Many are drawn to volunteerism later in life as a way to contribute and give back to the societies and communities around them. For others, volunteering is a way to fulfil long-held ambitions, explore new fields of work and develop new skills. Whatever their motivation, the work of UNV’s partners and the places they live are enriched by the contributions of more than 600 older volunteers undertaking national and international assignments across the world. 

By joining the United Nations as a volunteer, Dany, as his patients call him, hopes that his medical expertise and day-to-day contributions will help promote peace in the country. 'When I arrived, I first assessed the health risks related to the region and set up the clinic with care services for the patients," says Dr. Daniel. Ndele is one of the regions of CAR with a small government presence, including police and security forces, and where MINUSCA's priority is to gradually restore the state of authority by facilitating the conditions for their redeployment.

The initiatives awarded under the Youth Volunteering Innovation Challenge featured youth engaging volunteers to address social issues with the help of private sector volunteering – the SAP staff members who provided mentorships were also volunteers.  The three-month mentorships enabled grantees to scale up their projects in the areas of environment, people with disabilities, and women’s economic empowerment within urban contexts, with a focus on leveraging volunteering for the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Since the ambitious group of young women and young men was brought together in June 2016, UNV and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are supporting the network of youth and volunteers by facilitating knowledge-sharing and assisting young leaders to engage in regional and national initiatives. Throughout the initiative, UNDP and UNV have organized capacity-building webinars, arranged opportunities for young leaders to share their opinions in multi-stakeholder conferences at regional and country-level, and collaborated in online and offline activities. 

Manila, Philippines: My name is Alma B. Sevillano, I am from the Philippines and I work as a UN Volunteer for the Haiyan Response and Recovery programme.  

Since 8 November 2013, when Category 5 Typhoon Haiyan made a direct hit on 36 provinces of the Philippines, there has been a worldwide response by aid agencies, governments and civil society to help the densely populated nation of 92 million people recover. The latest Government estimates (at 20 November 2013) indicate that 13.25 million people were affected by Typhoon Haiyan, including over 4.4 million who were displaced.  More than four million people are living outside evacuations, while 387,450 are living in 1,552 centres.