Today is World Refugee Day, a day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe.
"There are 120 million people in our world today who are displaced from their homes," said Stefan Epp-Koop, senior manager of humanitarian programming at Canadian Foodgrains Bank. "They are displaced because of conflict, because of natural disasters, because of economic crises, and have been forced to leave their homes."
According to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, there are more refugees and displaced people in the world in 2024 than there have ever been before.
"So, it's important today to take a moment to remember people in places like Sudan or South Sudan or Ukraine or Gaza or Syria. Any of these many different countries where people are displaced."
In 2023, Epp-Koop had the opportunity to see the global refugee crisis firsthand when he visited Somalia. He says he has had a lot of chances to travel to many different places in the world, but this trip was the most impactful.
"Seeing and visiting with families who've been displaced from their homes for as long as a decade with no real hope of going back and stuck in displaced person camps where there are very few livelihood options and very few ways to earn an income," said Stefan. "It's really heartbreaking to see the conditions that people who are experiencing displacement are living in."
With no end in sight, Stefan is encouraging Canadians to get involved.
"We have some great World Refugee Day resources on our website to learn about displacement and its impact on people around the world, and what it's like to be a displaced person."
He says another thing Canadians can do is pray.
"Pray for those who are displaced, for those who are hungry. Pray for peace in the world, because that's the biggest driver of displacement forcing people from their homes."
World Refugee Day was first established on June 20, 2001.