Every action makes a difference. At times, a very small action can have a huge impact. 

With nearly ten years in the United Nations system and some eight years working directly with vulnerable refugee and asylum-seeking populations, I value my service to UNHCR's international protection mandate.  UNHCR in Somalia works with government and stakeholders to provide humanitarian assistance, and advance peace and development in priority areas of return and reintegration.

Everyone has the power to make a difference in the world. Driven by this conviction, I started my UN Volunteer assignment with the UN's Refugee Agency, UNHCR in Somalia. The humanitarian context grapples with multiple displacement complexities.  I am stationed in Hargeisa in Somaliland. I am deeply involved in the collection, management, and analysis of data on persons of concern, including asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, and internally displaced people. 

More than a year since its launch, In Their Sneakers has been the foundation of projects nurturing creativity in coming up with solutions for forcibly displaced people to effectively integrate into local communities. Serbia, over the years, has seen significant forced displacement both within its borders and among its neighbours in the region. It currently hosts more than 3,000 refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants.

According to reports, since the war started more than 2.4 million Ukrainians have crossed the border into Romania from Ukraine or Moldova.

One hundred Online Volunteers were deployed with UNHCR for almost two months on a campaign that ended this week. Almost all of them were nationals of Niger. Through social media posts, they raised awareness of the rights of refugees in Niger and addressed Sustainable Development Goal 10, reducing inequalities. The posts further highlighted the urgent need to find solutions for refugees in the country – mostly from Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria. 

The journey of Ghita (27) in protection and promotion of refugees’ rights began while she was still in high school. She was selected for an internship in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was introduced to an association active in the promotion of human rights. This experience laid the foundation for her future endeavors to contribute to development and assist refugees and asylum seekers.

As part of his role with UNHCR Chad, Sido oversees WASH facilities, coordinates the installation of new infrastructure and ensures that WASH requirements are implemented by local partners. This increases groundwater resources, enabling refugees and host communities to improve agricultural production, provide water for their livestock and generate income through the sale of surplus produce. 

Nabin supports refugees through durable solutions and community-based protection. This includes counseling refugees, and serving in areas of child protection and prevention, and gender-based violence.  My innate passion for serving displaced people, particularly refugees, motivated me to work in this area and to be a UN Volunteer,” says Nabin.

One of the prime examples of working together for a common good is a volunteer initiative made possible by the World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Peru.