Norwegian Refugee Council

At a time when more than a 100 million people have fled war and conflict, and tens of millions more flee climate driven disasters, collaboration across sectors is vital. NRC’s private sector partnerships is an exchange of expertise where businesses and corporations play an important role in humanitarian response.   In our shared commitment, we strive for innovative solutions to empower people who have been forced to flee, helping them build a sustainable future for themselves and their communities. Hear from our long-term partners Cisco and GRUNDFOS/Grundfos Foundation | PDJF and learn more about how we work with the private sector here: https://lnkd.in/dMwNCYe

In Somalia, our agriculture project is enabling people to grow their own food using farming methods adapted to climate change, making them more self-reliant. This is giving families more to eat, improving the local economy, and making communities stronger in areas prone to extreme weather like drought and flooding. We’re seeing the farmers in Luuq district, Gedo region, successfully harvesting more crops.

In June 2022 NRC South Sudan started an important project. They wanted to solarise our offices and guesthouses in the country. This was an ambitious project, with big challenges to overcome and a 2-year timeline. Today, we can proudly show the work of our colleagues in South Sudan, where ten offices and five guesthouses have been successfully solarised! With big climate and environmental benefits. Mercy Giteau, our Area Manager in Wau, explained the benefits, and how the frequent failure of generators - and the high cost of back-up rental units - had a negative impact on their core work of supporting those in need: "The solar installation has reduced the cost of operation therefore enabling more funds towards deliverables that benefit the project participants. It has also led to timely delivery of our programme work.” Thousands of litres of fuel, thousands of dollars in maintenance, and thousands of kilos of CO2 emissions have been saved. The hard work of colleagues in South Sudan has paid off, but also provided a step-by-step guide for other NRC teams to follow.

This week marks 500 days of war in Sudan. 11 million people internally displaced. 25 million people are hungry. How many more shocking numbers do we need before we talk about Sudan?

NRC has made important steps to decarbonise aspects of our operations, such as through our solarisation programme. Solarisation is the first focus area of NRC’s Capital Fund, an initiative aimed at enhancing the sustainability of humanitarian operations and a mechanism for better solutions to protracted crisis. The fund combines grants and loans from private investors, institutional donors, and NRC's own reserves. Learn more about the initiative here: https://lnkd.in/dQb7EzSM

“I was with my aunt. Suddenly someone started shooting. People screamed and ran in all directions. We managed to hide,” 12-year-old Salwa told us. There is a war raging in Sudan which we do not hear much about. Since April last year, 10.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Salwa managed to get to South Sudan. Read her story here: https://lnkd.in/dwNz-wQt

In Colombia and Ecuador, we are working together with young refugees, migrants, and their host communities to strengthen social cohesion and facilitate integration. By addressing barriers to employment and entrepreneurship, these young people have secured jobs and started businesses, important steps on the road to self-reliance.   We're proud of our partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in this critical work.

"Every time I visit a displacement site, my strength and resilience to keep going is reborn. I feel like I can survive and persevere. Every smile on a child's face is a reason to keep faith in the work I do. Something grows inside of me when I see how our education activities give hope to these children. We need them as much as they need us," says Maysa, our education officer in Gaza. 2023 was the deadliest year on record for aid workers, with 280 lives lost in 33 countries. More than half of them were killed in Gaza. Despite being the deadliest place in the world for aid workers right now, our teams there are working tirelessly on the ground to help displaced families survive.

Last week I travelled to Colombia to better understand the impact that eight armed conflicts with multiple armed gangs are having over increasing swathes of the country. Colombia is a place I have engaged with for decades, my interest stemming from time there as a relief volunteer aged 19. Since then, I have been to this fascinating, beautiful and deeply troubled nation many times and with different roles, including as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the country during the peace process in 1999-2002. When I visited for the fist time on behalf of NRC, 10 years ago, my abiding memory was that of people’s belief in a peaceful future for their country. Today, however, Colombia is losing its grip on the hard-won peace agreement with the FARC in 2016. Civilian populations are paying a heavy price. NRC staff there work tirelessly to provide hope and support for the millions internally displaced by conflict and vast numbers of people transiting the country in search of safety and a better future to the North. But a rising tide of violence is dominating life for millions of people, and increasing numbers are living in areas controlled by armed gangs. Since 2021 that number has soared: today almost 8.4 million Colombians live in these zones of conflict. I travelled initially from Bogotá to Necoclí on the Northern Coast close to Panama, before visits to the conflict zones along the South-West coast. In Necoclí I saw how NRC is providing basic supplies to migrants and refugees – including single mothers with children – embarking on the perilous trek throught the dense Darien jungle. The Darien Gap is their only route north, and consists of almost 100km of steep and dangerous terrain, with the constant threat from armed groups, wild animals, and a near total absence of any kind of assistance. Last year, more than half a million people risked their lives on this route north. Some of the communities suffering most in Colombia are in areas where access is incredibly challenging. We visited Olaya Herrera in the South West, where vulnerable indigenous tribes and Afro Colombian communities spoke of being forced from their homes time and time again. One woman I met – Carmen, from an indigenous community – spoke about the constant threats and violence, and how she felt her indigenous heritage was being destroyed. Many such places can only be accessed via remote boat journeys of many hours, but NRC staff are committed to ensuring that these hard to reach and out of sight communities are not left in isolation. As an organisation too we are deeply committed to this region. We have recently opened a new Regional Office in Bogotá, as our base for Latin America. We will use this new hub to advocate for the needs of communities, call for sustained humanitarian funding, and work to protect civilians and ensure that they can find peace and security at home. Norwegian Refugee Council NORCAP - part of the Norwegian Refugee Council United Nations

Being a humanitarian is a job like no other. In Nigeria, millions of people are in need of aid. Our colleagues work each day to get that aid to people who need it. This week we celebrate the important work of aid workers all over the world. #WorldHumanitarianDay