UN Volunteers play a critical role in supporting the safety and security of the workforce in Tripoli as part of UNSMIL. For Fabrice Bitariho, 41, a UN Volunteer Medical Officer from Burundi, each day holds the potential to rescue and safeguard lives. Using his medical skills, he navigates priorities, ensuring that effective actions are taken during time-sensitive situations. 

What are the key highlights of your assignment, and who do you interact with in your daily work?

Corina Elsa Rueda Borrero testifies that she has always dreamed of working for human rights in a context that needs her the most. Serving in Afghanistan, a country with a long history of armed international conflict and with a complex political scenario, a regular day for her can include meetings with civil society actors or working to confirm the number of casualties after incidents like an explosion, suicide attack, target killing or case of torture.

My name is Wipanee Chamnanphaison, and I am a UN Volunteer from Thailand. Since February 2022, I have been serving as a Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). I am based in the Human Rights Division as part of the Capacity-building and International Mechanism unit.

Marie-Noel Verwiyi (Cameroon, 38 years old) and Wessi Vaissoulaye (Chad, 35 years old) are both UN Volunteers serving at UNESCO and in charge of training the young peace weavers. Through workshops and trainings, they engage youth in peace and security efforts and economic empowerment. This is instrumental in preventing the recruitment of these young people by armed and terrorist groups.

With a background and experience in law, access to justice and youth empowerment, Tiffany positioned herself to support the Governance portfolio within the multi-country office. She was involved in the programmatic and implementation side of things at the start.

UNDP’s primary mandate is to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities through sustainable development. Charlotte’s assignment is focused on these two mandates, which she examines through a gender lens. She works with gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive climate finance under the Sustainable Development Finance workstream.  

I fundamentally believe in the power of volunteerism to effect change – on the individual, on communities and on the organizations they serve. In my role as Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), I am proud to be working with an organization that is among the prime movers, supporting countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The project is implemented in partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and 11 UN Volunteers are actively involved in its execution in the three countries. Eight national UN Volunteers manage training, five of these in Cameroon and three in Chad. In Gabon, three national volunteers handle communications, information technology and monitoring and evaluation.

What does volunteering mean to you? Volunteering stems from respect and reverence for life itself. Our quality of life is contingent upon the kind of society we create and promote, and volunteerism is that vital link between the individual and society. Compassion and empathy are the fundamental basis for these links because they break boundaries between self and others.