What does a typical workday look like for you?

Collaborating with partners, coordinating with field offices, drafting project proposals, scheduling actions and deadlines – these tasks are the foundational components of a successful project. However, delivering these tasks efficiently also means analyzing the broader context in which the project unfolds to enhance positive and mitigate potential negative effects on the social fabric.

As a medical doctor, I have worked in conflict situations for most of my career. Since 2006, I have served as a medical doctor in Kabul, Afghanistan and Dili and Baucau in Timor Leste. During my assignments there, I helped set up UN level I clinics and handled medical issues similar to what I am handling now in South Sudan.

Manitra Raoliarisoa, former UN Volunteer Local Support Specialist with the United Nations Development Programme in Madagascar For over five years, I had the pleasure of serving as a national UN Volunteer with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and contributing to the development of my country – Madagascar. Time passed so fast, but the fond memories have stayed with me.

"I started to get involved in the study and conservation of the Lomas because of my thesis. However, if I have been at it for four years, it is due to the people and organizations with whom I collaborate. United, we are achieving goals that, until recently, seemed too far away," María states soon after our interview begins. 

What is unique about UN Community Volunteers is that they are from the community. They know the community; they are embedded in the community; they know the community dynamics. [We had] the opportunity to use this 'instrument' and have a direct impact on communities. --Jo Scheuer, UNDP Resident Representative in Mali

The UN Volunteers' fresh youth attitude, talent to navigate new technologies, and boldness for new ideas and innovation are highly appreciated. They all bring a genuine wish for change and a strong commitment to contributing to the achievement of SDG3: Good Health and Wellbeing. --Dr Jean-Marie Kipela, WHO representative in Guinea-Bissau

Gulfam Mustafa, UN Volunteer Partnership and Resource Mobilization Officer serving with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Guinea Bissau  As an international UN Volunteer, I live in a country thousands of miles away from my home. I have my family and kids back in Pakistan. Following the news of increasing COVID-19 cases causes me fear, anxiety and mental stress.