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.

In moments like this, my role is not to lecture or impose. It is to listen, to ask questions, to remind the group that within their own customs and traditions lie paths to peace. I have learned that people want solutions to come from themselves. My job is to create the space where that feels possible. By the end of that day, nothing dramatic had shifted. No handshake sealed a deal. But the room felt lighter. Neighbours who had stopped speaking to each other had looked one another in the eye. And for me, that was enough to keep going.

UN Volunteers in BeijingAt China’s International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE), Jialin is a young Chinese UN Volunteer Project Analyst with UNOSSC. She organizes trainings, reviews grant proposals, and drafts policy briefs that drive sustainable development in agriculture, clean energy, and poverty reduction. 

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.

Peace is when people can speak without fearIn Beni, Kakessiwa, originally from Togo, serves as a UN Volunteer Civil Affairs Officer at the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) Joint Operations Center. His role is to track security developments and coordinate responses between military, police, and civilian actors.

Growing up in Ecuador, Ae Young saw Latin America’s social struggles up close—and they stayed with her. She’s driven by a commitment to support vulnerable communities and promote gender equality. This opportunity didn’t just connect her to a cause—it brought together her Korean roots and the place that shaped her worldview.

I stood among the community and colleagues from the Mission and across the UN agencies, watching hope return. My work often happens behind a desk—drafting reports, shaping data, telling South Sudan’s story. But moments like this remind me: the words I write carry the weight of real lives. And this is why the work matters.