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.

One volunteer is Omar Basam Abu Hamad. At 22, Omar is a paramedic and a qualified teacher. He lives in Al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron in the West Bank, where there is only one health center to meet the needs of 9,500 people. Omar and other volunteers provide health services, including psychological support, to people living in refugee camps.

At UNHCR, there is a saying: "Protection is what we do, and we do it through programmes." With a background in development management, I am privileged to put my knowledge and skills into practice as UN Volunteer Associate Programme Officer with UNHCR in Somalia. In my role, I support the team leader and Field Officer in the UNHCR Area of Responsibility where I serve, ensuring business and operational continuity, and meaningful engagements in support of the communities that we serve.

I joined UNHCR Kenya as a UN Volunteer in June 2018 and have just concluded my volunteer assignment. During this period, I worked closely with my colleagues at UNHCR Kenya in promoting sustainable cities and communities. Our aim has been to help and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.

As an international UN Volunteer specialized in communication, Catalin was one of the first people to be sent to Cox’s Bazar to document the response of WHO Bangladesh. “Prior to the escalation of this crisis, there were already established partnerships between WHO, the government and other health partners. With the massive influx of people from Myanmar, strategies had to be adapted to this critical situation,” explains Catalin.

From January 2014 to October 2017, over 230,000 Iraqi families have fled combat zones and armed groups, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). These families face unique protection risks due to fractured community structures, separation of families, insecure shelter arrangements, and loss of income.

Saima Mohammad works as an Associate Public Health Officer for UNHCR in the North-East of Jordan, near the Syrian border. Approximately 50,000 refugees, mostly women and children, are residing in Rukban camp without access to any other health facility than the local clinic. Every morning, Saima travels almost three hours from her office in Ruwaished to Rukban, driving through sensitive military posts on a partially-paved road. In this desert area, no facility or shop are to be seen for kilometres.

As the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR supports the Turkish government response and coordinates the efforts of other UN agencies and partners across the country. With 90% of Syrian refugees living outside camps in urban and peri-urban areas, the needs for skills-development and employability are huge. As part of the Livelihoods Unit in Ankara, Cansu Güngör supports ways in which refugees can ensure their self-reliance.

In 2014, Thunayya fled her city of Al Qunaytra and the war that enveloped it. She lived in the camp ever since, and decided to volunteer as a cleaner, earning about US$8.50 per day. At the age of 48, it was the first time Thunayya had ever worked, as she had to provide for herself and her 85-year old father, her only dependent.

Sefadin, Leyla, Youssef and Zahra came from Syria, fleeing the combats in their country and finding refuge in the Domiz camp in Iraqi Kurdistan. All four have volunteered to support families of refugees with disabilities. They ran mutual help sessions about the isolation of people with disabilities who are at risk of being cut off from the humanitarian aid available in the camp. This was a crucial issue for Zahra: