When I was selected to be a UN Volunteer to serve in Kosovo, I had a great deal of curiosity, fear, and uncertainty. I had never heard of UNV and couldn’t imagine what it exactly meant. Read

After various stints working in development in Italy, Bolivia, and Nepal, Andrea Ferrari-Bravo was recruited in September 2001 to launch the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme in Albania. Today, 28 UN Volunteers support the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) activities aimed at promoting democratic governance and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) social reintegration initiatives. Read

Artashes Melikyan, an Armenian, has been based in Kazakhstan for the past three years as a UN Volunteer and human rights specialist. He is part of a global network of 17 UN Volunteers under the Human Rights Strengthening Programme (HURIST), a joint initiative of UNDP and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to mainstream human rights into the development programming of UN agencies and civil society organizations. Read

Tammy Foote, a registered Occupational Therapist (OT) co-sponsored by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and Peace Corps, works in disaster relief and capacity-building on the small, highly volcanic island of Montserrat. Located in the Leeward Island Chain of the Lesser Antilles between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Montserrat is an overseas territory of the UK, with a self-governing system with locally-elected officials. Read

Joel Maranhao is a UN Volunteer and software engineer attached to the Montserrat Volcano Observatory in the Caribbean. His daily work involves such activities as maintaining computers that acquire and process seismic data, improving alarm and monitoring systems and delving into databases. For a computer expert, it all sounds routine. But he works in the shadow of an active volcano. This the real story, from his perspective. Read

Christiana Cipollini from Italy serves as a UN Volunteer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cairo. All day long she listens to people tell moving stories of their experiences. Read

Ms Gulnara Kusherbaeva set up her own women's NGO and works on a voluntary basis to support the growth of a women's movement in Kazakhstan. She organizes many activities which promote awareness of women's issues and build the confidence and ability of women to advance themselves. Read

Mr Aoued Sebaa, an Algerian-Russian International UN Volunteer, is currently working as a Field Protection Officer for UNHCR in Kazakhstan. He first became a UN Volunteer in the late 1980s, working on the Afghan border. Read

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