During these past 10 months, while we were all facing a global crisis devastating our socio-economic systems, adaptation, resilience and solidarity have enabled us to respond.

Ashu Orock Ernestine from Cameroon, Danai Kudya from Zimbabwe and Francis Igiriogu from Nigeria serve as UN Volunteer Human Rights Officers with the OHCHR Liberia Country Office to address inequalities resulting from COVID-19 collateral damage. In June, the volunteers discovered that six pregnant students of a catholic secondary institution in Grand Geddeh County were barred from attending classes and even from taking the WASSCE exams, even though they were already registered.

Every day, millions of individuals across the planet engage in volunteer actions supporting development initiatives in order to improve conditions for others and for themselves, their families and communities.However, the full picture of volunteering is complex and often hidden as most volunteering is spontaneous, often times it is individual actions in response to a need which are hard to capture with a tendency to focus on formal and full-time volunteers.

Coming to CAR was not an easy decision because I had to leave my family and friends in Guinea Bissau where I am from. I am motivated to gain new experiences with the UN, growing in the organization, and contributing to peace and stability worldwide. As a UN Volunteer, I am here not only to promote peace but also to assist populations. And it is possible to do it in different ways.

While I might have been physically in Europe, I often had an interest in working in an African country. I also wanted to contribute my time, skills and knowledge to a more meaningful cause – something I couldn’t quite figure out how to do in the private sector. When an opportunity to serve as a UN Volunteer at the UN Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE) in Uganda came along, I knew that I had to grab it with both hands.

The prevailing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the long-established patterns of day to day lives of a large majority of people in Sri Lanka. Many people have lost their income sources leading to serious social and economic problems for their families. Disruption of education has adversely affected school children, university students and other youths engaged in diverse training activities. Lockdowns and other public health restrictions have drastically curtailed the mobility of people in affected areas, seriously limiting their normal activities.