Volunteers assisting refugees and internally displaced persons with UNHCR
Striving to belong: Helping refugees restore their identity
Urvashi Bundel joined the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme in 2019 as an Associate Refugee Status Determination Officer at the Assosa sub-office of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Ethiopia. On World Refugee Day, she shares what it is like to be a part of the refugee status determination process.
Identity, to me, is what we share when we introduce ourselves to others. It includes the traditions of our country of origin or the language we speak, our religious practices, family customs, hometown festivals and more. Now, imagine if your very identity was continuously challenged – only because you were forced to flee your place of origin due to precarious circumstances like war, political unrest or climate change. This is the reality that asylum seekers, refugees and anyone unwillingly displaced from home, face every day.
Assessing the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on refugees and asylum-seekers in Albania
Holly Langham (United Kingdom) serves as a UN Volunteer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Albania. She is actively contributing to a rapid socio-economic assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on refugees and asylum seekers. Working towards the effective integration of refugees and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable has always been a deep-rooted interest.
Holly finds working on refugee and asylum matters very engaging, especially as the country has long-term ambitions to join the EU and align its legal frameworks and systems accordingly.
Propagating health awareness online to ensure the safety of communities during COVID-19
Afghanistan, like many other countries across the world, is in lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Creating awareness about the effects of COVID-19 in communities embroiled in conflict over the years is onerous. UN Volunteers serving with the UN Children's Fund are propagating health awareness by engaging with target groups online.
UN Volunteer Basmeena Safi, a UN Volunteer Health Officer with UNICEF, is sparing no effort to prevent the spread of the virus and protect communities. A specialist in healthcare, Basmeena, has supported efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus by sensitizing communities about facts surrounding COVID-19 to stop misinformation.
The fight against COVID-19: ensuring the safety of communities in Papua New Guinea
Bringing the UN and youth together through technology and innovation to create social impact
Towards a gender and disability-inclusive COVID-19 response
Gift Govere is a UN Volunteer deployed under the Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities, jointly implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UNV, and his assignment is part of a project supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany. He supports a multi-stakeholder project in Zimbabwe for women and girls with disabilities. In the current COVID-19 context, Gift is helping UNDP adapt its programming to ensure a disability and gender-inclusive response and shares his experience and perspective.
I was recruited by UNDP in Zimbabwe to provide technical support to the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Spotlight Initiative on disability-inclusive programming and interventions.