“Working as a volunteer is what keeps me healthy,” says Peter Luhanga, a 64-year-old UN Volunteer from Tanzania. Volunteering isn’t just good—it’s enriching. Older adults who give their time often enjoy sharper minds, stronger bodies, and brighter moods. It’s a powerful antidote to loneliness and depression, boosting mental health and emotional well-being while creating a sense of purpose and connection. As we approach Mental Health Day, we bring you Peter’s story—one of joy, meaning, and staying active through service.
Peter is busy in his office handling multiple sheets of paper with graphs and tables. A hand-sized calculator is placed at an angle, making it easy to guess its frequent usage. Peter, with a lifetime UN career behind him, has embarked on a new chapter.
October marks his fourth month as a UN Volunteer Finance Associate with the United Nations Development Programme in Dar es Salaam. In fact, he is back in the same office where his journey began over three decades ago.
Peter joined UNDP in June 1990 as an Administrative Assistant, initially supporting UN Volunteers who were deployed across the country. This was the era when typewriters were standard issue and official communications were sent via faxes and diplomatic pouches. "There were so many volunteers then," Peter recalls. "We were placed in the regions, in the hospitals. We used to have doctors volunteering from various countries: doctors in Zanzibar, volunteers from Guinea." He witnessed not only the organization's digital transformation from hand-typed vouchers to today's digital systems, but also the evolution of UNV itself.
After retiring from his full-time staff position in March 2024, Peter didn’t chase a paycheck—he chased purpose. Drawn back to the work that shaped his life, he returned as a UN Volunteer not for the salary (“They say you don’t get one,” he shrugs), but for the meaning it brings. Since stepping into his UN Volunteer role after retirement, he’s found that staying active and engaged has done wonders for his health. The work keeps him moving, thinking, and connected.
“We have a responsibility to safeguard the organization's assets,” Peter explains, his eyes sparkling with passion. From processing payments for projects to providing various finance reports, his work involves meticulous attention to data and detail.
Peter’s commitment to service also inspires a new generation of volunteers. Having supported UN Volunteers for decades before becoming one himself, he understands both sides of the volunteer experience.
He believes that older persons bring irreplaceable strength to volunteerism: experience. This also resonates with the theme of the International Day of Older Persons, which emphasizes that older persons must be given the agency to play an active role in driving local and global action. "From experience, you can have a lot to advise and contribute," says Peter as he adapts to new technologies such as generative AI.
"You have to keep learning to keep up with the emerging new tech, and to know how to incorporate new tools in your workplace." Learning doesn't stop with age and Peter's proof to that. He uses AI tools to ensure accuracy in accounting processes.
To younger UN Volunteers, his advice is pure rocket fuel: “Aim for the sky. You may not touch it, but you’ll soar far beyond the treetops.” It’s a call to dream big, grab every opportunity, and let ambition be your compass—because with the right guidance, there’s no limit to how far you can go.
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