Improving the lives of 250,000 refugees through WASH interventions in Uganda
Harnessing the power of volunteering to support youth civil engagement and employment
Shoko Nakatomi served as a UN Volunteer Youth and Adolescent Development Officer with UNICEF in Jordan under the Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development (HRD). Her assignment was fully funded by Japan. Shoko was primarily responsible for managing, monitoring and delivering the results of the National Youth Engagement and Volunteering Movement programme for one million Jordanian and Syrian refugee youth.
Despite high enrollment rates in formal education, youth (aged 15-24) unemployment in Jordan is 37.4 per cent, more than double the world average. Unemployment of young Jordanian women is even greater. Jordan is one of the countries worldwide with the lowest levels of female participation in the workforce, with 40 per cent of women aged 15-24 and 55 per cent of women aged 25-39 unemployed.
Helping refugee artisans access markets and generate income
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. In Kenya, UNHCR supports refugees and asylum seekers mainly from Central and Eastern Africa. This is where Midori Honda (Japan), served as a UN Volunteer Livelihoods Officer starting May 2018.
The Livelihoods Unit of UNHCR is responsible for overseeing national livelihood strategies in Nairobi, the Kakuma and Dadaab Camps, as well as the Kalobeiyei settlement.
Livelihood interventions help displaced people secure necessities such as food, water, shelter and clothing while also supporting them to gain skills, capacity and social networks. Fundamentally, livelihood assistance focuses on equipping displaced people to become increasing self-reliant, as well as supporting their capacity to participate in income-generating activities.
The UN at 75: How do we strengthen our mandate in the COVID-19 context?
What role should international cooperation play in the context of interdependent challenges, which are inevitably impacted by COVID-19? How can volunteerism help ensure that these functions are fulfilled?
The UN at 75: How do we strengthen our mandate in the COVID-19 context?
What role should international cooperation play in the context of interdependent challenges, which are inevitably impacted by COVID-19? How can volunteerism help ensure that these functions are fulfilled?
Securing the right to education for refugee girls in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, around 50 UN Volunteers are taking action to make a difference in the lives of refugees. On World Refugee Day, we share the story of UN Volunteer Education Officer Anika Tanjim, who is one of 28 UN Volunteers supporting the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in its response to the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh.
UN Volunteers in Bangladesh provide support to refugees in issues related to education, water and sanitation, health care, research, nutrition, child care and gender, among others. Based in Cox’s Bazar, they serve with the international Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF and UN Women.
When refugees assist fellow refugees, an example from Burkina Faso
In 2019, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme launched a pilot project to mobilize refugees as UN Volunteers, in support of the refugee community in Burkina Faso, which includes more than 25,000 Malian refugees. Ahmed, Mohamed and Oussamata are refugees who were selected to support UNHCR operations as UN Volunteers in their own communities. One year on, we share their experiences.
Since March 2019, Mohamed Ould Zeni has served as a Community Mobilization Assistant with UNHCR in Djibo, in the north of the country. Every day he monitors households and ensures that cohabitation and relationships between local host populations and refugees are as peaceful as possible.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mohamed is responsible for monitoring and addressing concerns about the health and security situation in the Mentao refugee camp. He also works with implementing partners and coordinates the distribution of food and non-food items to 6,489 refugees.
Renewing hope: UN Volunteers supporting UNHCR’s work for refugees in the Arab States
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates the number of forcibly displaced people at 79.5 million worldwide. Of these, 20.4 million refugees are under the agency’s mandate. The scene in the Arab States region is complex, with multiple emergency situations in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya posing overwhelming challenges on an unprecedented scale. The region is also affected by some of Africa’s largest refugee crises of South Sudan and Somalia, and is a main point of entry for refugees heading to Europe.
To support UNHCR in delivering its mandate, more than 310 UN Volunteers have served with in the Arab States during the period 2016-2019, over 50 per cent of them women. This group of diverse and well-trained practitioners strengthened UNHCR’s capacity to provide protection and critical emergency assistance for refugees, instilling hope and trust in hard times.
Refugee education in times of COVID-19
Bahati Ernestine is a 26-year-old refugee from Rwanda living in Kenya. She is also a UN Volunteer serving with UNHCR in Kenya and a nurse working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Bahati shares an excerpt of the keynote speech she gave at a virtual forum convened by UNHCR and Kiron on 19 June 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 on refugee education.
Protecting refugee women at greater risk of gender-based violence due to COVID-19
Did you ever imagine that an unprecedented pandemic would affect the world during our lifetime? At the time of writing, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported more than 3.5 million cases of COVID-19. Of these,1.5 million are in the Americas. Filippa Dahlback, a Swedish sponsored UN Youth Volunteer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Brazil, shares UNHCR’s approach to preventing sexual and gender-based violence in its COVID-19 response.
While the elderly, people with disabilities and refugees are all at high risk, COVID-19 has also led to a surge in sexual and gender-based violence. This is alarming for Filippa, who works with UNHCR on prevention and tailoured response.
Women are at risk of physical, psychological and emotional violence. These risks could increase due to confinement, increased anxiety and deterioration of mental health. --Filippa Dahlback, UN Volunteer Associate Protection Officer with UNHCR, Boa Vista