Banjul, The Gambia: "Since you came, life in this village has changed."

New Delhi, India: In his celebrated work The Prophet author, poet and artist, Khalil Gibran, wrote, “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

Quito, Ecuador:  Around one thousand young people from Quito, but also other parts of Ecuador and even Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Germany, Spain and Venezuela, gathered on an August 2013 weekend to celebrate the largest alternative music festival in Ecuador. It was a great start into my year as a UN Youth Volunteer and provided an excellent opportunity to discuss development challenges with young people that hold the future in their hands.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan: As a UN Volunteer Social Work Specialist, I started to work for UNICEF in Tajikistan a year ago. Even before that, for a year I was a volunteer with VSO (Volunteer Service Overseas) in the South of Tajikistan.

Chisinau, Moldova: The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community in Moldova is a diverse group. It comprises people of different ages, from different social classes, different political backgrounds, and various levels of education. It includes citizens from grassroots movements to institutional NGOs, activists, professionals, and it has support from the international community.

Guatemala City, Guatemala: After my master’s degree in economics, I decided to change my career perspective to work in the humanitarian sector, in cooperation and development. I had two objectives: to fulfil the dream of knowing new cultures and countries, and to contribute, even in a small part, to improving the living conditions of people in developing countries.

La Paz, Bolivia: During my one-year assignment in Bolivia as a UN Youth Volunteer, I worked at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) within the Indigenous Peoples Unit. I became familiar with indigenous peoples’ rights in a country where 42% of the population identify themselves as indigenous. My background as a human rights lawyer helped me to understand the serious challenges and threats that are living the Guarani peoples in the Chaco region.

Quito, Ecuador: As a UN Youth Volunteer in Gender Analysis, assigned to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Office of the Resident Coordinator in Quito, Ecuador, I support and advise the Resident Coordinator and the United Nations Country Team on gender-related advocacy, communications and resource mobilization.

Quito, Ecuador:  An experience away from home is challenging, a confrontation with a different culture at times confusing, and the lack of familiarity frustrating. I believe that during my yearlong UN Youth Volunteer assignment in Ecuador, all stars were aligned: rarely did I deal with any of the above. The Andes, the city in its midst, and my host institution, the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, greeted me with open arms and slowly taught me the tips and tricks of living and working in Ecuador.

Monrovia, Liberia:  Aktar Uddin, from Bangladesh, is a UNV Advocacy Officer with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Although the country’s civil war is over, Liberia has to deal with the after effects of war, which involve loss of infrastructure and access to electricity, water, basic facilities or health care. Aktar, along with 250 other UN Volunteers, is working to establish and sustain peace in Liberia. I asked Aktar a few questions regarding his views of the work he and other UN Volunteers are doing in Liberia.