Why volunteering and inequality?

Having volunteered for various causes over the past 10 years, from working in animal shelters to supporting playgrounds for disabled children, Polina quotes Mahatma Gandhi to explain her motivation: The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. These words of Gandhi describe my attitude towards volunteering. --Polina Listopad, UN Volunteer with UNICEF, Moldova

With a particular focus on the protection of civilians, all my efforts were geared towards communicating with parties to the conflict and identifying ways forward, while simultaneously managing and preventing conflicts. I met many people – from the opposition, the towns and the villages, government representatives and ‘monyomiji’ (youth) from different tribes – to discuss the peace process and the problems faced by the communities while maintaining peace and working on the development of their respective communities at the same time.

Growing up, Ann Kamunya witnessed first-hand egregious violations of human rights — in particular, against women. This completely changed her perspective of and outlook on life, and what she wanted to do with hers. "I went to school with so many girls who were forced into arranged marriages at a very young age or had to go through genital mutilation," she says. "Witnessing these injustices and being surrounded by people who couldn’t speak up for themselves, I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer and represent the marginalized and the least privileged people."

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is transitioning from peacekeeping projects to peacebuilding and development. Through its Governance and Community Stabilization Section (GCSS), UNAMID is supporting Darfuri civilians with a wide number of projects aimed at increasing security and reduce violence.

During the signing ceremony, Mr Adam and Ms Fore highlighted the importance of working closer together to reach the full potential of the partnership. The agreement facilitates the deployment of UN Volunteers to support UNICEF in delivering on its mission to protect children, reduce child mortality, support quality education, provide life-saving emergency support and empower women and girls.

During the signing ceremony, Mr Adam and Ms Fore highlighted the importance of working closer together to reach the full potential of the partnership. The agreement facilitates the deployment of UN Volunteers to support UNICEF in delivering on its mission to protect children, reduce child mortality, support quality education, provide life-saving emergency support and empower women and girls.

The joint UN project Empowering Youth for a Peaceful, Prosperous, and Sustainable Future in Kosovo* is implemented through a synergized effort among the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women and is funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The project aims to engage youth with shared interests and concerns belonging to underserved communities to become active changemakers and catalyze peace and trust-building energies in Kosovo.

“Through my experience with the refugees, I have found the real meaning of my life.” With these words, Endah Ayuningsih Yuliarso (Indonesia, 33) summarizes her life-changing experience, which demarcated a shift in her personal career from dealing with numbers to supporting refugees. “Most of my career as a lawyer was spent representing corporations and high net worth individuals. I always felt that my efforts mostly ended up adding digits in someone’s bank account,” explains Endah.

There are one billion people who are estimated to actively volunteer worldwide. The 2015 Human Development Report (HDR) highlights that, volunteering creates social value and fosters innovation where markets and organizations were unable to make a direct contributions to peace and development in areas such as education, health, water and sanitation.