even in US, one in eight Americans don’t have enough to eat. HF has delivered over 10 million meals during this crisis. Join me in helping deliver 10M more.”

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.

Abiodun is a journalist and public affairs analyst and Akinreti is the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lagos State.

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