Bonn, Germany: Lucila Ramón Lorenzo, a UNV nutritionist from the Dominican Republic with a Master's degree in social work, has been working since 1997 as an assistant officer with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Choluteca, Honduras. Read

Bonn, Germany: Providing health, education, and other social services to remote communities scattered across Jigme Dorji National Park, Bhutan, demands innovative approaches. To meet these complex challenges, the Bhutan Government has launched an Integrated Conservation and Development Programme (ICDP) that seeks to improve the living standard of local people, while also addressing the conservation needs of the national park. Read

Bonn, Germany: Thanks to an initiative employed by UNV and UNDP in Nicaragua, 50 young Nicaraguan students have traded classrooms for the field to help with the reconstruction of their country in the aftermath of hurricane Mitch. They have been part of a special brigade formed to support the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project, aimed at addressing the country’s dire needs after this devastating natural disaster. Read

Bonn, Germany: Vietnam is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Over the past 25 years, more than 13,000 people have been killed by such disasters. The Australian Kester Scandrett, a sea dyke engineer on a UNDP project and working in conjunction with two larger World Food Programme (WFP) projects, co-ordinated much-needed technical assistance for Vietnamese engineers and laboratory technicians to train them in advanced methods and international standards for quality control management. Read

Bonn, Germany: The Imbakucha-San Pablo Lake basin is home to four villages and no less than 38 different indigenous groups. To on-going inter-ethnic strife, poverty and pollution are serious obstacles to overcome.To address these challenges, a team of National UNVs is joining efforts with CEPCU, a local NGO which has sought for the last six years to establish a framework of co-operation between the local authorities, community-based and international organisations and the Lake's inhabitants. Read

Bonn, Germany: In time of disaster volunteers do what they have to do. Like the UNV in Nicaragua who has refused to be helicoptered to safety and insists she stay on to help. Like the Programme Officer in Honduras who has diverted his entire team to emergency relief and spent up his discretionary fund on having thirty national UNVs inventory shelters and oversee food distribution. Read

Bonn, Germany: Anyone on the ground will tell you that this is the worst natural disaster to hit Central America in two centuries". That was a WFP spokesman's summary. Read

Bonn, Germany: Since thirteen years ago, the UNISTAR programme (United Nations International Short Term Advisory Resources) has been notable for the very broad scope of the advisory services which it has provided globally. A quick survey of the missions undertaken by international UNISTAR advisors provided in recent months shows that this hasn’t changed. The following are examples of three recent UNISTAR assignments in different parts of the world. Read

Bonn, Germany: Six National United Nations Volunteers (NUNVs) support to preserve the tropical rain forest in Guatemala by improving people's living. Read

Bonn, Germany: Ms. Brenda McSweeney, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers and Mr. Samuel Nyambi, Director, Office to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNSO) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing on a two-year programme in support to the Implementation of the Resolution on Urgent Action for Africa (UAA) in the context of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) which has entered into force on the 26 December 1996. Read