After retiring, Rui de Oliveira, a Portuguese IT expert with forty years of experience in that field, felt "completely useless and lost". To make it worse, memories of the Portuguese colonial war in which Rui had been obliged to serve as a soldier came back and he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Plementina, Kosovo: The integration of Roma Ashkali Egyptian (RAE) is a challenging social issue for Kosovo. In Plementina, a small village in the Obliq municipality, a community of some 40 Kosovo RAE returnee families is facing very difficult living conditions since a fire broke out in their apartment building and made it inhabitable. While they wait for the building to be repaired by the municipality and the central authorities, these families are unable to meet their daily basic needs and as a result their re-integration is severely jeopardized.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan:  The Ecological Boomerang project – or 'Eco-Boom', as people commonly refer to it – began its activities in Fergana in September. A joint initiative of UNV and the UNDP resource centre in Tashkent, and financially supported by UNV Uzbekistan under its IYV+10 Mini-Grant initiative, the project began its first training of trainers in October.

Astana, Kazakhstan : Through a state programme, the Government of Kazakhstan is making efforts to encourage the repatriation of ethnic Kazakhs from abroad. The integration of repatriates into society is a challenge due to language and cultural barriers, lack of basic resources and legal and social support.

When the Libya crisis broke on 16 February 2011, Estella Reed, recruitment professional from the United Kingdom, wanted to contribute her time and knowledge to raise awareness of what was going on inside the country. “I have been following the crisis in Libya and was saddened by the suffering that I have seen,” she says. As the crisis in Libya began to unfold, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) faced a critical challenge: the lack of information about events inside the country.

When the Libya crisis broke on 16 February 2011, Estella Reed, recruitment professional from the United Kingdom, wanted to contribute her time and knowledge to raise awareness of what was going on inside the country. “I have been following the crisis in Libya and was saddened by the suffering that I have seen,” she says. As the crisis in Libya began to unfold, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) faced a critical challenge: the lack of information about events inside the country.

Fushë Kosovë, Kosovo: When I went to the district of Fushë Kosovë for the first time, I thought I was prepared enough not to be shocked. Driving in a warm and comfortable jeep, I didn’t have to walk on a muddy and uneven road to reach the school, where I was asked to go for an assessment visit.

Pristina, Kosovo:   UNV supported The Ideas Partnership (TIP), a local NGO, with text books and stationery for their catch-up classes to Roma children who are preparing for a test to register into formal schooling.

A UN backed study has found that enormous potential exists in the region for bettering people’s lives through volunteering. On Tuesday, March 29th, Mr. Ghulam M. Isaczai, Chief of UNV’s Development Division, and Ms. Mavsuma Muinova, Deputy Head of the State Committee on Youth, Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Tajikistan jointly launched the report at a ceremony held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Mr.

International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2010 was celebrated all over India with a variety of interesting, informative and impressive activities. National essay and slogan writing competition A national essay and slogan writing competition was organized to spread greater awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and inspire and involve more people to join the movement towards achieving the MDGs by 2015.