Bonn, Germany: With a million people in need of urgent aid, thousands of local volunteers are expected to play a vital role in relief efforts in Myanmar.  Among those already active are 20 volunteers of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme currently in the country.  They are providing expertise and organizing local volunteers to help with relief and early recovery efforts. Read

Cite Soleil, Haiti: With the global food crisis occupying the headlines, UNV volunteers have been helping to manage emergency food distribution in Haiti. Read

Published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the report "Taking volunteers seriously", provides a picture of development in volunteering since 1999. 

UNV and IFRC has long been working together to promote volunteerism for development. The report says that the partnership between the International Federation and UNV has greatly contributed to the revalidation of volunteering and to concerted efforts to foster an environment that enables and optimizes the full potential of volunteering. Read

Dhaka, Bangladesh: 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

When Pakistan was shaken by a massive earthquake on 8 October 2005, a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions unfolded:  towns and villages became graveyards as thousands of lives were buried under the rubble.  “It was as if our entire community was swallowed whole by the earth,” said Syeda Bibi, a survivor who lost three children in the tragedy. “They are gone. Everything is destroyed. I am still breathing”. Read