Everyone has the power to make a difference in the world. Driven by this conviction, I started my UN Volunteer assignment with the UN's Refugee Agency, UNHCR in Somalia. The humanitarian context grapples with multiple displacement complexities.  I am stationed in Hargeisa in Somaliland. I am deeply involved in the collection, management, and analysis of data on persons of concern, including asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, and internally displaced people. 

A group of 40 UN Volunteers belonging to local communities was deployed by WFP in Iraq’s Duhok Governorate, which is located in the Kurdistan Region. In line with the Public Distribution System reform agenda, this group served alongside field enumerators to register Duhok residents. Serving tirelessly for three months, volunteers supported the registration of the newly issued PDS cards and also updated the residents' demographic information in the system - between 50 to 100 family registrations were carried out daily. Volunteers did so by using digital tablets.

What were the key highlights of your responsibilities during your assignment with UNHCR Somalia? I was the programme focal point in Kismayo and Jubaland, covering four field units. I supported the Mogadishu sub-office, monitoring and reporting on key indicators and other information requested by partners.  As the field unit programme focal point in Kismayo, I coordinated activities such as capacity building sessions with communities. I interacted with counterparts in different town and regions and regularly visited the people of concern that we served.  

Over the years, IVD has evolved and become a bigger event than before. Volunteers increasingly find novel ways to revel the occasion. By combining United Nations support with a grassroots mandate, the day is a unique opportunity for people and volunteer-involving organizations to work with government agencies, non-profit institutions, community groups, academia, and the private sector – to further weave together values of compassion and solidarity.  

In Kenya, UN Volunteers took part in the activities marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December, hosted at the Technical University of Mombasa. The event included a booth display and a talent show from special needs schools. UNV highlighted volunteer programmes and potential UN Volunteer assignments that are inclusive of people with disabilities.

In Yemen, UN Volunteers serving in Sana’a marked IVD with UNV Executive Coordinator Toily Kurbanov and UNV Regional Manager for the Arab States Christian Hainzl. The event was held at the premises of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and attended by representatives of UNDP, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The Deputy Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, Ms Kyoko Yokosuka, and UNV Regional Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ms Lita Paparoni, visited Mexico. They met with representatives of different UN entities, including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Resident Coordinator's Office (UNRCO).

Today, Yemen remains the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with 24.1 million people – 80 per cent of the population – in need of humanitarian aid and protection. The country is still struggling with a protracted political, humanitarian and developmental crisis. Acknowledging the contributions of UN Volunteers serving in such contexts, Mr Kurbanov chose to be at their side on IVD.

One of the prime examples of working together for a common good is a volunteer initiative made possible by the World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Peru.