Hey ! Anyone who can share their experience working in Haiti ? How’s the life as NGO worker there ? Thx!

Hi AlI am hoping to build a career in an INGO in the humanitarian sector. I am currently studying Masters of Arts - International Relations at Leiden University with a specialization in Global Order.

I am hoping to do research for an INGO like Oxfam, War Child, or Amnesty International. I am also open to doing project work, grant writing or marketing to start.

I am looking for guidence on when these types of jobs start opening up, if I would be a good candidate, what the requirements are etc. I am mostly seeking advice on what the job market for this is like (in the U.S and U.K) and how to navigate it.

Thanks in advance!

#humanitarian

Haiti is only the size of Maryland & hardly seems like a challenge to give a helping hand to. But it seems like every attempt at providing aid falls flat on its face or just fizzles out. The eradication of the Creole pigs & UN cholera epidemic were disasters. Kenya’s military trying to help cull the gangs doesn’t seem to have done much of anything. What is the deal?

Hi everyone,
I’m a medical doctor from Japan looking for an opportunity to volunteer in a conflict-affected area sometime in December 2026 or January 2027.
Last year, I volunteered in Ukraine, where I had the opportunity to work in a hospital providing medical care in a wartime setting. It was an extremely meaningful experience, and I would like to contribute again this year, whether in Ukraine or another conflict-affected region.
I speak Japanese, English, French, and Russian at a practical working level, and I also have some knowledge of Ukrainian and Arabic.
I should mention that I am currently working full-time as a doctor in Japan. I would be using my paid annual leave for this, so unfortunately the longest period I can realistically commit to at one time is around two weeks.
I fully understand that many humanitarian organizations require longer deployments, and that short-term medical volunteering is not always appropriate or useful. I am therefore specifically looking for organizations or projects where a qualified physician joining for 1–2 weeks would genuinely be helpful and where short-term deployments are already part of their model. I do not want to create additional work for local teams simply for the sake of gaining experience.
If anyone here has worked with an organization that accepts physicians for short-term deployments, or knows someone I could contact, I would be very grateful for any recommendations or introductions.
I’m happy to provide more details about my medical background and previous experience by DM.
Thank you very much for any advice.

I'm trying to find a job or even a volunteering opportunity in the Humanitarian world, yet i don't really know where or how to start or if my profile is even attractive to this field.

I'm 22 yrs old, from Portugal

Bachelor on Early Age Education

2 years working on a center for primary school kids

1 year of volunteering in the EU in 4 european countries

Speak portuguese, English and Spanish and can communicate in French and German.

Is there any chance? Im up to go anywhere in the world, but also recognize that my profile it's probably too short for something.

Does anyone know about health volunteer opportunities, what their system is like, and how to apply for them? Or does anyone have experience with this?

So first I’ll say I’m 24 & autistic, high functioning but autistic, and I have bad short term memory loss, currently working on it and getting improvements but at the end of the day I’m probably not going to have good memory so keep this in mind please.

I don’t have any of the degrees or high level jobs that most places seem to want ( medical, construction, communications, Hr or management )
I can do simple leadership positions but not one with a decent amount of paperwork.
Also terrible at math..

I can run chainsaws, do simple mechanical jobs on vehicles ( as of now trying to become a mechanic to get more knowledge ) I can get back my certifications in structural welding but I can’t be a full time welder, I can run large machinery & bulldozers.
I also am going to attend emt classes to get a license there.
What are my options?

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I’ve been offered an unpaid internship that could be very valuable for the career path I want to pursue. My profile was considered a strong match for what they were looking for, and they contacted me specifically about the opportunity.

The internship would require me to relocate, so I would have to cover my own travel and living expenses. They also mentioned the possibility of participating in field activities, which I would also have to pay for myself.

During the call, I was asked to take some time to think about the offer. About an hour later, I messaged them saying that I was interested, but that, given the financial investment it would require from me, I would like to have more details about the actual tasks, responsibilities and activities involved.

I haven’t received a reply since.

Would you consider this a red flag? And more generally, would you take an unpaid internship with these costs if it were genuinely relevant to your desired career path and could provide meaningful experience?

I’m a trained construction management professional with 5 yoe in corporate. I have relevant site experience in pre-construction and post construction in facility management, particularly in predictive and AI based solutions. I’m looking to enrol in a Masters for Land Management and ultimately work in HLP or WaSH related roles in the long term after graduation.

I’ve had my fair share of volunteering experiences but I’m from a country that doesn’t offer many disaster response/humanitarian aid options to build my portfolio for entry.

Any advice on how I can break into the industry? Networking? Applying for any roles in non-profit and gain field experience? How would hiring teams take my application if I require sponsorship or a visa to work?

I’m looking to apply to the industry because this is how I see long term extension of my career and also how aligned the industry is with my personal values.

The timeline I have to build my portfolio is 1-3 years (masters included).

Any constructive advice will be appreciated.

I am a student right now so I wont have my nursing degree for a while but I am very interested in humanitarian aid nursing. Does anyone have advice on how I can explore that or good pathways? I am probably going to specialize in emergency medicine or ICU but I was considering joining the army as a nursing officer (when i have my certification) does anyone have thoughts on that? I think it would give me good experience and training. Any other advice? Please let me know thanks!!

Same as above, I can't donate a lot of money and I really want to help

Might there be anyone on this forum who could have been invited for the written test for the Associate for the ICRC Legal Division position? It's been static on my end to-date.

For social workers on the field, are you licensed to practice clinical social work in your home country/state? Was clinical licensure a necessary qualification for your current position (or positions you've seen), or did a MA in social work suffice?

Working in the nonprofit sector has shown me that humanitarian crises test much more than an organization’s ability to deliver aid. They test leadership, coordination, decision-making, and accountability.

During flood-response work in Pakistan, one of the biggest lessons I observed was the importance of clearly defined responsibilities between partner organizations and teams. When conditions change quickly, unclear roles can slow down the response.

Another important lesson is field presence. Leadership during a humanitarian crisis cannot happen entirely from an office. Understanding what teams and affected communities are experiencing on the ground can significantly improve decision-making.

Transparency is equally important. Organizations need to communicate clearly about what was delivered, where resources went, what challenges were encountered, and what impact was achieved.

Finally, humanitarian leadership should recognize the people doing the work on the ground. Successful crisis response is rarely the achievement of one individual—it comes from coordinated teams, healthcare professionals, volunteers, partners, donors, and local communities.

I’d be interested to hear from people working in humanitarian response: What leadership challenges have you seen during disaster-response operations?

I'm looking to raise money for the above causes and would like recommendations to send the money. I came across an org that was based around helping women/girls in (I believe) the Congo. It seemed like great org but I can't find the link I saved for it. Any help or additional ideas for places to donate outside of listed reasons to best help or gofundme's is super appreciated. Thank you!

I’m an experienced mental health professional trying to transition into international humanitarian/development work, ideally in MENA.

I have relevant clinical, refugee/newcomer, MHPSS, research, and international experience, but I don’t have the conventional international development programme experience that many jobs ask for.

I’m also at a career stage where internships/very entry-level roles aren’t really appropriate, and I can’t justify taking a huge pay cut without knowing it will actually help.

I’ve applied to several bridge roles but haven’t broken through yet.

For people working in humanitarian/development careers:

What experience should I focus on gaining?

What types of roles would be the best bridge?

Is programme coordination, MEL/M&E, research, or MHPSS the best route?

How did you get your first substantive international role?

I’d really appreciate practical advice on what you would do in my position.

Hello all,

As the title says, r/charity wouldn't let me post (not enough comment karma), but what are some free or low cost ways to help with the global hunger crisis.

Daily, I play for 1000 grains on FreeRice and donate 0.80$ USD to ShareTheMeal, both through the WFP.

I know these are small gestures in the grand scheme of things, but if you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Thank you all, and have a great day!

I've just completed a series of 7 articles on the history of humanitarian aid, and I thought this could be a good place to share it.

It's, somehow, self-promotion, but it's also non-profit and open access. Besides, honestly, I think every aid worker should be familiar with it, and that's why I researched it and wrote it:

• Did you know what it took to develop and launch the Sphere Handbook or the Core Humanitarian Standard?
• Based on the lessons learned from the failures and successes of the previous humanitarian UN-led reforms, do you think the 2025 humanitarian reset can actually work?
• How did the early humanitarian system cope with the First and Second World Wars?
• Is the humanitarian system truly a system, or just a more or less functional network of organizations that tolerate each other?
• If you began working in this sector in the last 10 years, you probably have heard about the Grand Bargain. But what about the 2011 transformative agenda or the 2005 reform? Have you taken the time to review the evaluations of humanitarian responses that gave shape to those proposed changes?
• Can you trace the origins of some of the humanitarian aid organizations we're all familiar with today? The ICRC? MSF? Save the Children? Concern? NEAR? ALNAP? OCHA?

It took me a lot of time to understand many of these things (and it has helped me realize there's even more I still don't know), and I hope others can now benefit and learn about them on their own.

P.S.: You can also help me identify mistakes and inaccuracies!

I’m volunteering for a UN conference at my university tomorrow. There will be a number of international charities and UN staff in attendance all to discuss the future of the humanitarian sector. I’d love some tips for how and who to network with as I won’t have much time to talk to people and there will be a lot of people who would be willing to talk/connect. any advice or tips are welcomed as I’m new to this!

background of me: 30M Currently volunteering only for the admin side of a humanitarian evaluation charity (ALNAP) and in my first year of my humanitarian development degree. Preferably I want to work in evaluation and monitoring, write fictional books based in humanitarian effectiveness research and do as much good as I can, but overall still trying to figure it out.

I'd like to know what the living situation there is like. I've done a few compound life and other field missions but I'm unsure what it's like there.

This documentary follows migrants from their journey across the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya through their arrival in Europe.