COVID-19 threatens millions already vulnerable due to food insecurity Just a couple of months before COVID-19 spread across nearly every border in the world, Ângela Gregório António Chale Macie began serving as a UN Volunteer in Nampula, Mozambique. Little did she know just how critical her role would become for the people in Erati district when the Coronavirus endangered their already-limited access to food.

Senior UN Volunteers are not common – the average global age of UN Volunteers is 32 – but the Haddows can attest to the many benefits their presence brings both to the missions they serve, and to themselves as older volunteers. Rather than spending their retirement years in quiet relaxation, the Haddows, both from the United Kingdom, chose to share their lifetime of expertise as UN Volunteers with United Nations missions.

Through my work, I tell the stories of these transformative changes in the lives of women and girls.

I remember sitting at home in Mwanza, Tanzania, in July 2017, and reading about the work United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme was doing on my phone. As I read further, my excitement grew, and I stumbled upon the United Nations Online Volunteering platform. I quickly followed the link, read on, and in 10 minutes, I was able to understand how it works. I was delighted by the prospects of using the platform. I loved the impact I could make anywhere in the world from the comfort of my home. --Kido Mwamyenyelwa

Many factors motivated me to volunteer: I always wanted to be an agent of change to change mindsets towards persons with disabilities and disability-related matters. I further wanted to prove to the world – through my actions and contributions – that disability does not mean inability. --Pelgrina Shimanu Ndumba, UN Volunteer with UNDP, serving under the UNDP-UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities

On 9 July 2011, South Sudan became the newest country in the world. On the same day, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was established by the United Nations Security Council for an initial period of one year. UNMISS was mandated with consolidating peace and security and helping establish conditions for effective governance and development in the Republic of South Sudan.

I have always loved to help people, to see the sick get better, and to make a difference in the lives of others. I am Ugandan, and I worked in South Sudan with Doctors with Africa CUAMM before joining UNDP.  I always quote Maya Angelou. ‘Be the rainbow in someone’s cloud.’ I have always loved to help people to see the sick get better, to make a difference in lives. --Leila Mirembe, UN Volunteer Medical Doctor

Coming from Colombia, this was my first assignment in a UN Mission and my first time in Africa. Before this, I had worked in Guatemala protecting human rights defenders, an experience that informed my passion for human rights work.

I joined the UN in Lesotho in 2019 to lead the drought emergency coordination efforts in the country. The country had just been devastated by drought at the time, leaving more than half a million people (about a quarter of the total population of Lesotho), mostly women and children, experiencing severe food shortages. Tens of thousands were ‘one step away from famine’. While farmers experienced droughts, rising temperatures, and extreme weather, the changing weather condition was forcing people to migrate.