For World Humanitarian Day 2022, UNHCR celebrates the efforts of humanitarian workers who work with vulnerable communities to ensure their protection, access to basic services, and participation in the development of durable solutions to the problems they are forced to confront. #ItTakesAVillage of humanitarians to protect lives. This is only one of the countless stories of aid workers on the frontlines who have dedicated their lives to help people in need.
Just as 2021 was about to end, the strongest storm of the year to hit the Philippines devastated the province of Surigao del Norte and other parts of the Caraga and Eastern Visayas regions. Within 48 hours after Super Typhoon Rai’s first landfall, UNHCR deployed an Emergency Response Team (ERT) to Caraga to provide support to families displaced by the disaster. Part of the team was Field Protection Associate Elson Monato.
While en route to assess the situation, he remembers seeing people queueing to fetch water, fallen lamp posts in the middle of the road, and completely devastated houses.
“No structure was left unharmed,” he recalled.
The ERT and other humanitarian partners conducted a rapid needs assessment, and after a request from the government was received, UNHCR also provided core relief items, such as shelter-grade tarpaulins and plastic sheeting, solar lamps, hygiene kits, and mosquito nets, to families affected by the onslaught. Eight months on, UNHCR continues to monitor the situation through its protection partners on the ground.
Having been with UNHCR since June 2013, Elson is familiar with the demands of responding to emergencies. He said that as part of the organization’s Protection Unit, it is part of his job to conduct field protection activities, and to collect data and information that will facilitate a better understanding of the situation. These serve as the basis for better programming and planning—not only for responding to emergency situations, but also for the development of durable solutions to displacement.
For him, this line of work is not a walk in the park. His various experiences as a humanitarian worker opened his eyes to realities on the ground.
“I witnessed many families losing their loved ones, children suffering from being hit by shrapnel even while in evacuation centers, young people being detained since they were accused as members of armed groups,” he said, adding that there are also reports of young women in vulnerable situations who resort to trafficking, illegal recruitment, and child marriage, just to make ends meet.
Being a father himself, Elson always puts himself in the shoes of persons of concern to UNHCR. “I do not want my family to experience this. I want to see changes in these communities, and if I can be an instrument to improve their lives, I would do it,” he said.
He believes that coming up with solutions for internally displaced persons is a collective endeavor. Elson especially emphasized the value of working with communities, saying, “We may have great ideas, but these ideas will become more productive if we involve them as our partners and not just as mere beneficiaries of the project. They are our best partners in finding solutions especially for issues that directly impact them.”
In line with the theme of this year’s World Humanitarian Day, Elson’s years of experience proves that amid adversity, it takes a village to protect the most vulnerable and ensure that no one is left behind.
To do this, Elson reiterated that in working with displaced and host communities, it is important to put their voices and aspirations at the forefront of any actions and interventions.
“We have to listen and support them find durable solutions that is context-specific, acceptable, and dignified.”
According to Elson, he feels fulfilled when the people from the communities he works with would treat him as their own. “When you do field work and the community will ask you to stay longer and spend more time with them to show their gratitude, that reflects effective community work, and it shows how rooted we are in the community.”
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