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.  

Pakistani nationals serving UN Volunteers serving abroad bring a wealth of skills, and expertise varying from knowledge management, public information, medical field, human resources management, disaster relief efforts to engineering. During their assignments, they also transfer their knowledge to local communities and empower them. Responding to natural disasters

The Community UN Volunteers were selected from 22 unions under Bandarban and Rangamati districts representing the marginalized group of ethnic minorities descending from tribal groups in the hard-to-reach terrains of Hill District Regions - 58% women. The volunteers began their assignments in December 2023 to support the multi-donor Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGiC).

The high-level gathering convened more than 450 onsite participants and more than 3000 online viewers. They included representatives from the Government, UN partners, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Volunteer Involved Organizations, academia, influencers, and volunteers who came together to recognize the spirit of volunteerism in shaping a better world.

Barry’s driving motivation to become a UN Volunteer stems from his proud South African roots and lived experience. He witnessed, firsthand, the growing pains of the newly democratized rainbow nation under the inspirational leadership of Nelson Mandela. As a senior civil servant during the post-Apartheid era, he was pivotal in the reconstruction and development of a new government. Decades later, this is a repetitive theme at the core of Barry’s DNA.

Nazlı is a passionate Turkish volunteer who discovered her love for voluntarism during community service projects, where she tutored at a village school. With her background in teaching English and a Master’s in Social Policy, Nazlı’s dream was to combine her desire to serve #foreverychild and her evidence-generation skills. She would later describe volunteering as “devotion, sharing and impactful”.

Giovana Urquizo and Luisa Luna Choque are among the nine UN Community Volunteers. Giovana is from Chuquisaca Department in the center south of Bolivia and Luisa is from La Paz, the third most populous city and the seat of the government of Bolivia.  

Heather's experience with domestic violence extended beyond the home; Heather recalls having a close encounter with a male relative who tried to force himself on her. She also witnessed other women in her community being abused by their male partners. These memories from her childhood and adolescence stayed with her, and she often wondered how many women were suffering in silence.

Prabesh's main task revolves around civil engineering and other technical support to disaster risk reduction and community development. He is responsible for the distribution of agricultural assets like water pumps, tractors and threshers in support of community-owned and led management systems.

I fundamentally believe in the power of volunteerism to effect change – on the individual, on communities and on the organizations they serve. In my role as Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), I am proud to be working with an organization that is among the prime movers, supporting countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.