Helping to provide clean water for thousands in the desert of Darfur, Sudan

Mon, 11/19/2018 - 12:00

Abubakarr Bangura, UN Volunteer with UNAMID

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Darfur's arid environment houses refugee camps for 2.6 million internally displaced people in Sudan. Meet Abubakarr Bangura, a UN Volunteer Water and Sanitation Technician from Sierra Leone who promotes South-South cooperation by serving with the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID). With his support, UNAMID helps provide clean water to thousands of people.

For more than ten years, the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has maintained a large-scale peacekeeping operation following years of civil war. The mission is unprecedented in its ever-evolving nature, due to challenges posed by the harsh desert conditions of West Sudan.

International Volunteer Day: an overview

Mon, 11/12/2018 - 12:00

Kevin Fauzi

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The International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (5 December), more commonly referred to as International Volunteer Day (IVD), is an international observance mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1985. It offers an opportunity for volunteer-involving organizations and individual volunteers to promote volunteerism, encourage governments to support volunteer efforts and recognize volunteer contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local, national and international levels.

International Volunteer Day is celebrated by many non-governmental organizations, civil society, and the private sector, among others. It is also marked and supported by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.

UNV coordinates a campaign to promote IVD every year, building on the impact volunteers have in communities, nationally and globally for peace and development.

Reinforcing women's leadership and promoting volunteerism in Central African Republic

Fri, 11/09/2018 - 12:00

UN Online Volunteering service

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As part of an effort to promote volunteerism and women's leadership, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in the Central African Republic organized a capacity-building workshop for girls' organizations on the UN Online Volunteering service. The training took place in July 2018 at the headquarters of the National Youth Council of Bangui.

During his address at the opening ceremony, Francis Huguet Mongombe, President of the National Youth Council, recalled the key role of young girls in the advocacy of his institution for the youth of Central Africa.

Women's youth organizations play a central role in promoting volunteerism at the local level, particularly in peacebuilding. --Francis Huguet Mongombe, President of the National Youth Council

Enhancing food justice for urban communities in Africa

Thu, 11/01/2018 - 12:00

Grace Githiri, national UN Volunteer, UN-Habitat

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Every October, UN-Habitat and partners organize a month of activities, events and discussions on urban sustainability. This year’s Urban October may have just ended, but Grace Githiri, a national UN Volunteer with UN-Habitat, is still at work promoting urban food justice in informal settlements across Africa.

Informal settlements are rapidly growing as Africa urbanizes, and a key marker of this growth is the glaring spatial inequalities being witnessed across the continent. In Nairobi, for example, 63-70 per cent of people live in informal settlements (UN, 2015), occupying only 6 per cent of urban land (UN Habitat, 2017).

UNV and China Youth Volunteers Association sign Memorandum of Understanding

Beijing, China

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The signatures under the agreement were delivered by Mr. Zhang Zhaohui, Secretary-General of the China Youth Volunteers Association and Ms. Shalina Miah, Regional Manager for UNV in Asia and the Pacific.

UNV and China Youth Volunteers Association sign Memorandum of Understanding

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Training 2,000 further community health volunteers in Uzbekistan

Thu, 11/08/2018 - 12:00

Building the resilience of communities in Karakalpakstan

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A new round of training for community health volunteers (CHVs) was launched in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, in the framework of the UN Joint Programme 'Building the resilience of communities affected by the Aral Sea disaster' earlier this year. In total, 341 certified volunteers were trained in rural communities in Muynak, Karauzyak and Nukus districts. The objective of the recent training campaign is to train 2,000 new volunteers in ten target districts.

The community health volunteers movement has proved to be an effective instrument in awareness-raising campaigns in rural areas. Since the first round of training during 2012-2015, more than 1,644 community health volunteers have been working in the remote areas of Karakalpakstan. The volunteers are residents of local communities who spread the knowledge about the types of diseases prevalent in the region, their symptoms, preventive measures and importance of timely medical checkups.