Originally from Japan, Gakuto began his assignment in February 2026. Funded by the Government of Japan, he supports UNHCR’s work with people affected by displacement, in line with Benue State's Internally Displaced Persons Policy.

Panyijiar is the southernmost county in Unity State, sitting on its lowest ground, so flights there are often cancelled due to changing weather conditions. But the concerns facing its communities do not pause for the weather: people still need to share what they know about security, flooding, and whether aid workers and supplies can get through. When a visiting team cannot travel, relationships become the way in.

Driven by inner conviction

Liu served as a Communications Assistant with UNODC from September 2024 to March 2025, focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. Originally assigned to New Delhi, Liu faced unexpected visa delays that kept her working remotely for several months. Undeterred, she continued collaborating across borders until she finally landed in Kathmandu, Nepal—her first experience of UN life on the ground.

“Peacebuilding here is about patience.” In Katsina, Dennis Bwala is a UN Volunteer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Northwest Prevention Facility, and spends his days connecting local authorities, security forces, and communities that often don’t trust each other.My role is to facilitate dialogue, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that our interventions are inclusive and neutral, so communities feel ownership over the solutions."

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. 

In moments like this, my role is not to lecture or impose. It is to listen, to ask questions, to remind the group that within their own customs and traditions lie paths to peace. I have learned that people want solutions to come from themselves. My job is to create the space where that feels possible. By the end of that day, nothing dramatic had shifted. No handshake sealed a deal. But the room felt lighter. Neighbours who had stopped speaking to each other had looked one another in the eye. And for me, that was enough to keep going.

In June 2025, Dr. Mahamadou Nouri Kassimoune Tago and Nana Nazifa Hamissou Garba joined a cohort of 40 UN Volunteer Specialists supporting WHO's vaccination drive under the emergency response framework. Together, they work in districts where reaching children is both most urgent and most challenging—bringing not just vaccines, but trust and hope. 

Peace is when people can speak without fearIn Beni, Kakessiwa, originally from Togo, serves as a UN Volunteer Civil Affairs Officer at the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) Joint Operations Center. His role is to track security developments and coordinate responses between military, police, and civilian actors.

“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.