Most people remember where they were when the disaster struck. I was serving as UNV Programme Officer in Timor-Leste at the time, where hundreds of international UN Volunteers supported the nation-building efforts of the then-newest member of the United Nations family. On home leave celebrating Christmas with my family in Germany on that very day, I felt the urge to support the people in the affected areas.

As a coordinating agency, the RCO seeks to strengthen cooperation between UN entities on issues related to economic development and climate change resilience. It looks at ways to strengthen the UN system by financing and implementing cross-cutting programmes.

UN Volunteer Kazuaki Tsujii joined UN Women in Lebanon in 2018 as a Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Officer. He served through the Global Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development (HRD) of the Government of Japan from April 2018 for one year.

Prior to her current appointment, Kyoko was the Chief of the UNV External Relations and Communication Section (ERCS) from July 2019.

A UN Volunteer's journey in south-eastern Mauritania Sitting by the window on my first flight with the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) en route to Bassikounou, in the south-eastern part of the country, all I could see was the vast Sahara Desert. As I got off the airplane during a stop-over in Kiffa, heat blew into my face. The sand was playing with the wind. There was no shade. And it was about 45 degrees Celsius. The question on my mind was: how can people survive — and thrive — in a desert?  

Having earned a master’s degree in Migration Studies, Ken thought that the UN project dealing with border control issues was strongly relevant to his interest. Now, as a UN Volunteer, he is contributing to meaningful changes in this area. As part of his assignment, which involves countering narcotics, Ken supports assessment and monitoring in the beneficiaries’ field office, drafting mission reports and preparing related team events.

While based in the Sahel - the most youthful region in the world, with 64.5% of youth aged under 25 [1] - I have had the opportunity to witness how youth volunteerism can empower young people and provide them with opportunities to actively participate in local, national, regional and global development activities.

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.

In Uganda, thousands of children become extremely sick and at risk of death due to unequal access to safe drinking water and poor sanitation and hygiene. Diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia, which are preventable with safe water and sanitation, remain leading causes of child mortality.