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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Emma Sheppard

Why did you become a humanitarian? Share your photos and stories

A Red Cross volunteer carries a refugee baby at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos
The refugee crisis has highlighted the stark need for humanitarian workers worldwide. Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

Humanitarian work can be many things – incredibly rewarding of course, but often frustrating, exhausting, dangerous and lonely. Yet it is a sector that thousands of people have been drawn to. The latest figures from ALNAP estimates that there are 450,000 humanitarian workers worldwide.

World Humanitarian Day, on 19 August, was established in 2009 as an initiative by the UN to raise awareness of those men and women working tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of 130 million people around the world.

We want to hear from you: why did you become a humanitarian worker? What has your career been like? What have your standout triumphs and greatest challenges been? Do your original motivations still ring true today?

You can share your photos, videos and experiences by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button on this article. You can also use the GuardianWitness smartphone app or the Guardian app and search for ‘GuardianWitness assignments’. Or you can email guardianwitness@theguardian.com.

  • GuardianWitness is the home of readers’ content on the Guardian. Contribute your video, pictures and stories, and browse news, reviews and creations submitted by others. Posts will be reviewed prior to publication on GuardianWitness, and the best pieces will feature on the Guardian site.

Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter.

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