This World Humanitarian Day 19^th August 2020, Charter4Change wish to pay tribute to all our #localheroes who demonstrate local capacity. Charter4Change wish to see the humanitarian aid system effectively reflecting a shared humanity, solidarity in diversity and equal dignity among people.

Local humanitarian workers are real life heroes, who struggle to preserve the life of others by putting their own lives on the line. Today more than ever before, it seems, humanitarian crisis abounds everywhere in their diverse forms and shapes. #LocalHeroes like the ones represented in the blogs below are humanitarians who defy all odds, make extraordinary sacrifices amidst heighten insecurity from Northeast Nigeria to Afghanistan.

Uganda / West Nile Youth Empowerment Centre

“West Nile Youth Empowerment Centre has been implementing an initiative called Tualau Ama Ecora Door to Door Covid19 Awareness Campaign! Tu’alu Ama Ecora is a local lugbara language meaning Together We can. This was an initiative to spread information about Covid19 to the rural Communities  and create awareness on the Covid19 focus on ways the Communities can use to stop the spread of Covid19 among them with more emphasis on the Youth, elderly and women.

Today, half the global population is under 30 years old. Natural hazards, disease outbreaks and man-made crises are increasing in frequency and severity. Young people should be at the centre of how the humanitarian system responds to these crises.

Engaging young people in humanitarian action is however not a matter of if but how. Young people are key players in ‘building back better’ for themselves and their communities. Engaging young people in prevention, preparedness, response and recovery will bring better, more localised and more accountable responses. We must support the world’s largest ever youth population to create more peaceful, resilient, just and equal societies”

Drate Yassin Jaffar, Executive Director, West Nile Youth Empowerment Centre