UN World Humanitarian Day: How These Forces For Good Find Inspiration

Every year, thousands of aid workers around the world put their lives in danger daily to help people in need. Each finds his or her inspiration from a different place.

U.N. Chief of Peacekeeping Operations Ken Payumo realized his work meant something when he stood between Sudanese government officials and refugees, stopping the probable harm of thousands. For UNICEF's Pernille Ironside, it was a 14-year-old Gazan girl who wished she died in attacks from Israel rather than live to see the ensuing despair. Emmanuel Jal found his inspiration when a British woman smuggled him from a child soldier camp in Sudan. A 7-year-old beatboxer spoke to Kinan Azmeh's humanitarian side at a refugee-camp concert.

These four soldiers of altruism were far removed from those inspirations Tuesday as they sat on a panel at U.N. headquarters in New York to participate in a panel for World Humanitarian Day, emceed by HuffPost Live host Alyona Minkovski. They each shared stories of strife and conflict, and how they try to inspire and help people in need across the world.

Catch their powerful stories in the clip above, and watch full coverage of the event here.

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