Karol Alejandra Arámbula Carrillo (Mexico) has been a Online Volunteer since 2011. One of her motivations to join UNV’s Online Volunteering service was the desire to help organisations in other countries carry out their work, especially in the field of gender equality. 

As one of the thirteen women who served as engineers in the demolition and debris management operations of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Anima supported the earthquake-affected areas by using her skills in a traditionally male-dominated field. “Engineering is for boys while girls are supposed to study management and work in banks,” she recalls her uncle as saying when she was still a student asking for career advice years ago.

Hindprabha mobilizes youth in the district, and talks about her volunteer work: “Over the last year, 16 community youth volunteers were mobilized to work in Palghar district. We focus our efforts on reducing malnutrition deaths in the district. We help identify acutely malnourished children and refer them to a care center. We also help create awareness in the community about causes and ill-effects of malnutrition.”

Toney talks about the situation, “Open defecation poses a serious threat to the health of children in India, with 188,000 children under the age of five dying of diarrhea in the country. I took the risk and without any financial support for advance planning, took on the challenge of mass mobilizing community youth volunteers.” One of the hardest areas to reach is Variyam, a small tribal village nestled in thick forests.

Soon he would be carrying out a host of duties to help Timor-Leste’s citizens take action against global warming.

In her position, she finds herself working across different projects focused on empowering women in every aspect. One week she may be in the field monitoring business and entrepreneurship trainings for producer group members, and the next she may be representing her programmatic team at a Gender and Climate Change training for Members of Parliament. One thing is for sure, there is always something to be done.  

Sangita talks about her volunteer assignment. “Through the project I manage, 12 community youth volunteers implement activities and campaigns to create awareness about women self-help groups, financial literacy and youth participation in government schemes, organize blood donations and health camps.”

Based in Goma, a city in the eastern DRC, Italian international UN Volunteer Serena Ricci is assigned to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as an associate protection officer. Her role is to ensure the protection of refugees, forcibly displaced women, girls, men and boys and people with specific needs.

My name is Anouk and I am part of the Governance, Peace and Security team of the UN Women Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal. I am passionate about questions regarding equality between men and women and have invested myself in this cause for many years. To find myself now a UN Volunteer in  Dakar, serving with UN Women, is for me an opportunity de place my convictions at the service of women's rights in West and Central Africa.

I had never been to South East Asia nor had I ever worked in the UN System – it was a big change for me, professionally and personally. Volunteering abroad took me out of my comfort zone. It was nerve-wracking the first couple of weeks, navigating the busy streets, meeting new faces every day, and attempting to communicate in Khmer, all while starting a new job in an unfamiliar setting.