Dr Telzhan Zhunisbekov, a Kazakhstan national, has served as an International UN Volunteer in Burundi, Rwanda and Congo, providing emergency surgery and training local doctors to carry out difficult and specialized orthopaedic operations. His story is an excellent example of the value of voluntary cooperation between developing countries. Read

After some 20 years of working as a gynaecologist and obstetrician in her home city of Almaty in Kazakhstan, Dr Gulzhan Chimbayeva wanted to gain some experience in a different environment and she thought the United Nations would be the perfect organization to work for. Read

Ainsley Reid raises awareness of HIV/AIDS in his country, Jamaica. A national UN Volunteer and the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Jamaican Network of People living with HIV/AIDS (JN+), Ainsley speaks with authority -- he has been living with HIV/AIDS since 1992. Read

Laurie Moy, of McKinney, Texas, U.S.A., first began online volunteering through NetAid in March 2000. She is now the Coordinator of Volunteers for People With Disabilities, Uganda (PWDU), overseeing the work of more than 75 other online volunteers from all over the world. Here is her report after visiting her online assignment, on-site. Read

The word "Timorization" was as alien to most of us as the word "Development" in East Timor during its colonial past. Immediately after arriving here, I was deputed to work in the Civil Service Academy and impart training to the local civil servants so that they can have effective system of administration and governance in a time bound manner. In short, the mandate was to do a time bound exercise in Capacity Building for the People of East Timor, who in the words of James Dunn have been betrayed time and again. Read

The hands-on work with UNHCR persons of concern, such as refugees and displaced persons, remained the most enjoyable and rewarding part of my work as a UN Volunteer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bosnia. Read

Saara Parkkali, a Finnish health coordinator in Brazil, has been training for her position as a UN Volunteer since the age of eight. Read

Kristiina Mikkola, a UN Volunteer from Finland, is fully-funded by her Government for her assignment as programme officer in the environment and natural resources management section of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in Nepal. Read

Once we arrived in Maputo we picked up our luggage quickly set off towards the flooded Limpopo Valley. The trip was impressive, as the outskirts of Maputo were full of rainwater that could not be drained. Read

Sanna-Leena Rautanen's title of environmental researcher is a bit of a misnomer. The UN Volunteer's teaching responsibilities at the University of Guyana range from courses in civil engineering to social studies -- a tall order in the "Land of Many Waters". Read