FAO turns 80—and it’s more than just a milestone. This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on a long-standing partnership built on shared values and global impact.
UNV marks World Food Day spotlighting 80 years of volunteer impact with FAO
Online Volunteers support a photo and story-based survey on preventing suicide
In September, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Türkiye organized a Youth Engagement Workshop on Mental Wellbeing to address the rising mental health challenges facing young people—especially in provinces hardest hit by the devastating 2023 earthquakes. More than 30 medical and media students took part in this workshop as Online Volunteers and supported the Photovoice Survey Report, a powerful photo and story-based survey on preventing suicide. Through storytelling and visuals, they revealed the mental well-being challenges young people face—and the diverse, often courageous ways they navigate and respond to them. On World Mental Health Day, we bring you testimonials of Online Volunteers, three of whom are from Hatay, one of the hardest-hit regions in the 2023 earthquakes.
"I played an active role in exchanging ideas and identifying representatives who could contribute to the project," says Elifnaz Sağlam, a fifth-year medical student at Başkent University in Ankara and Chairperson of the National Audit Board within the Turkish Medical Students’ Association.
From typewriters to AI—the bold return of a UNDP retiree
“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.
A global mirror of Gaza’s mental anguish
Two years into the war in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and nearly the entire population displaced, the world has grown weary. But not the volunteers.
They remain.
Since the war started on 7 October 2023, 65 UN Volunteers and 75 Online Volunteers have served with the Gaza emergency response. As World Mental Health Day approaches, we reflect not only on the profound toll of these past two years on civilians, but also on the volunteers who have stood steadfast in their service.
Wesal Abu Hamad, a UN Volunteer Humanitarian Field Support Assistant with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was in Gaza when the war erupted.