Today is World Humanitarian Day

One of the biggest risks volunteers are challenged with is the safety of the location they are volunteering in.  When I went to Ghana this summer we did a lot of research prior to make sure that we would be safe and out of harms way.  We contacted: 

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
• US Consulate in Ghana
• Ghana Consulate in New York
• People we know that had been to Ghana in the last year
• Three doctors that had volunteered in the area I was going to
• Derreck Kayongo of the Global Soap Project
• Reporters in Ghana (this may have been a bit over the top but my mom did it to talk to them about the potential risk)

The Cape Coast isn't in a war zone nor an area where there was much fear of getting kidnapped or worse.  I had an infrastructure in place to keep me out of harms way on this trio, after all, I am 16 years old so I have some obvious limitations to where I can go at this point in my life.

This doesn't mean that I don't plan on traveling to volunteer in more dangerous areas when I am I am out of college because if I am needed, I likely will.  My intentions are to become a doctor so I can do more to help people whether they are in  areas with more danger or not.  I feel it is my purpose in life to help others in need and we will see where it takes me.

Today, August 19th, take a minute to think to pay tribute to aid workers who have risked and lost their lives in humanitarian service.