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OUR MISSION

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is a university-wide center involving multiple entities within the Harvard community that provide expertise in public health, medicine, social science, management, and other disciplines to promote evidence-based approaches to humanitarian assistance.

The mission of the Initiative is to relieve human suffering in war and disaster by advancing the science and practice of humanitarian response worldwide. HHI fosters interdisciplinary collaboration in order to:

  • Improve the effectiveness of humanitarian strategies for relief, protection and prevention;
  • Instill human rights principles and practices in these strategies;
  • Educate and train the next generation of humanitarian leaders. 

ISSUE IN FOCUS

 

New Report Examines Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers in DRC

The Women in War program, in collaboration with the Eastern Congo Initiative, released its new report, 'We Came Back with Empty Hands': Understanding the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Children Formerly Associated with Armed Groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which examines the experiences of former child soldiers and their host communities during the demobilization and reintegration process in eastern DRC. This project was grounded in participatory action research (PAR), which involves working closely with local community partners to design, carry out and analyze research. Two art based methodologies - Photovoice and Body mapping - were employed to enable individuals and communities to self-identify the issues most important to them. All of the photographs and drawings, as well as the full report, can be viewed at wecameback.org. 

Coinciding with the report release, Women in War Program Director Jocelyn Kelly participated in a panel alongside former child soldier Ishmael Beah and Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative to the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict at the UN, where they discussed the problem of child soldiers globally at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard's Institute of Politics. If you missed it, you can watch the entire event here.

(Photo credit: Jay Connor)