متطوع الأمم المتحدة مع برنامج الأمم المتحدة الإنمائي، أحمد المدلل، موجود على الأرض في غزة. وهو مهندس يراقب توزيع الوقود للتأكد من استمرار تشغيل آليات إزالة الأنقاض وفتح الطرق أمام سيارات الإسعاف والمساعدات. بينما تقوم زميلته، ميساء العجرمي، وهي مهندسة معمارية، بجمع بيانات مفصلة من أربعة مشاريع لإزالة الأنقاض، وتوثق أحجام الأنقاض والآليات واستهلاك الوقود وأعداد القوى العاملة، وتقوم بعد ذلك بتحميلها على منصة معلومات المشروع.

UN Volunteer with UNDP, Ahmed Al-Mdalal is on the ground in Gaza. He is an engineer and monitors the distribution of fuel making sure debris removal machines keep operating and the blocked roads for ambulances and aid remain open. While another counterpart, Maysaa Al-Ajrami, an architect, gathers detailed data from four debris removal projects, documenting rubble volumes, machinery, fuel consumption, and workforce numbers, which she then uploads to the project’s dashboards.

Wesal Abu Hamad, a UN Volunteer Humanitarian Field Support Assistant with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was in Gaza when the war erupted. 

“The levels of death and destruction in Gaza are without parallel in recent times. Day after day, our efforts are being blocked, delayed, and denied. This is unacceptable.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, while highlighting the clear obligations for the occupying power, Israel. He calls Gaza a man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself. “People are starving.

"After months of uncertainty, of longing for home, today is the day I return. This journey has been filled with challenges, resilience, and hope. Each step back home brings a flood of memories—some painful, some warm. Displacement is more than just leaving a place; it’s leaving behind a part of yourself. The streets feel familiar yet different, carrying the weight of what was lost and the promise of what can be rebuilt.

Six months on, the war continues unabated.  Declared one of the deadliest conflicts in centuries on civilians and infrastructure, the evidence keeps multiplying on numerous cases of international humanitarian law violations, including against humanitarians and volunteers.  

The volunteering opportunities were with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Women and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They aim at building the women UN Volunteers capacities, while raising their awareness of gender and protection concepts. They also promoted their participation in recovery efforts and increased their resilience, particularly as many were affected by the May 2021 escalation in Gaza.

In Yemen, UN Volunteers serving in Sana’a marked IVD with UNV Executive Coordinator Toily Kurbanov and UNV Regional Manager for the Arab States Christian Hainzl. The event was held at the premises of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and attended by representatives of UNDP, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

One volunteer is Omar Basam Abu Hamad. At 22, Omar is a paramedic and a qualified teacher. He lives in Al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron in the West Bank, where there is only one health center to meet the needs of 9,500 people. Omar and other volunteers provide health services, including psychological support, to people living in refugee camps.

The 2022 SWVR reveals that cooperation between volunteers and governments helps build collaborative decision-making. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative research with case studies from around the world, it also highlights the role of local volunteers as brokers between their communities and state authorities and underlines the diverse paths volunteering offers to civic participation.