The year 2022 marked the work of the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) in Europe. Several activities were carried out, especially in the field of training. In times of increasingly growing demands for humanitarian responses, whether in relation to natural disasters or conflicts, which force millions of people to move from their homes in search of safety and decent living conditions, the qualification of volunteer humanitarian workers is of vital importance for maintaining the quality of the service provided.
The training offered by the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) covers several areas such as Sphere Humanitarian Standards, Education in Emergencies and Humanitarian Responses, Food and Nutritional Security, Emergency Management,Humanitarian Crises, Environmental Disasters, Prevention and Self-Care.
These trainings contribute to strengthening and improving the theoretical and practical knowledge of humanitarian workers, preparing them to work in different missions and contexts of crisis and emergencies.
Sharing Knowledge – Theory and Practice in Humanitarian Response
In addition to the training carried out by the Fraternity -International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) for its internal public as members of the Light-Network, Monasteries of the Grace Mercy Order, Light-Communities and Light-Nucleus, humanitarian actors from several other organizations also participated in the training.
Sister Lisete Gonçalves, from the Congregation of the Sisters of Santa Doroteia and member of the management team of Escola Superior de Educação Paula Frassinetti, participated in an introductory training course on the Humanitarian Charter and Principles of Protection, and talks about what she learned: “the course helped broaden our horizons and helped us to see the potential we can achieve to help people effectively. Leaving the field of ideas and going to concrete action.”
Volunteer workers of the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) also participated in training offered by other organizations that work in humanitarian responses and emergencies. Moments when everyone has the opportunity to keep up to date on the main debates in the current humanitarian scenario. In addition, it is also an opportunity to foster networking with some of the organizations with which there’s the prospect of working directly within the scope of the Europe and Africa Missions.
This is the case, for example, of the activities of theHumanitarian Network and Partnership Week (HNPW) which took place in a hybrid format, in which the general manager, Friar Luciano, and the manager of the Emergencies Education Sector participated, Anderson Santiago, among other members of the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM).
Anderson reported that through this participation, at an institutional level, “it was possible to perceive points in which the organization needs to continue maturing, especially in terms of practical action, from the perspective of the Intervention Sectors, in addition to the possibilities of greater interrelation practices between the Humanitarian, Development and Peacebuilding Sectors”.
Education in Emergency Situations
The Education Sectorin Emergencies and Humanitarian Responses is based on three interconnected lines of action and based on cross-cutting themes that work on Education Oriented to Overcoming Trauma, caused by moments of crisis and catastrophes, Community Based Education, having as a principle, the active participation of affected communities and Education for a Culture of Peace, with a focus on strengthening and preparing adolescents and young people to rebuild their life plans.
There are many people from various areas of knowledge who volunteer for service. Visual artist Carolina Echeverry Jiménez, from Cali, Colombia, is one of them. She works in the Educational Intervention Group in Humanitarian Responses and Emergency Situations of the Fraternity – InternationalHumanitarian Missions (FIHM) and is completing the Advanced Training in Emergency Pedagogy.
Carolina considers the training essential for her work: “It has been a great opportunity, as it is a very complete training, which is based on Waldorf Pedagogy and which provides important pedagogical tools to work on trauma prevention and trauma situations in their initial stages”.
For her, the course unites her training in Waldorf pedagogy, created by the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, and her work in humanitarian service. “Remembering, reinforcing and knowing the profound therapeutic work that art has in all its expressions and how it becomes a great tool to free oneself from pain and bring hope to people who live in extreme situations,” she concludes.
Food and nutrition security
In this area, the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) is developing the Nutricional and Food Security Project, which studies the implementation of self-sustainability practices aimed at improving the procedures necessary for the generation of products that meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations, through growing vegetables, producing dehydrated foods such as soups and fruits, jellies, juices and multimix flour, and can be adapted to different contexts of social and humanitarian crises.
“The team of humanitarian workers is expanding the network of collaborators and the scope of the action to cover a new range of products and processing possibilities, always with the objective of meeting needs and generating autonomy through the exchange of knowledge and technical skills,” reports Aadrika , humanitarian worker, member of the Portugal Mission.
Expectations for 2023
For the coming year, several training courses and articulations to act in the context of the humanitarian response will be carried out.
In February, the face-to-face course on Education in Emergenciesand Humanitarian Responses will begin, which will be carried out through cooperation between the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) and Escola Superior de Educação Paula Frassinetti (ESEPF), in the city of Porto, Portugal.
Target audience: students, university professors, principals, coordinators and teachers of schools, humanitarian actors and civil society organizations.
Learn more about the Course. Access here. Sign up!
International activities
The general manager of the Fraternity – InternationalHumanitarian Missions (FIHM), Friar Luciano, assesses the year 2022 as constructive for the articulation of the organization at an international level. In his observations, he notes that since the founding of the affiliated Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) Geneva, and after several meetings, the humanitarian environment has been accompanying the movements of the organization.
The year 2022 was important to “contact managers of international humanitarian agencies, as well as their program teams for partnerships in projects for the next year,” evaluates Friar Luciano. The manager also points out that “Although countries still need to readjust because of the pandemic, humanitarian crises overlap with social crises at the local level, demanding that strategies be more complete and comprehensive”.
Learn more about the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) in Europe
