"Built on sandy hills with 328 sunny days, one of the Brazilian favorite place for tourists looking for relax and good beaches". This is what I read nine months ago on Google search, just a moment after the phone had rung and a voice on the other part had told me that my duty station would have been this Brazilian northeast coast city. Read

Shahida Akhter, a former national UNV volunteer in Bangladesh recounts how she helped victims of the devastating cyclone SIDR and urges other organizations and volunteers for assistance. Read

In CIVICUS newsletter's special issue on IVD, UNV volunteer Karena Cronin reflects on volunteers' contribution to civil society and giving volunteers proper recognition. Read

For the past few weeks, UNV volunteer Laura Collins can not help but notice the "Stop Child Abuse" stickers posted in the main town square of the capital Lilongwe. The campaign aims to break the silence around child abuse and convince leaders to commit to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as early marriages. Read

UNV volunteer Christiana Fischer helps implement a school feeding programme,  through the World Food Programme (WFP), in rural Bolivia. Read

Yuko Kamo Shell Coporate volunteer has travelled to the steppe in Kazakhstan to help with the development of internet projects. Read

Life is full of surprises and contradictions, says UNV volunteer Fabio Balboni. While working in Trinidad and Tobago as a UNV Specialist on corporate social responsibility, he learned that business and volunteerism actually go hand-in-hand. Read

UNV volunteer Kathrine Lassen has always been attached to Africa. Having lived there as a kid and returning several times for visits, internships and travels. This time, she's working as a Gender Specialist for UNV. Read

As a Swiss fully funded UNV intern, Corinne Demenge has the opportunity to support the work and efforts of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in India. She is acting as the focal point for WFP’s nutritional intervention for People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHAs) in rural Bihar. The aim of this project is to improve the nutritional status of PLHAs by providing them with home take rations of fortified food, and by enabling them to access free counselling services at the Community Care Centre in Nazareth Hospital, Mokama. Read

Raffaela Schiavello, a Swiss fully funded UNV intern at UNFPA in Nepal, recounts her first impressions of the country and its people, and how this affected her work. Read