Travelling from Afghanistan's provincial capital of Herat towards the border with Iran, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are greeted by piles of rubble where family homes once stood - stark reminders of how difficult it is to start all over again in a country devastated by war. It means finding shelter and enough clean water and food to survive. Many people are dependent on outside assistance for their daily bread. Instead of providing wheat, which is sometimes stolen and sold in local markets, the World Food Programme (WFP) consulted local elders who recommended that they support the opening of bakeries.

At the Mashlakh IDP camp, WFP works with the Islamic Relief Agency and Feed the Children to encourage IDPs to bake and distribute bread to the estimated 42,000 people sheltering there. "Our role is to monitor that the rations are produced and that the quality is good" said Devaki Shrestha from Nepal, a UNV Programme Officer with WFP.

In 2002, there were 49 bakeries where 223 women and 112 men worked. Women IDPs were given opportunities to learn skills so that they could open bakeries once theyreturn home. The UN Volunteer also works with partner organizations to start other initiatives for Afghan women such as literacy classes and school feeding projects. One project involves 38 women bakers in Bunyad village who work from home to feed nearly 6,000 children in the surrounding area. Local volunteers make sure the bread is handed out in schools. Through her activities, Devaki is helping develop skills for Afghanistan's future breadwinners.

• After hours and on weekends, UN Volunteers supporting the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) join 75 local volunteers in community activities through an initiative called BASUNGI, a word in the Lingala language meaning "those who are helping others". In Kisangani, they have built 50 hospital beds and renovated the maternity ward. In Kindu, the volunteers have built desks,tables, chairs and blackboards, refurbishing a local school that is already benefiting nearly 300 pupils. The UN Volunteers have also bought uniforms and materials for a school for the deaf and dumb in Kalemie and have distributed donated clothing at a home for the elderly and at the hospital maternity ward in Kinshasa. Local community participation is a prerequisite for BASUNGI's action to ensure that such initiatives continue after the UN Volunteers leave.
• Helping support some of the 20,000 mostly Afghan, Chechen and Tajik refugees in Kazakhstan, Algerian UN Volunteer Aoued Sebaa working with UNHCR travels all over the central Asian country, identifying vulnerable individuals and then helping meet their physical needs. Working in partnership with the Government and organizations such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society and the Children's Fund of Kazakhstan, he also runs workshops and seminars on refugee law for government officials and NGOs.