My name is David Ouma and I am a national UN Volunteer Specialist. I serve as Project Management Assistant at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi.  My academic background in Biology and my six-month internship in marine conservation at the Kenyan coast led to this UN Volunteer assignment. 

Uganda is home to over half a million refugees residing in settlements and urban centres all over the country. Earlier this year the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recognised Uganda as one of the best countries in the world for refugees to live, since they are given opportunities to work, freedom of movement, access to education, health care and a secure environment.

La Paz, Bolivia: I have been working as a UN Volunteer in La Paz, Bolivia, since 2009. I work in the Water and Environmental Sanitation section of UNICEF as a UNV Water and Sanitation Officer. Volunteerism and water and sanitation don’t seem to have a lot in common at first sight. However, those who are familiar with water and sanitation projects know that community participation and development – and therefore a certain degree of volunteerism – are key to sustainability.