ESC Humanitarian Aid is a strand of the European Solidarity Corps (2021–2027) that enables young people to volunteer in humanitarian actions worldwide. Officially launched in April 2021, it supports safe deployments in third countries through accredited organisations working with communities affected by poverty, crises, and long-term vulnerability.
The strand’s goal is to strengthen global solidarity, support vulnerable groups, reinforce local organisations, and promote human dignity, equality, and humanitarian principles — while giving young people the chance to gain real humanitarian field experience.
Eligible volunteers are aged 18–35 and must register on the ESC Portal. The EU covers travel, insurance, training, and mentoring throughout the service.
Activities are generally implemented across key thematic areas, including disaster preparedness and risk reduction; community resilience building to support recovery from crises and promote sustainable futures; bridging humanitarian response with longer-term development to ensure continuity from immediate relief to durable solutions; protection of vulnerable groups; food security and climate change adaptation; and the promotion of health and well-being. These efforts are reinforced through capacity building of local staff and volunteers, as well as complementary actions such as training, workshops, and coordination meetings aimed at maximizing project impact.
All activities are carried out in clearly defined support roles, under professional supervision and safeguarding standards, and are combined with structured training, mentoring, and reflection throughout the service.
Assignments can last up to 12 months.
ESC Humanitarian Aid helps volunteers grow professionally while boosting the impact of local humanitarian work, turning European solidarity into concrete support for communities in need.
ADRA Serbia has held the ESC Humanitarian Aid Hosting Quality Label since 2022, ensuring full compliance with the European Union’s standards for safe, ethical, and high-quality humanitarian volunteering.
Since receiving the Quality Label, ADRA Serbia has implemented HVSA – Humanitarian Volunteering for Solidarity Activities, a project funded by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) under the European Solidarity Corps Humanitarian Aid strand.
Through HVSA, ADRA Serbia hosts trained volunteers who support community-based education, protection, and capacity-building activities in vulnerable contexts, directly contributing to the organisation’s long-term humanitarian programming in Serbia.