WORLD REFUGEE DAY

World Refugee day is celebrated on the 20th of June every year to raise awareness on the situation of refugees across the world. Every year thousands of people across the world are compelled to leave their homes as a result of war. It is 2019 and the record for the number of forcibly displaced people is at its peak. In June 2018, the UNHCR reported 68.5 million people around the world were forcibly displaced in the previous year, with about 44,400 people forced to flee their homes in a day, over 10 million people stateless, about 51% below 18 and a huge percentage of that number owed to conflict and violence.

Africa reports over 19 million displaced persons across the African continent, mostly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia and Central African Republic due to war and political unrest. They are mostly set up in refugee camps across the world, Kenya also hosts the largest refugee camp in the world. In Nigeria, Boko Haram insurgency has internally displaced nearly 2.4 million people with over 300,000 refugees in other Sub Saharan countries.

I cannot imagine what it must feel like to be forced to leave behind a world I’m familiar with and travel miles in painfully inconvenient means for survival, with almost no hope of returning to the life left behind.

In the words of Anne Frank, “How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world! How wonderful it is that everyone, great and small, can immediately help bring about justice by giving of themselves” Today in line with the theme this year, I urge everyone to #StepWithRefugees. You can Sign up here.”

Ask yourself this question, “what am I doing to add a little light to the world?” #WorldRefugeeDay #StepWithRefugees