Sihyun's volunteer journey began after earning a degree in Science Education in the Republic of Korea. She volunteered through a KOICA project at a youth center in Takeo, Cambodia. Witnessing the health gaps faced by young people inspired her to pursue a Master of Public Health in the United Kingdom. Immediately after graduating, she joined the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) MENA Regional Office in Amman as a UN Volunteer Health Officer.

The initiative focuses on protecting forests—vital for wildlife, climate, and the communities that depend on them. It also supports the government’s ongoing efforts, launched in 2022, to strengthen forest management across Gabon. Working in 17 rural communities, these UN Volunteers gather local knowledge, lead discussions, and share practical tips on how to protect the environment.

Haoming connects the dots from there to his volunteer journey as a fully funded UN Volunteer. He adds, "Through this graduate work, I realized that environmental issues are deeply intertwined with public health, economic behaviour, and social development.

My name is Zahra Vaziri. I am from Iran. I serve as a UN Volunteer Associate Programme Officer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Malawi. My role is to help ensure that humanitarian projects are not only implemented, but that they bring dignity, opportunity, and hope to both refugees and the communities that host them. I also make sure that the projects we design and fund are not only implemented but also carry meaning for the people who live here. 

Among them was Hotrika Joshi, a UN Volunteer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who was based in Roshi Rural Municipality in Kavrepalanchok District, where ten lives were lost and hundreds of homes and farmlands were destroyed. 

In the MENA region, climate change is intensifying existing hardships—shrinking food and water supplies and deepening instability for communities already displaced by conflict. Enter Jahidul Islam: a Bangladeshi climate and disability inclusion expert who brings both technical insight and lived experience. He is a wheelchair user who has faced structural barriers firsthand.