Page 111 - 80 YEARS OF VOLUNTEER IMPACT WITH FAO

Maria Rita Borba

FROM UN VOLUNTEER TO SAFEGUARDS

SPECIALIST WITH FAO 107

Maria Rita Borba always aspired to combine her background in Geography and International Relations with a career
in international development—but coming from a family without global exposure, she wasn’t sure how to begin.
Discovering UNV was a turning point. “It was like an ‘ah-ha’ moment,” she recalls. “I was finally able to put into practice
what years of field experience in my home country had taught me, in a different context.”

From 2018 to 2019, Maria Rita served as a UN Volunteer Associate Livelihoods Officer with UNHCR in northern
Mozambique. Working with refugees in Maratane camp, she helped coordinate a multi-agency programme to expand
sustainable livelihood opportunities. It was also where she first collaborated with FAO teams. “The people I worked
with and for—the refugees, UN colleagues, and local partners—left a lasting mark on me,” she says.

That experience paved the way to her current role at FAO headquarters in Rome, where she now works as a Natural
Resources Officer specializing in social safeguards. “It taught me valuable skills about meaningful dialogue and
collaboration,” she says. “Now I get to support global teams in doing just that.”