“What people believe shapes how they vote, how they trust, and how they live together,” says Sagar from Sierra Leone. He is one of 47 UN Volunteers in West and Central Africa supported by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), the UN’s instrument for providing rapid, flexible support to countries emerging from conflict or facing fragility. Peace doesn’t always begin with treaties or declarations. In fragile contexts, it often starts quietly—with reliable voices on the airwaves—a training where women speak freely, or a story shared online that reflects a community’s hope. All you have to do is listen!
When international UN Volunteer Sagar Adhikari arrived from Nepal in Sierra Leone, the country was preparing for elections clouded by misinformation. Sagar led the iVerify platform, supported by the PBF, to provide citizens with reliable information.
Together with national journalists, BBC Media Action, and local radio networks, the team produced over 400 fact-checks and reached 2 million people nationwide through radio. They also trained hundreds of journalists and social media influencers to carry the work forward.
One journalist summed it up: “Thanks to iVerify, we now have the tools and knowledge to discern truth from falsehood. It’s changed how we report the news.” For Sagar's supervisor, George Baratashvili, Chief Technical Advisor for the Elections Project, the impact went beyond numbers: “Sagar’s professionalism and strong coordination helped both UNDP and national institutions sustain support for iVerify.”
In Chad, where recurrent tensions and conflicts continue to test communities, national UN Volunteer Hadjé Haoua Abakar supports UNDP’s Peacebuilding team by ensuring that projects are visible and connected to communities. Her work has helped spotlight peace efforts in national media, build partnerships with civil society, and mobilize USD 1.8 million in new resources for programmes.
By highlighting local initiatives, Hadjé Haoua shows communities that peace is not only discussed in conference rooms but also built through their own involvement.
At a workshop with women peace mediators, one participant told her, “I encourage you in this noble task of contributing to peace in Chad. I would like my daughter to follow your steps to build a united Chad without distinction of ethnicity or religion.” For Hadjé, that recognition means a lot: making peace visible, relatable, and possible for the people it affects most.
In Mauritania, communities face the pressures of climate change, migration, and regional insecurity. And this is where international UN Volunteer Founé Diarra from Mali helps ensure that efforts to build peace do not go unnoticed. Serving as Communications and Social Media Officer with the PBF Secretariat in Nouakchott, the first role of its kind in Mauritania, she is coming up with ways to tell stories of peace. Since taking up her post in March 2025, she has launched PBF Mauritania social media channels, ensured regular coverage of activities, and is preparing the fund’s first newsletter.
Founé tells stories that show how people prevent conflict and build dialogue. Through platforms like this one, she helps Mauritanians see peace not just as policy, but as something lived and shared in everyday life.
For more information about UN Volunteer assignments and how you can get involved, click here. To read our stories, click here.