Articles
Humanitarian Day 2018: Visibility hit or miss?
Marked on 19 August each year, World Humanitarian Day pays tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service and brings attention to the millions of civilians affected by armed conflict.
It serves as a news hook for coverage of the stark issues facing people whose lives are affected by war.
The Toronto Star this week published an opinion piece by a former South Sudanese refugee and World Vision aid worker, Aryemo Sunday Ocaya, linked to World Humanitarian Day. World Vision Canada then shared it via social media (i.e. Twitter and LinkedIn).
Up front in the piece – ‘How Canadian feminism can improve lives around the globe’ – we learn the author has been implementing a Canadian government funded project called FEED (Fortifying Equality and Economic Diversity), with World Vision, that empowers women farmers in South Sudan.
Through her personal story, she draws attention to the issues of hunger, inequality and education in South Sudan. She highlights progress, such as a women’s group becoming a major supplier of local produce in the capital, Juba.
Her 500-word piece contains the considered understatements of someone who clearly knows the realities of violent conflict. “We are living in a hard time, but I tell them [girls in South Sudan] they have to keep on,” the author explains.
She credits a United Nations-funded school with giving her the opportunity to earn a scholarship and ultimately become an agricultural scientist. An accompanying photo is credited to World Vision Canada. A generous pledge by Canada to educate more girls in crisis is also given visibility.
Visibility hit or miss?
This opinion piece is informative, timely and credible. It brings visibility to the FEED partnership, World Vision, the Canadian government and the South Sudanese communities involved, and raises awareness of World Humanitarian Day.
We think it is a visibility hit.
Image: courtesy of The Star/World Vision Canada