For over 25 years, Fordham has given them the skills they need to do that work safely and effectively. 

Through the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), Fordham offers the International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA), a unique training program for humanitarian workers from all over the world.

The four-week residential immersion course is designed to train and develop those working for humanitarian aid organizations who are looking to advance their careers.

The Trainings

The 59th IIHA training session, which finished last month, took place in Amman, Jordan. The next one is scheduled for May 4 to 30 in Pretoria, South Africa. Trainings are now mainly offered in the Global South as part of an effort to empower aid workers who are closer to communities affected by war, famine, and natural disasters.

The goal of the training is to help students develop a holistic understanding of global humanitarian issues, as well as on-the-ground skills. That means learning about “big picture” aspects of the field, such as international humanitarian law and The Grand Bargain, a 2016 agreement between donors and humanitarian organizations. It also means learning and studying the fields of shelter and camp management and human trafficking, particularly during a humanitarian crisis. 

Staying Safe in Dangerous Times

Martine van der Does, the IIHA’s newly appointed Helen Hamlyn Humanitarian Fellow & Global Program Director, said that it is a sad reality that the training has become even more important as the field has become more complex and dangerous in the last few years. 

Van der Does, who oversees the IDHA, noted that last year, the United Nations reported that a record 281 aid workers were killed, of which 96% were local staff. 

“Humanitarian aid has become more complex, and there is far less respect for international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles,” she said. 

To that end, one full day of the program is devoted to key trends and threats to humanitarian workers, trauma first aid basics, personal health, and mental and physical resilience in humanitarian settings.

New Leadership

Van der Does, a former diplomat and regional humanitarian coordinator for the Netherlands government, is an IDHA alum, having completed the training in 2008. She earned a master’s in international humanitarian action from Fordham in 2017 and served as a tutor and course director for five recent IDHA training sessions.

“I always said if I could make a full-time job out of this, it would be my dream job,” she said.

The seamless bridge between fieldwork and academic theories taught in the classroom is a hallmark of the IDHA, and the reason Van der Does said she’s excited to have returned to lead the training. 

“Because of our network and our alumni database, we are able to bring in front-line aid workers complementing theory with the most recent realities on the ground,” she said, citing Gaza as an example. 

Graduates Hail from Many Countries, Work in Myriad International Organizations 

After graduating from the IDHA program, Van der Does joined Doctors Without Borders. She was sent to Niger, where she coordinated the construction of health centers and hospitals. Her experience was similar to other IDHA graduates, who have gone on to work in administrative and field positions at organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Jesuit Refugee Corps.

She said she thrived in part because of the experience she gained from working on IDHA assignments with classmates hailing from Iraq, Belgium, Italy, the U.S., and Sudan.

“One of my fondest memories from that time in Niger is the long days I spent traveling on hot, sandy roads to the various health centers we were working in,” she said.

“I sat in the front of a pickup truck with AS, who was my driver, and Ali, who was my construction assistant, discussing culture and politics while a desert landscape with camels and bedouins passed our window views. It was a perfect way to learn about the context I was working while also building  unforgettable friendships.” 

For Mariela Breton, FCRH ’21, graduation day was more than just the culmination of her accomplishments at Fordham. 

“I’m first-generation so it means a lot to me,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting a better job, financially supporting my family.”

Breton, a psychology and Spanish studies double major, said that her favorite class was multicultural psychology, which examines psychology through cultural and sociohistorical perspectives.

Camaraderie, teamwork, and friendship were the things that helped graduating Fordham College of Rose Hill students Charlie White, Nick Ulto, Tom Hurst, and Joey Randazzo get through the last 14 months. The men, who were all a part of Fordham’s rugby team, said that it was good to know they had support. 

“It was pretty challenging, but we all have each other,” White said. “We all rallied around each other as a group of guys playing a sport, so we really all had each other’s back.”

White said that this was a theme for the team, even before the pandemic.

“We would always go out on the weekend and try to plan social events and we were just trying to include everyone; that’s the best part about [rugby],” he said.

During his first year on campus, James Langan, FCRH ’21, started an intramural soccer team.

“A couple of kids in my dorm, kids in my classes, kids I met in the cafeteria—it was a good way to connect those first few weeks,” he said.

Some of those friendships and connections from that team lasted all four years, including one with Saige Mitchell, also FCRH ’21.

For Mitchell and Langan, reuniting on the Rose Hill campus for their diploma ceremony was the first time they had seen each other and their friends in person in over a year.

“I’m really grateful that we’re able to be here, said Mitchell, who’d been taking all of her classes virtually.  

Both said that their classes at Fordham helped prepare them for the future.

Mitchell, who will be starting medical school at Duke University, said that her biochemistry class had the most impact.

“I’m a biology major and I took it through the chemistry department. I met a really great mentor, and I’ve been doing research with her for about a year and a half,” she said.

For Langan, who is applying to graduate school, his upper-level numerical analysis class encouraged him to study math in depth.

“It was fascinating to learn what was out there beyond the normal level of math that I’ve learned my whole life,” he said.

Being back on the Keating steps reminded Lucianne Magnibas, FCRH ’21, of her favorite Fordham memory: the annual candle-lighting ceremony for first-year students.

“As an orientation leader, I got to experience that over and over again and it’s always really touching,” she said. 

Magnibas, a commuter student who majored in international political economy, said that she was grateful to be back on campus after the last year. 

“These past couple of weeks, being on campus and then of course graduating on Keating brings me back to why I love it here so much,” she said. 

Her father, Edwin Maginbas said he was so proud of all his daughter has done so far. 

“She’s accomplished a great deal here,” he said. “We’re so happy with the University and the school. She has a great school spirit and participates even as a commuter she’s very involved. We’re just ecstatic, very proud parents.”   

Jade Kennedy Chrichlow, FCRH ’21, was an African and African American Studies major and peace and justice minor. She’ll be starting Fordham Law in the fall. 

“My intro to Peace and Justice class with Professor Garnet Kindervater was really amazing. I used that class for my personal essays for law school, and it really just transformed how I thought about peace and justice because what’s justice for one person may not be justice for another person,” said Chrichlow, who was a transfer student to Fordham.  “I find that even in my thesis I cited things from that class. I constantly see myself going back to that class and telling everyone about it.”  

Alyssa Grimando, GABELLI ’21, came from East Northport, New York, to pursue a global business degree on the Lincoln Center campus, with a minor in sustainable business. She’ll soon be starting a job with Bank of America. Her favorite Fordham memory is studying abroad at Fordham London. Graduating in person was a special day for her, she said. 

“It’s been a long time coming, and a lot of hard work, and I’m glad we’re being recognized for it.”

Tyler Raciti, FCRH ’21, said graduation is “a special moment” for him. When I came to Fordham, it was in the backdrop of my father passing away. Being here, I feel like he’s with me.”

Raciti was instrumental in organizing Fordham’s Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ students.

“I’m so happy that Fordham was really embracing diversity and inclusion,” he said, citing that ceremony and other Diversity Graduation Celebrations.

He was also the founding editor of the Fordham Undergraduate Law Review. “Great minds,” he said of his fellow students. “I’m going to miss them.”

Shaniqua Orr, GSS ’21, said she had to push herself to finish her Master’s in Social Work, and that it’s because of her faith that she did. “I was raised in foster care, but I maintained my relationship with my mom and dad, who both passed away this past year,” said Orr, who served as student speaker at the Graduate School of Social Service’s virtual ceremony. “I feel like I can identify with my patients because I’m able to tap into their feelings. Social work is not for the faint of heart. It’s all about delivery: What you say and how you say it. Like my mom used to say, ‘You can get more bees with honey than vinegar.’ But it’s mostly about being transparent and leaving your opinions outside the door.”

Ray Mitchell, GSAS ’21, was no stranger to Fordham when he set foot on the Rose Hill campus in 2017. The Edmonton, Canada, native spent a month at the University in 2016 when he earned an international diploma in humanitarian assistance from Fordham’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs.

He was so impressed, he signed on to earn a master of arts in international humanitarian action, which is jointly offered with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. On Saturday, Mitchell, who currently works for a company contracted by NATO to supervise the removal of landmines in Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali, Ukraine, and Kosovo, was one 136 students to receive their diplomas at a virtual ceremony following the University’s main commencement.

He said he was humbled to work with IIHA faculty such as humanitarian programs director Larry Hollingsworth, and senior fellow Anthony Land. He wrote his master’s thesis about private medical support for humanitarian missions and said he’ll apply the lessons he learned to his current work.

“The way that I do operational planning and the way that I do strategic management has forever changed because of this program. I’ll focus on sustainability and localization at the national level from the very start of mission planning,” he said.

— Reporting by Kelly Kultys, Adam Kaufman, Sierra McCleary-Harris, and Patrick Verel

The ceremony, held on June 28 at the Lincoln Center campus, honored the 54th graduating class of Fordham’s International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA), an intensive four-week training program geared toward mid-career professionals in the humanitarian aid sector.

In addition to 22 IDHA graduates, two graduates of the Master of Arts in International Humanitarian Action program, a joint degree offered by the International Institute of Humanitarian Affairs and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, were lauded.

On his last day as Fordham’s vice president for administration, Thomas A. Dunne was also honored for his ongoing work with Fordham Law Schools’ Dilly Pro Bono Project, which assists immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border.

In his address, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, made a point of telling graduates that he schedules his annual year-end retreat so he can attend the ceremony.

“You are built very different. You respond not so much to things and situations as to people. You champion the human dignity of those who live at the edge of human society and the shadowy places of the world,” he said.

“You should really be hailed as masters of compassion, doctors of the human form. That is who you aspire to be, and to become ever more fully, as you begin your professional careers in the field. The field is those parts of the world where human dignity is affronted, and the human heart is tested.”

The graduates hailed from 14 countries, including Sudan, Germany, Australia, and Myanmar. They followed the 53rd IDHA class, whose courses took place in Geneva in October and November.

A Tight Camaraderie Forged

Oscar Lindow, a native of Jordan and programme officer at the World Food Programme, delivered the IDHA student address. He marveled at the friendships that he and his fellow graduates quickly established.

“Months ago, most of us had never met. We then confined ourselves to one building, and we’ve been living together, eating together, studying together. We’ve faced problems together; we’ve solved problems together. … That ties people together,” he said.

“We’ve helped each other and looked after each other. As much as I appreciated some great lectures on children in armed conflict and humanitarian principles, I would also take away with me those ties that were created with people.”

Fadiya Al-Shmailawi Mahadi, a classmate and native of Iraq who works in logistics for the International Committee of the Red Cross, echoed Lindow’s thoughts.

“When you do logistics, you sit in an office, you get orders, and you have to sort them out, so you’re not really into the action. You don’t see things. But when I came here, I listened to what other people are doing, even other students,” she said.

“The stories they told, like when they had to face something in the field, like terrorism, were heartbreaking. But I’m glad I got to know these stories.”

Enormous Challenges Ahead

In his farewell speech, IDHA course director Mark Little, M.D., did not sugarcoat the challenges the graduates face. According to a June 19 report from the United Nations, he noted, 70.8 million people around the world were displaced at the end of 2018.

“The numbers are staggering. When I sat in your seats in 2009, it was less than 30 million people who were displaced,” he said.

He noted that more than 800,000 cases of cholera occurred in three months in 2017 in Yemen; hospitals have been bombed in Syria; and the need for shelter, food, water, and sanitation has grown every year. This makes it even more important to remember the image of a displaced one of the first things students encountered when they were welcome to campus on June 2.

“We’ve heard that the world is losing compassion. I want you to remember the future of that child. As a child of that age, I was displaced by a natural disaster. I remember the fear of water swirling around my classroom,” he said, noting that his family moved to Australia in 1968 as a direct result of flood damage done to his home in Surrey, England.

“Standing on a desk, I remember the fear of the water rising and the policeman coming in, waist deep, and the fear in his eyes. I remember my anxiety being held in a police cell, not knowing anyone. And I remember the kindness of people who cared for me until I returned to my family.”

A Calling of the Highest Order

For reasons that are known to God alone, Father McShane said, these graduates’ hearts are attuned to the longing for creating the world spoken of in the Bible’s Book of Revelations 21:4.

“Then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and first earth had passed away. There shall be no more mourning, nor crying out, nor pain, for the former things have passed away,” he said, referencing the scripture. “My friends, this is the vision for your lives. This is the vision to which you will give yourselves to from now until the day you are dead.

“Use your gifts and your mastery of the art of compassion to bring about the realization of this sacred, noble, and divine vision. Glory in being different from others, and realize the dream of a more just society, in which every tear will be wiped away and every heart will sing.”