16 September 2005

Quito, Ecuador: The Honorary Ambassador of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, Mr. Takehito Nakata of Japan, recently visited Ecuador for five days, spreading the message of volunteerism and its role in community development.

In an interview with La Hora, a newspaper based in the capital of Quito, he said, "I believe there are two kinds of communities: one is the community where people have no choice but to work for free to survive, as the necessary support from the government or other sectors of society is missing. The other is the community where people act voluntarily, out of their respect and care for other peoples’ well-being. I think Ecuador definitely belongs to the latter and has great potential for furthering volunteerism."

One of the highlights of Mr. Nakata’s first mission to the country was a meeting with the First Lady of Ecuador, Maria Beatriz Paret de Palacio. The First Lady is a longstanding promoter of volunteerism and a supporter of Mesa de Voluntarios (Volunteer Table). The Mesa is the first national network of volunteer involving organizations in Ecuador, formed with the assistance of UNV. During the meeting, Ms. de Palacio extended her support to this year's observance of International Volunteer Day on 5 December in Ecuador.

Mr. Nakata also met UN Volunteers, representatives of volunteer involving organizations, the donor community, and staff of the UN agencies based in Quito. Outside of the capital, he travelled to Ibarra, a city some 100 km north of the capital, to visit three UN Volunteers working with the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. UN Volunteers are providing legal protection and supporting the local integration of refugees and asylum seekers from neighbouring Colombia.

Mr. Nakata then visited Faccha Llacta, an indigenous community that is home to an eco-tourism initiative jointly supported by UNV, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Japanese Embassy.

He wrapped up his visit by sharing his experiences as UNV’s Honorary Ambassador with the country team of UN Volunteers. Commenting on the meeting, UN Volunteer Rita Cloet of Belgium, who works as a HIV/AIDS project coordinator with UNDP, said that she was impressed by the fact that Mr. Nakata gave up his career as a successful businessman to promote volunteerism. "I hope he will continue to share his experiences with the business community which sometimes is too profit-oriented and can forget the interest of the community,” she said.

Daizen Oda, the UNV Programme Officer in Ecuador, said that Mr. Nakata's mission has increased the visibility of UNV in the country. "The visit was a great inspiration for the volunteers – both UN Volunteers and local volunteers – and it has definitely helped strengthen volunteerism in Ecuador,” he said.

Thirty-five UN Volunteers, plus 80 UNV Associates, are serving in Ecuador, which makes it the second largest UNV programme country in Latin America.

Mr. Nakata was appointed as the UNV Honorary Ambassador in 1993, shortly after his son, Atsuhito, was killed in Cambodia while serving as a UNV electoral supervisor. Since his appointment, Mr. Nakata has visited more than 20 countries to promote UNV and volunteerism.