I am based in Dakar and part of a dedicated team of five people working towards the promotion and protection of human rights across the 14 West African States. A challenging and fascinating mission in a few words is but a gross understatement.

My area of responsibility includes economic, social and cultural rights of the local people, the rights of people on the move, especially asylum seekers, as well the human rights situation in Niger. This is especially where I saw my mission bringing the United Nations closer to the people we serve.

I was selected as a UN Online Volunteer for a project in which we developed content on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spread it on social networks. I was already volunteering at an electronic newspaper and I asked for the authorization to use my weekly column to give the campaign more visibility.

If I can describe the work of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme in one sentence, I would say that it works for both the protection of the environment and development. Most people would think that protecting the environment is something that distracts society from developing technologies, facilities, and the making of profits. However, GEF SGP is the place where we research how to do both simultaneously.

In 2015, I got the opportunity to become a UN Volunteer Child Protection Officer with UNICEF in Sudan. In a country severely affected by armed conflict, displacement and food insecurity, the humanitarian needs remain critical. In addition to an estimated 2.2 million people displaced internally, Sudan has received over a quarter of a million refugees fleeing the war in South Sudan. Approximate 70 per cent of these displaced people are children.