Where strength lives: Mbire’s story in the words of a volunteer

Valentine Gwerevende, Communications Assistant, UNDP Zimbabwe
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You do not forget places like Mbire—a remote district in northern Zimbabwe. The heat. The dust. The quiet between the homesteads. But more than anything, you remember the people. Their strength. Their stories. Their steps forward, even when the odds are against them.

I recently travelled to Mbire with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Zimbabwe communications team. As a UN Volunteer, my job was to help tell the stories of women and families we met. We were documenting the impact of a One-stop Centre provided by UNDP in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Gender Commission. The initiative started in response to alarming findings from a national inquiry on child marriages and abuse of young girls, including those with disabilities. 

Voices that matter: Why I volunteer with UNICEF

Rutendo Banhare, UN Volunteer Communications Specialist, UNICEF Zimbabwe
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I have always been drawn to stories—especially the kind that can move people to act. That’s why I chose to volunteer with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in communications: to show the impact of UNICEF’s work, defend children’s rights, and spotlight voices of young people. 

One hot afternoon in Harare, in the course of my work, I sat down with Debbie Chinochema, a young community member and beneficiary of UNICEF programmes in Zimbabwe. She looked me in the eye, smiled shyly, and shared her story with me. Debbie lives with HIV. But more than that, she’s a fighter. A volunteer. A voice.

My vision for a world without barriers

United Nations Volunteers
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Nadina Imamović is a UN Volunteer Programme Associate with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she brings both personal insight and professional strength to promote disability rights. Her journey began long before her current role. In high school, she joined the U.S. Department’s Youth Exchange and Study programme, spending ten months in Ohio and earning recognition as Student of the Month. That was the beginning of her social activism and what she calls her "power of giving back.” 

Nadina has two degrees in social work from the University of Sarajevo. Through student exchanges, she connected with people from all walks of life, especially persons with disabilities—learning firsthand about their needs and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Those friendships still support her today. 

Young Ghanaians are leading, not waiting

United Nations Volunteers
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Innovation in Ghana isn’t happening in glass towers or tech parks. It’s happening in dusty classrooms, crowded bootcamps, and community halls. On International Youth Day, we bring you the story of two UN Volunteers who have a simple message: Show up. Listen. Build. And never underestimate what young people can achieve when someone believes in them. Let's hear from Rafiatu and Samuel, young Ghanaians, who aren’t waiting for permission to lead; they’re already doing it.

Meet Rafiatu Umarayi Alhassan and Samuel Peprah Bekoe. Both are UN Volunteer Field Coordinators and part of Young Africa Innovates (YAI) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ghana, a bold initiative helping young people across all 16 regions of the country turn their ideas into solutions. 

Online Volunteer brings clarity to spatial data

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A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist, Andrii Nahornyi, transforms complex data into sharp, visual stories that drive real-world decisions. He has a degree in Geomatics and a background in spatial data analysis, cartography, and remote sensing. In 2025, Andrii joined the United Nations Development Programme's City Experiment Fund as an Online Volunteer, helping cities across Europe and Central Asia reimagine urban life. His GIS skills-powered projects are enhancing urban development—one map at a time.

Andrii began his assignment by designing a strategic plan focused on the geospatial component of the project, researching each participating city’s geographic, historical, and socio-economic context. This helped him gain a deeper understanding of the forces shaping urban development.  

"Once the groundwork was laid, I began sourcing data—vector, raster, and statistical—while organizing everything in a way that would support efficient geospatial analysis. This step was more than just data management; it was about building a foundation for meaningful insights," shares Andrii.

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