Protecting the vulnerable, one vaccine at a time
UN Volunteer Lucas Odhiambo serves with the communications team of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Kenya. He supports the delivery of essential services to disadvantaged children and adolescents. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has helped facilitate the delivery of vaccines to Kenya. Lucas shares why he is proud of the impact he is making in the lives of children and their families.
Since joining the UNICEF Kenya team in 2018, I have had a chance to provide communication support for several programmes, contributing to my professional and personal growth. Most importantly, I have been able to impact the lives of children and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Volunteerism as a means of reaching the marginalized in post-pandemic recovery
In Latin America, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme are partnering on an innovative volunteerism model to encourage financial inclusion and socioeconomic recovery. Their aim? To work towards a post-pandemic recovery that reflects the needs of the marginalized.
Latin America is the region with the most economic inequality in the world. Some 80 per cent of the population work in the informal economy sector, not profiting from basic services like social security programmes. According to the UNDP report, Volunteerism to foster development: concepts and prototypes (2021), 22 per cent do not have access to clean water, 34 per cent do not have an internet connection, and 45 per cent are excluded from financial services, such as bank accounts.
Two volunteers, one goal: helping vulnerable communities build forward better
UN Volunteer Gilbert Niyonkuru serves with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Burundi, attached to the Direct Social Action Programme. Kalle Silwimba has been a national UN Volunteer Civil Engineer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Zambia for almost three years now. Both volunteers are driven by a common goal: to end extreme poverty for the most vulnerable.
Based in Nyakazi, southern Burundi, Gilbert fulfils a critical community liaison role. He collaborates with local, administrative and judicial authorities across five districts to improve the inclusivity and accessibility of services. He also strengthens the capacity of civil registry and rural land registration agents.