For almost three decades, United Nations Volunteers has been working with people in more than 150 countries to overcome natural disasters and the devastation of wars by providing support for human and social development.
This unique organisation promotes volunteer contributions of people skills to assist development with a community focus and seeks to influence policy for sustainable results.
Sharon Capeling-Alakija, UNV executive co-ordinator, said volunteers were part of a continuous tradition that since earliest times defined humanity and formed the basis of civility.
UNV works with governments, other United Nations agencies, development banks and non-governmental and community-based organisations.
A common misconception is that most volunteers are in their teens or early 20s when in fact the average age of UN volunteers is well into their 30s.
The skills required to become a UNV are varied and range from environmental impact experts, who work with governments and universities on the threat posed by global warming, to volunteer specialists who work on health and food pro duction projects or counselling victims of war. From the hermit kingdom of Bhutan, where the UNV helped local women establish a revolving fund to purchase raw materials and set up a yarn bank, to the war-torn wastes of Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, volunteers have been involved in assignments that match their skills.
