Karol Alejandra Arámbula Carrillo (Mexico) has been a Online Volunteer since 2011. One of her motivations to join UNV’s Online Volunteering service was the desire to help organisations in other countries carry out their work, especially in the field of gender equality. 

Muchas de las actividades que desarrollaba estaban directamente relacionadas con las familias afectadas por el terremoto, específicamente con las mujeres y sus hijas e hijos en espacios de capacitación para la prevención de la violencia de género, ayudando a las mujeres y a sus familias a identificar patrones violentos, así como las rutas de protección a las cuales deben recurrir.

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.

My name is Isabela, I am 23 years old, and I am of American and Ecuadorian nationality. I left the United States in July of 2016 to join the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme to explore how youth are contributing to the development of my second home, Ecuador. This is how I got to participate in the First Regional Meeting of Youth Volunteer Networks in Cuenca, where I had the opportunity to interact with young volunteers from Latin America and learn how volunteering contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region.

The day I received an alert for an online volunteering opportunity with the UNV Latin American and the Caribbean Portfolio, I had already applied for different assignments throughout the years. My happiness was immense. My perseverance gave me the possibility to collaborate, not only contributing with knowledge about the reality of my own country, Venezuela, but also with other groups and situations in other latitudes, in this case Nicaragua.

We live in a world influenced by social networks, and people invest more time in them every day. Through social media we have the opportunity to share our everyday lives with others, and at the same time get inspired by other people and their posts.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti:  After working for the Spanish government, several media outlets, EU institutions and NGO networks, I decided my future was working for the United Nations. The UN represents all the values I believe in and could specifically focus on human rights and migration issues.

Pedernales, Ecuador:  Since April 2015, I worked as a UN Volunteer Public Policy Specialist in the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN) country office in Quito. However, one day my responsibilities shifted in a totally unexpected way.

Guatemala city, Guatemala: While serving as a UN Volunteer Finance Officer with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Guatemala, I had the opportunity to participate in pilot projects in the area of Finance. The whole financial framework of the WFP is in a process of transition towards higher transparency, cost efficiency and accountability. I was excited to contribute to this transformation.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: I joined the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) as a UN Volunteer one year after the devastating earthquake that struck the country in 2010. This tragic event motivated me to dedicate my time and experience to help restore a secure and stable environment in Haiti.