Humanitarian Missions

For centuries, humanitarian missionaries have dedicated their lives to educate about, aid, and relieve pain and suffering. The word mission is derived from the Latin missionem, meaning “act of sending,” or mittere, meaning “to send.” It is thought that the first large-scale missionary effort in the history of the world's religions was by Buddhists from India in the 3rd century BCE. In the sense being discussed, however, the word missio n has its roots in Jesuit evangelical missions to China dating back to 1579. Many humanitarian organizations still promote their religious ideologies and give aid according to the principles, values, and morals of their own faiths.

Global humanitarian movements such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and many modern humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) ...