In Luwuk, about 12 hours drive away from Palu when the earthquake hit, Tofan, then 24, feared the worst from a disaster that eventually killed more than 4,300 people. “We were very panicked for our loved ones. We could not contact them because there was no phone connection and electricity,” he says.

Weng provides strategic information, advocacy and technical support to coordinate stakeholders to deliver comprehensive life-saving HIV service. She focuses on technical and administrative support to programmes and coordinates partners from the Government, private sector and local communities.

UN Volunteer Yo Kunieda supported the work of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in Fiji from March 2020 to March 2021. Her main contributions centred on a Small Island Developing States (SIDS) project, which supports small islands to better manage disaster and climate risk. 

In her work, Sabrina supports UNICEF programmes for gender equality through data analysis in gender-disaggregated ways – including both gender and disability at the field level data collection and analysis. This aids decision-makers to observe the changes and take appropriate action to improve the programme by ensuring equal opportunity for children, women, and persons with disabilities. 

Youth-led organizations consider youth issues a crosscutting theme in sustainable development. One example is UNDP Nepal’s My Way, Green Way campaign.  Campaign organizers distribute bicycles to young girls in various parts of Nepal to provide easy and independent transport to and from school. A mobile application has also been launched that incentivizes bicycle use per kilometer. 

The project mainly targets women and young people of ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups such as those below the poverty line, rural residents, and persons with disabilities. Among this group are the ones in three project sites at an altitude of over 4000 meters including Yushu City, which was heavily impacted by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2010.   Aimin, a national UN Volunteer Project Coordinator, has worked on this project since 2019. She supports programme management in planning, management, reporting, and coordination with various stakeholders. 

Siphra Jane Tampubolon is a Health Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist and serves as a National UN Volunteer with UNDP Indonesia. She is with the Health Governance Initiative (HEART) since 1 August 2021 up until July 2022. 

In line with the theme of IVD 2021, Volunteer Now for Our Common Future, partners across the Pacific came together to honour volunteers striving to address development challenges in their communities. 

In Thailand, the UNV Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific marked IVD 2021 together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Malou had worked earlier as a consultant for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN Development Programme (UNDP), and as a staff member in UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), all in the Philippines. She is now a UN Volunteer Coordination Assistant in the Philippines.