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Our colleague Georg Hoehne has been working in Jordan since the start of 2017. He started his journey to Jordan with his initiative called 'Innovation Aid'. Georg raised money for his work through crowd funding - an innovative form of expression from so many people who believe in what Georg does. He approached Field Ready and we teamed up.
Georg and the Field Ready team have worked directly with Syrian refugees and Jordanian people in and around the refugee camps there. Together, they have learned to make items themselves that were badly needed but that were missing from traditional aid distributions - often quite simple items, but items that help them to get through the day with dignity. They have learned new skills for their futures. They have embraced innovative ideas and approaches to become creators, not just consumers.
International Human Rights Day and the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights remind us of fundamental ways that we are supposed to treat each other. Article 1 says "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
Georg's work with Field Ready in Jordan was about helping people to live with dignity. Georg approached them not as beneficiaries but as agents in their own destiny, with reason and conscience, and with a profound spirit of brotherhood. It is a true expression of what Field Ready's innovations can be about.
Georg's work with Field Ready in Jordan has shown that human rights are not just 70-year old legal documents intended to help the weak. It shows that human rights can live and breathe in our everyday practice and are intended to make us all stronger. It is a true expression of what human rights can be about.