UNICEF and UNHCR, in partnership with governments and civil society organizations, have set up 26 Blue Dot safe spaces for children and women in bordering countries, each able to provide relief for 3,000-5,000 people per day. They are also mobilizing to treat the mental and emotional damage caused by the conflict. In Romania, Marina Feher became a national UN Volunteer with UNICEF to help the Blue Dot initiative, focusing on refugees in Isaccea, Tulcea and Galati areas.

Refugee UN Volunteers are integral and invaluable members of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) team in Slovakia. They mirror to UNHCR colleagues the day-to-day life, challenges and resilience of Ukrainian refugees. Tetiana Korshun and Olena Bilinska, UN Volunteer Protection Assistants with UNHCR in Slovakia,​​​ are based in Kosice and Bratislava, respectively. They support UNHCR in communicating with refugee communities.

The floods in Pakistan have caused extensive loss of life and devastation. Approximately 33 million inhabitants are reported to have been affected, while preliminary estimates indicate that around 7.6 million people may be temporarily displaced.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and declared state of emergency in Bosnia and Herzegovina, vulnerable children, especially unaccompanied and separated children, are at higher risk of experiencing a disruption of basic social services.

The day the cyclone hit, we accommodated five neighbour families who sought refuge after the cyclone winds destroyed their houses. A total of 33 people sat in our small sitting room and I had to climb up the roof to place stone blocks to prevent the roof of being swept away.

Richard has been working with UNICEF Ethiopia’s Somali Field Office as a Nutrition Specialist since December 2016 where he has been engaged in the implementation and coordination of the nutrition emergency response. He joined UNICEF at the peak of the food and nutrition crisis and has provided technical support at all stages of the emergency response led by the Somali Regional Health Bureau, in collaboration with UN Agencies, non-governmental organizations as well as woreda (district) health staff.

Salloum, Egypt: When thinking of a volunteer, what usually comes to mind is a young person working in the field of an emergency zone. The link between the words ‘volunteer’ and ‘desk job’ is--to say the least--not very common. Well, I am one of those volunteers. I have been a national UN Volunteer, at a desk with office hours, in UNICEF Egypt’s Communication for Development (C4D) Section for a little over two years now.