I was especially interested in supporting local development and climate action projects. I provided programme management support for a variety of projects that were related to renewable energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable local development.

Etab, Rachel and Khaled are Palestinian refugees born and raised in Lebanon. They have been assigned as national UN Volunteers teachers of English and Arabic to Syrian-born Palestinian Refugees (PRS) pupils. Fleeing the Syrian conflict, the pupils are temporarily settled with their families in Lebanon.

Rachel Ahmed Saadi is a UN Volunteer English Teacher with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Lebanon.

Yasmine Mohamed Mohamed Zaki El-Demerdash is a UN Volunteer Reception Coordinator with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt.

Ramallah, State of Palestine: "Adolescents can be powerful agents of change in communities," says Chizuru Iwata, an international UN Volunteer from Japan, who worked with UNICEF as a UNV Adolescent Participation Officer in the State of Palestine.

Magali Zapata, from Belgium, recounts her experience as a UN Volunteer in Morocco.

Gaza, State of Palestine:  Volunteers are catalysts of change and make important contributions to sustainable development – this is so aptly personified by Mona Ouda and Diana Abu Ramadan, two national UN Volunteers with UNDP’s rubble removal programme. Engineers and workers are part of this USD $ 14 million project to facilitate the removal of debris of destroyed homes and other civic infrastructure in The Gaza Strip. Four female engineers that include Mona and Diana are also part of this programme.

Cairo, Egypt: My name is Mohammad Abbas. I am a national UN Volunteer in Egypt. An accountant for many years, I was really unhappy with my job. I wanted out. I got my chance in 2014. I became a Community Service Intern with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Interacting with people, guiding them, answering queries were all part of my job. In January 2015, I became UN Volunteer Reception Coordinator for UNHCR in Cairo.

Darfur, Sudan: In 2009, I joined UNAMID as a volunteer HIV and AIDS trainer/counsellor, after having served as a VSO volunteer HIV and AIDS advisor in Cambodia, and as an HIV and AIDS counsellor with TASO in my own country of Uganda. I am passionate about volunteering, having started work as a volunteer in Uganda, and born in a family of volunteers - my father and mother were community volunteers helping those in need.

Darfur, Sudan: When I started volunteering in Darfur with the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) as an HIV/AIDS Trainer/Counselor, my responsibilities included carrying awareness training, counselling and testing. I worked with other UNAMID sections, other peacekeepers and internally displaced persons. The exposure and ownership that I've been given over the projects, as well as the time and responsibility that I've been given from professionals that I've worked with has been overwhelming.