Building youth skills is a universal way to build the community and yourself
The blend of education in International Cooperation and Development, and Journalism drove Aleksandra Andjelic (Serbia) to volunteer for social action. She started as an intern at the New Delhi office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Then, Alexandra worked as a part of the corporate communications team at a prominent Eastern European firm, after which she chose to become a UN Volunteer.
Alexandra seized the opportunity to serve as a national UN Volunteer Youth Engagement Officer with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Serbia. The assignment sparked her will to contribute to UNICEF’s mission, especially as a young person herself. Now, as she finishes her assignment, Aleksandra describes her experience as crosscutting and most enriching.
We need united people, now more than ever
"There is another pandemic taking place: the pandemic of inequalities. People around the world are experiencing socioeconomic inequalities which undermine their life chances and opportunities."1
Even before the pandemic, millions of people took to the streets to make their voices heard. Rising inequalities were a common factor for these public displays, and minorities such as persons with disabilities, indigenous communities, refugees, and migrants, among others, were the hardest hit groups.
Driving behaviour change to end violence against women and girls
Through advocacy and empowerment campaigns, UN Volunteer Tomoko Yatsu (Japan) used her technical skills to raise awareness about gender-based violence and drive behaviour change. She served as a Programme Analyst with UN Women's programme to End Violence Against Women and Girls in Tanzania.
In Tanzania, Violence Against Women and Girls is widespread and pervasive. Patriarchal social structures and traditional gender norms perpetuate violence.
Women may be socialized to accept, tolerate or even rationalize domestic and partner violence perpetuated against them. For girls, some parents prevent their girl child from attending school and insist they fail exams or encourage them to quit schooling. Furthermore, rape and child marriage result in expulsion from education as does pregnancy, all of which are considered violence or violent acts.
The road to zero hunger: nutrition supply chain integration
In Uganda, UNICEF and the Government are collaborating in pursuit of zero hunger. Their goal? To incorporate nutrition in the country’s health and essential medicine systems. Ayako Okamura, UN Volunteer Nutrition Supply Chain Officer, worked closely with the Ministry of Health on integrating nutrition supplies in the national health system.
Undernutrition is an important contributor to poor maternal, newborn and child survival and development in Uganda. Stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height) are key indicators of childhood malnutrition and are the result of chronic or recurrent undernutrition.
Both conditions are usually associated with poverty, poor maternal health and nutrition and/or inappropriate feeding and care in early life. Both indicators prevent children from reaching their physical and cognitive potential.
Community Mobilization and Activism During COVID-19
This is the 5th and final in a series of articles featured by United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Sri Lanka in the context of International Volunteer Day 2020.
COVID-19 was the first pandemic the world faced in a century. People responded with fear, anxiety and uncertainty during the first wave. Yet, there were also the acts of compassion, courage and care coming from the people. The country was in lockdown for more than two months from March to May 2020. The lockdown and intermittent curfew imposed created panic among people. It also led people to stock up their food and other essential items.