Since its creation in 2010, the partnership between the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has engaged hundreds of talented men and women from diverse backgrounds to serve as volunteers advocates for women's rights in Africa and the world. In 2018, 230 UN Volunteers were an important component of UN Women’s capacity on the ground and were at the forefront of promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Responding to the needs of refugees in the West Bank, State of Palestine
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has provided relief works and programmes for over 60 years. UNRWA currently assists more than five million registered refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, State of Palestine. UNRWA provides essential services such as education, health care, relief and social services, refugee camp infrastructure and improvement, micro-finance and emergency assistance. Takuma Haga (Japan) served as a UN Volunteer Associate Programme Support Officer with UNRWA under the Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development, responding to the needs of Palestine refugees in the West Bank.
The West Bank field office, located in East Jerusalem, supports over 800,000 refugees of whom 25 per cent live in 19 camps. Some camps are located next to major towns, while others are in rural areas.
Takuma gained first-hand practical field experience during his assignment, working with project staff across a range of sectors implementing reform initiatives identified in the West Bank Annual Operational Plan and UNWRA Medium Term Strategy.
Serving with UN Women to promote the safe use and enjoyment of public spaces by vulnerable women
The Safe Cities Programme is an initiative of UN Women, in partnership with the Government of Papua New Guinea, which is helping to address women’s safety and engagement in market activity. UN Youth Volunteer Adrianna Kunjib serves with UN Women’s Safe City Programme. She shares her experience as a volunteer and the inspiration she gets out of her volunteering assignment.
I used to work for Port Moresby Municipality as a book keeper for market venders when I got the opportunity to become a UN Youth Volunteer with UN Women’s Safe City Programme.
Over 80 per cent of vegetable sellers in Port Moresby are women, especially single mothers and widows who experience all sorts of abuse in public places. The programme promotes the safe use and enjoyment of public spaces by women through empowering them economically and through other means.
Volunteer with UNAMA collaborates with Afghan youth aspiring to uplift their country
The United Nations Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is a political UN mission working on laying down the foundations for sustainable peace and development, working with the government and people of the country. UNAMA personnel include UN Volunteers, and during 2018, 77 UN Volunteers supported the mission. One of these is Trishna Bantawa (Nepal), who serves as a UN Volunteer Field Coordination Officer with the mission. Trishna shares her experience as a woman in peacekeeping in Afghanistan.
When I decided to move to Kabul as an international UN Volunteer, I did not know that I was stepping into an environment where I had much more in common with my colleagues than I had ever imagined.
The majestic mountains of Kabul and the post-conflict reality of Afghanistan were not the only evident similarity to my home country of Nepal. The fragility of life and an everyday commitment to positive mind-set made me feel right at home.
The role of gender in volunteerism for community resilience
Around the world, people volunteer in different ways to achieve diverse impacts, both planned and unplanned. Most volunteering takes place through informal engagement between individuals, with only an estimated 30 per cent of volunteering taking place formally, through organizations. Much of this volunteerism – both informal and formal – takes place at the community level.
The role of gender in volunteerism for community resilience
Around the world, people volunteer in different ways to achieve diverse impacts, both planned and unplanned. Most volunteering takes place through informal engagement between individuals, with only an estimated 30 per cent of volunteering taking place formally, through organizations. Much of this volunteerism – both informal and formal – takes place at the community level.
Volunteering for peace as a database and software engineer in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Shahin Praveen is a UN Volunteer based in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). She enhances the capacity of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democractic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) through her extensive skills and experience as a software and database engineer. Prior to being selected by MONUSCO, Shahin was working as a database administrator in Delhi, India. Shahin reflects on her time in the DRC and her dream for peace and prosperity.
The DRC is a beautiful and rich country with lots of human and natural resources. Let me congratulate the Congolese people who, in spite of the ordeals facing the country, continue to work for peace.
I joined MONUSCO as a UN Volunteer in March 2016. I am the Contingent-Owned Equipment (COE) Database Assistant, responsible for managing and updating comprehensive electronic files/records on day-to-day activities relating to field units and their inspections to the e-COE databases.
UNV committed to increasing participation of women volunteers in development
For the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in West and Central Africa, promoting women’s empowerment is a priority in 2019. Of the 1,959 UN Volunteers currently working with 32 UN agencies in the region, only 590 (36 per cent) are women. The UNV Regional Office in Dakar covers 24 African countries and has set itself the goal of increasing the number of women who serve as UN Volunteers in areas such as project management, public health, legal work, engineering, peace building, protection and resettlement, but even more so in technical profiles like fleet management and supply chains.
Grace Otieno, a UN Volunteer who serves as an Air Operations Planning Officer at the MOVCON aviation section of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).
Posted in Goma, Grace is working in a largely male-dominated sector. Her everyday tasks include planning for daily flights, coordinating ramp activities for smooth and timely flights and briefing the crew on their daily route requirements as per UN procedures.
Developing crocodile farms with and for indigenous peoples – a retrospective from 1978
UNV was established in 1970 and deployed the first volunteers one year later. An international UN Volunteer of the first hour, Jerome Montague (USA), takes us back on a journey that started in 1978 in Papua New Guinea and shares insights on how volunteerism influenced his career in the years to come. Already in those days, UNV deployed its volunteers amongst communities. For Jerome Montague that did not only mean to be in the field, it literally meant to be in the swamps: Jerome served with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a Wildlife Officer in Lake Murray, providing assistance to the crocodile skin industry at the Baboa crocodile station.
UNV and the crocodile skin industry? This surely was different from what most UNV assignments revolved around. Jerome Montague’s description of assignment reads as follows:
To fully understand what this assignment is about, one must look at the bigger picture. Papua New Guinea achieved independence from Australia in 1975 and was needed to establish its own economy.
No limits for women's rights: the ambitious goal of a volunteer with UN Women in Jordan
During her experience as a national UN Volunteer with UN Women for almost a year, Natalie Nustas has seen firsthand the countless challenges faced by women in both the private and public sphere. She’s also seen the life-changing impact of empowering women to have a voice, opportunities for work, and hope.
Having been raised in a socially conservative environment, Natalie explains that she was one of the lucky ones. Empowered to pursue her education, she obtained a Master’s degree in Media and Development from the United Kingdom.
Perhaps this is why joining UN Women as a volunteer after she settled in Jordan seemed like a natural move. Though she acknowledges that gender inequality is a worldwide issue, she says, "It’s hard to be a woman from the Middle East and not be affected by the issues around women’s rights."