Supporting transparent and inclusive elections in the Central African Republic

United Nations Volunteers
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Angeline Ambogo Kidiga, Ahmed Abdillah, and Hounton Scholastique Prisca are UN Volunteers who serve with the electoral division at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Their volunteer assignments center on transparency and inclusivity of elections, along with the logistical and security challenges that are part of the processes.

Angeline Kidiga is a 39-year-old woman from Kenya. She is a UN Volunteer Electoral Officer and joined MINUSCA in 2022 to support electoral operations. Angeline has overseen the distribution of electoral materials to some of the most remote areas in the country—Ouham Fafa and Nana Gribizi, which are affected by a lack of infrastructure and security.

Blind spots in plain sight: the unsung heroes of online volunteering

Toily Kurbanov, Executive Coordinator, UNV
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In 2022, a French woman living in Kenya and equipped only with a laptop mapped urban shelters for civilians looking for safety in Ukraine. That was my blind spot.

Next year, a group of Chinese, Iranians and Filipinos—who had never met each other before—used machine learning to label solar installations to help boost renewable energy in Africa. That was also my blind spot.

And as I write this opinion, a Brazilian is helping with remote assessment of the number of women needing urgent reproductive health assistance in catastrophic Gaza. Another blind spot.

Have you figured out your blind spots too?
 

The common thread in these stories is that each of the protagonists was an Online Volunteer. Through their laptops, their smartphones, their tablets, Online Volunteers—as expert and dedicated as any other professionals in their field are—clicked away their share of assistance to humanitarian and development. We can’t see them—they’re conveniently behind a screen somewhere around the world. But we can see their work—it’s in plain sight all around us.

Supporting children's health in Benin and Togo

United Nations Volunteers
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In Benin and Togo, UN Volunteers with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) support access to health, education, and better living conditions for children. Ahouéfa Fernande Agossou, Rose Koudori Tao, and Mawouli Aimée Van-Lare are three people behind this support.

Ahouéfa Agossou is from Benin. She is a UN Volunteer Community Health Specialist with UNICEF and has helped children and pregnant women in 12 municipalities of her native country by organizing training and awareness campaigns on good health and well-being. She mobilized community health workers and adapted messaging that resonated with the community members. 

What does it mean to be African? Showcasing 54 Faces of Africa

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The campaign has reached over 10 million people across all 54 African countries and its content has been viewed more than 30 million times across various social media platforms.

Challenging the stereotypes through filmmaking in Cameroon

A blog from Cameroon
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I am Sama Mildred. I am 27 years old and I come from Cameroon. I am a documentary filmmaker. My journey has brought me closer to understanding my African identity, challenging the stereotypes that often overshadow it. I want to tell you my story.

In 2019, one of my films was screened in Germany, and a particular scene sparked unexpected reactions. It showed a family sharing a meal from one plate—a common practice in my Cameroonian household, symbolizing togetherness and community. Yet, some viewers interpreted it as a symbol of poverty, a reminder of how easily our cultural narratives are misread. In Cameroon, we sometimes joke by calling our country "The Continent," hinting at a wider misconception that Africa is one homogenous place.

Supporting children's rights in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde

United Nations Volunteers
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Kátia Bampoky and Clara Garcia are UN Volunteers with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. From supporting community health workers to educating children on hygiene and access to clean water, both Kátia and Clara add value to UNICEF's mandate and are our inspiration in action.

Kátia Bampoky is an Inclusive Health Care Officer with UNICEF in Guinea-Bissau and supports child protection and health services for vulnerable children and their families. She focuses on training social workers and community health professionals on inclusion so care is given to everyone without discrimination. She also supports cases of violence against children and women—including gender-based violence.

UNV partners with academia for State of the World's Volunteerism Report 2026

United Nations Volunteers, Bonn
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The global contributions of volunteers and their significance to peace and development worldwide remain largely unquantified. There are three challenges in this respect—the lack of comprehensive data sets on volunteering, the obstacles faced when attempting to compare these data sets, stemming from the use of various tools and methodologies, and the absence of a cohesive measurement framework. 

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