متطوع الأمم المتحدة مع برنامج الأمم المتحدة الإنمائي، أحمد المدلل، موجود على الأرض في غزة. وهو مهندس يراقب توزيع الوقود للتأكد من استمرار تشغيل آليات إزالة الأنقاض وفتح الطرق أمام سيارات الإسعاف والمساعدات. بينما تقوم زميلته، ميساء العجرمي، وهي مهندسة معمارية، بجمع بيانات مفصلة من أربعة مشاريع لإزالة الأنقاض، وتوثق أحجام الأنقاض والآليات واستهلاك الوقود وأعداد القوى العاملة، وتقوم بعد ذلك بتحميلها على منصة معلومات المشروع.

"I played an active role in exchanging ideas and identifying representatives who could contribute to the project," says Elifnaz Sağlam, a fifth-year medical student at Başkent University in Ankara and Chairperson of the National Audit Board within the Turkish Medical Students’ Association.

UN Volunteer with UNDP, Ahmed Al-Mdalal is on the ground in Gaza. He is an engineer and monitors the distribution of fuel making sure debris removal machines keep operating and the blocked roads for ambulances and aid remain open. While another counterpart, Maysaa Al-Ajrami, an architect, gathers detailed data from four debris removal projects, documenting rubble volumes, machinery, fuel consumption, and workforce numbers, which she then uploads to the project’s dashboards.

Wesal Abu Hamad, a UN Volunteer Humanitarian Field Support Assistant with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was in Gaza when the war erupted. 

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.

Upon joining UNICEF's Child Protection team in 2019, Angelique dedicated herself to strengthening child protection systems, with a particular emphasis on reinforcing the social service workforce.

“Volunteering with UNICEF has helped me expand my knowledge on child protection issues and develop a passion for advancing children’s rights,” says So Dam Hong, a UN Youth Volunteer who supports adolescent empowerment to end child marriage in India, a core strategy of UNICEF.

Volunteering in the mental health field has been a deeply enriching and transformative experience. It reminds me of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of compassion in making a difference in people's lives. --Hazal Kalıncı, UN Volunteer Staff Counsellor with WHO, Türkiye When and why did you decide to volunteer?

Leonardo Martínez is a UN Volunteer serving as Protection, Childhood and Humanitarian Action Specialist with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Colombia, which is the lead host country for Venezuelan migrants and refugees. These migrants and refugees face a hoard of humanitarian issues. The situation is worsened by internal armed conflict, as approximately 6.9 million people in rural areas are under the control or influence of non-state armed groups.

Raised by Japanese parents in a foreign land, my upbringing instilled in me a deep curiosity for diverse cultures and a desire to work for the United Nations. During my gap year, I took the opportunity to serve as a UN Volunteer with IOM in Madagascar.