Every year on World Humanitarian Day, we pause to honor the people who sprint toward devastation and crisis, while everyone else is running away.
At Lutheran World Relief, those people are our staff. They work in the most remote, hardest-to-reach places — in the middle of conflict, loss and heartbreak. Many are members of the very communities they serve, sharing in the same grief as their neighbors. Still, they keep showing up — carrying your love to people who need it most.
Today, we want to introduce you to a few of them.
ALI HIJAZ IN LEBANON
In October 2023, spillover from ongoing conflict in the Middle East ushered in a devastating wave of violence in Lebanon, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Country Representative Ali Hijaz did not. Walking through his own destroyed neighborhood in Beirut in the immediate days following the first attacks, heavy with emotion, Ali became utterly resolved to stay.
Nearly three years into the crisis, LWR continues to respond to this crisis by bringing essential healthcare directly to people who cannot access it — with home visits for urgent and ongoing medical needs, lifesaving medicines, and mobility aids like wheelchairs and walkers. Because of you, LWR is also empowering women and small businesses to support longer-term economic recovery.
Ali remains steadfast in his commitment to bringing your love to neighbors in their darkest days — and ensuring that, even after the headlines fade, it is there to help them rebuild.
"My story is the story of thousands of Lebanese seeking safety, peace and dignity — and of hundreds of national humanitarian workers striving to make a difference while safeguarding their own families."
MARY KAMARA IN SIERRA LEONE
Mary Kamara is waging a fight that rarely makes the news — yet it changes everything for the girls she serves. In Sierra Leone, 1 in 3 girls drops out of school by age 12, most often because their families cannot afford to keep them there. Mary refuses to let poverty write their future.
With your support, LWR launched an innovative cash-transfer program to get girls into the classroom — and keep them there. So far, we've reached more than 2,100 girls across 60-plus schools. These girls are more likely to marry later, raise healthier families and build a more secure future.
As a field officer, Mary checks in when a girl starts missing class. She meets the girls in groups and one-on-one — a trusted confidant they can turn to.
Mary understands them because she was them. Growing up in the same region, poverty often kept Mary from attending school regularly. Today, thanks to people who believed in her, she holds a master's degree.
Now, she pays that gift forward.
"They see me as a sister, someone they can confide in. I know what it feels like, having someone who's like a mentor to you and who gives you confidence that you can become someone tomorrow — someone better in future."
FRED MCCRAY, JR. IN THE UNITED STATES
That same commitment to service lives in Fred McCray, Jr. For more than two decades, Fred has stood on the front lines of disaster — leading LWR's response across Africa, Asia and beyond. He has organized relief after earthquakes, floods and conflicts, reaching families in some of the world's hardest-hit places.
In 2025, he took on a new challenge: bringing that same compassion to our neighbors in crisis here in the United States.
Fred's work spans every part of a response. He builds partnerships with local communities and pre-positions supplies in 15 high-risk states — so help is already in place when disaster strikes. But ultimately, his focus is singular: carrying your love to our most vulnerable neighbors when they need it most. From the Carolinas to California, Fred ensures your love brings immediate relief after devastation — and stays present as communities rebuild, stronger and more resilient than before.
"I've witnessed the immense grief families experience when they've lost everything. But I've also seen their profound hope when they realize someone is there to help. Your quilts and kits tell them they are not alone."
DR. ALICE MUDEKEREZA IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
For ten years, Dr. Alice Mudekereza has protected women across the Democratic Republic of Congo. With your compassion, she leads care programs for survivors of sexual violence, reaching hundreds of thousands of women in the country's most vulnerable communities.
Each year, far too many Congolese women are sexually assaulted. After an attack, there is a narrow, 72-hour window to protect a woman's health and prevent lasting physical damage. Dr. Alice works to make sure that window is never missed.
Through PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) Kits distributed to health centers, women receive critical medicine that can prevent HIV and other diseases. Dr. Alice and her team travel to remote, dangerous areas, often risking their own lives, to make sure women get this vital care on time.
Even when the path ahead was known, Dr. Alice refused to give up. She ensured medical supplies were available, took on relief work and built new partnerships.
"DRC is my country. God's calling to serve never stopped, and I knew I could never give up."
That spirit — the courage to stay, to rebuild, to keep going — lives in every member of our team. Around the world, your generosity reaches people who need it most through the hands of people who refuse to walk away.
On this World Humanitarian Day, we honor Ali, Mary, Fred, Dr. Alice — and every staff member, partner and community leader who chooses to show up.
The courage of our teams to carry your love is extraordinary. But it is your support that carries them, making their work possible. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.