Millennium Fellows and the Future of Humanitarianism

Humanitarianism, or the practice of protecting human life, alleviating suffering, and preserving human dignity wherever people face crisis, is at a profound turning point. As governments and international organizations reduce funding and scale back programs, the need for new models of action has never been greater. 

Fortunately, a few of our 2025 Millennium Fellows are helping to fill that gap by volunteering, launching, and leading innovative, community-based initiatives in places as diverse as Rwanda, Bangladesh, Mexico, Kenya, and the United States. Their work demonstrates that the future of humanitarianism will depend not only on governments and large NGOs, but also on the creativity, commitment, and leadership of ordinary citizens, especially young people.

For decades, humanitarian assistance relied heavily on governments, multilateral organizations, and large international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) mostly from North America and Europe. That model is now imploding. At the start of President Donald Trump's second term, the United States dramatically reduced foreign assistance, and between 2024 and 2025, U.S. humanitarian funding fell from approximately $14 billion to less than $4 billion. Other major donors, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, followed suit by reducing their humanitarian budgets and creating a systemic crisis for both global humanitarian aid and international development.  

The consequences have been immediate and severe. By 2025, global humanitarian funding had declined by roughly 40 percent compared to 2022 levels. Around the world, humanitarian organizations have been forced to close programs, reduce staff, and limit services, leaving millions without access to food, healthcare, education, protection, and support for survivors of gender-based violence. At a time when displacement, conflict, and climate-related disasters continue to increase, the gap between humanitarian needs and available resources has never been wider. 

Yet this moment also presents an opportunity to rethink humanitarianism, and the work of Millennium Fellows is crucial. 

As funding for large aid organizations decreases, humanitarian action is becoming more localized, decentralized, and citizen-driven. Although the "modern humanitarian system" has long been dominated by governments, UN agencies, and large international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), a combination of globalization, digital technologies, and transnational networks have enabled ordinary citizens to organize across borders and respond directly to human suffering. Since the early 2000s, scholars have started to document and research the rapid growth of citizen-led humanitarian initiatives, often described as grassroots or "do-it-yourself" (DIY) humanitarianism.

Grassroots humanitarianism represents what some scholars call the "fourth pillar" of international aid. Unlike traditional humanitarian organizations, these initiatives are privately organized, community-based, and deeply embedded in local contexts. They are decentralized, flexible, and able to respond quickly, because they are led by people who understand local conditions and maintain close relationships with the communities they serve. Although many of these efforts operate on a relatively small scale, they represent an increasingly important source of innovation, solidarity, and social change.

And this is why our Millennium Fellows' work is so urgent and forward thinking. It is preparing young people for this new reality by giving them the knowledge, networks, mentorship, and confidence to become much needed humanitarian innovators.  

Here are a few examples from 2025 Fellows:

In Rwanda, Samuel Mugisha's Inzira Accelerator Foundation equips refugee youth with entrepreneurial skills, English-language instruction, and mentorship so they can create businesses and achieve economic independence.  It also helps graduates connect with organizations and a range of possible employers to help them integrate into the workplace by providing practical directions to employment, alongside entrepreneurship. Fellow Rwandan Fred Mugisha's Empowering Young Refugees Through Education helps refugee students navigate scholarship applications and access higher education, opening pathways that would otherwise remain closed. Other activities include organizing boot camps on various topics. 

In Kenya, Gatdor Gai Reat's Kakuma Titans Athletics Club uses athletics as a vehicle for peacebuilding, leadership development, and social inclusion among refugee youth, while creating opportunities for girls and young leaders to thrive. By offering structured running training and inclusive community sports events, KTAC promotes physical well-being, social cohesion, and equal opportunities, especially for girls, to help young people grow into confident, resilient leaders.

In Bangladesh, Jannatun Fardous Juthi's Echoes of Hope provides trauma-informed education for Rohingya children while amplifying refugee voices that are too often excluded from international conversations. This community-driven education and advocacy initiative is dedicated to restoring dignity, opportunity, and voice to Rohingya refugees, with a primary focus on children and youth living in the camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and host communities. 

In Mexico, Miguel Angel Rosales Martinez's Teaching for Success x Punto Café combines vocational training, language instruction, digital skills, mentorship, and employment partnerships to help migrants and refugees build dignified livelihoods and strengthen integration with local communities. The goals of this organization are to provide practical tools and real job opportunities through a barista and employability academy. They teach specialty coffee, customer service, basic digital skills, and workplace Spanish, paired with mentorship, certifications, and job placement with allied cafés. Impact is created by increasing income stability, accelerating local integration, and strengthening employer pipelines. 

In the United States, Yazmin Muñiz's Stateless Justice Initiative bridges research, advocacy, and direct service by producing policy research on immigration and refugee issues while expanding legal information and community support for immigrants and asylum seekers. The project aims to provide research on current policies and laws in the immigration field, and create service clinics around New York.

Although these initiatives differ in approach, they share several defining characteristics. They are locally rooted yet globally connected. The Millennium Campus Network provides support and global connections to elevate their work. The organizations that our Fellows started seek to address immediate humanitarian needs while also building long-term resilience. They combine service with advocacy, education with entrepreneurship, and compassion with practical problem solving. Most importantly, they demonstrate that humanitarian leadership is no longer confined to governments or large INGOs. Increasingly, it is emerging from communities themselves.

The future of humanitarianism will, undeniably, depend on restoring international funding and getting governments to prioritize humanitarian needs. But it will also depend on investing and nurturing a new generation of leaders capable of imagining different ways of responding to human suffering. Perhaps through these grassroots efforts, we can create a more effective, just, and localized system of giving. 

I believe the work of Millennium Fellows embodies that future. Their projects remind us that humanitarianism has never been solely about governments or big institutions. Instead, it has always been about passionate people choosing to act with courage, creativity, and solidarity when others face extraordinary challenges.

 Article Written By : Patrice C. McMahon, Provost, Minerva University