Khartoum, Sudan: UNV volunteer Astrede Karimi Mbaka provides mapping services which help the UN plan the complex logistics of a peacekeeping mission.

"I felt I needed to contribute my knowledge and skills for peace and development. I learnt about UNV, logged onto the website and found out what I had to do," she says. Read

Ruyigi, Burundi: The UN estimates that there are 9.2 million refugees and displaced people in the world today. Even if these people do make it back home, they still need somewhere to live.

In Burundi, UNV volunteer Civil Engineer Lahatra Rakotondradalo is part of the team that helps repatriated refugees rebuild their lives. Read

Wau, Sudan: As a UNV volunteer Building Project Manager, Febe Chang gets involved with every aspect of the peacekeeping mission’s engineering needs – but despite the tough conditions she is never too busy to share her 15 years of engineering experience with others. Read

Dili, Timor-Leste: A total of 62 international UNV volunteers have arrived in Timor Leste to support the coming local elections, to meet a request of the Government of Timor-Leste. Read

Amhara, Ethiopia: To mark the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on 17 June, UNV Executive Coordinator Flavia Pansieri has been in Ethiopia to observe volunteering for our planet at first hand. Read

Monrovia, Liberia and Kinshasa, DRC: Top UN official Helen Clark has joined Liberian Government ministers and community leaders to launch a new UNV-supported volunteering initiative aimed at spreading a message of peace, before making her way to meet UNV's biggest operation. Read

Windhoek, Namibia: Awareness-raising is key to tackling the HIV/AIDS threat. In Namibia’s public sector, UNV volunteer James Etuwat works across the board to ensure combating HIV/AIDS is on everyone’s minds. Read

Bonn, Germany: "Climate change impacts us all, but will hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Ensuring environmental sustainability and protecting the most vulnerable will require the ingenuity and solidarity of every citizen. But through voluntary action, all of us can take responsibility for this big challenge." Read

Choma, Zambia: An environmentally-friendly UNV project is bringing expertise from Asia's 'Green Revolution' to Africa, improving food security and saving unnecessary labour. Read

Santa Catarina, Brazil: World Environment Day is widely unknown in Brazil. A Brazilian UNV volunteer is working to turn this around.

Her aim is to help stimulate civil society to join forces and assume responsibility for environmental preservation, and to increase knowledge about the negative impacts our daily behaviour can have. Read