UNV East and Southern Africa

12/08/2026

The stories of young people are blueprints for what is possible." Guided by this perspective, UN Volunteer Rutendo Bamhare supports youth engagement with the World Food Programme in Zimbabwe.

Through community outreach, youth engagement activities, and digital campaigns, she helps create spaces where young people to share their ideas, build their skills and contribute to solutions for climate action and food security.

How are you supporting the young leaders around you?

12/08/2026

12/08/2026

Education is a right, not a privilege. 📚

As a UN Volunteer with UNICEF , Ababuu has supported education initiatives that enabled more than 35,000 children in Zanzibar 🇹🇿 to enrol in alternative learning pathways or formal schooling.

This , we recognize young leaders whose skills and dedication are creating opportunities for others.

11/08/2026

Since joining UNV Burundi as a Communication Assistant, Gérard has been using digital communications to bring visibility to stories of volunteerism and community action across Burundi. From capturing stories in the field to creating engaging online content, he helps connect audiences with the people and initiatives driving positive change.

05/08/2026

Sometimes, the most powerful change begins with someone refusing to accept barriers as permanent.

As a national UN Volunteer with UNDP in Rwanda, Liliane Akadata is helping advance disability inclusion while supporting programmes that expand opportunities for persons with disabilities. From contributing to policy and legal reforms to promoting partnerships and inclusive employment, her work demonstrates how volunteerism can help turn challenges into progress.

Living with a disability herself, Liliane has also shown that inclusion is about ensuring that persons with disabilities can participate fully, contribute their expertise, and help shape decisions that affect their lives.

Read Liliane's inspiring journey:https://www.unv.org/diversity-mosaic-inspirations/turning-obstacles-opportunities-meet-liliane-akadata

05/08/2026

04/08/2026

This International , everyone has a role to play.

Governments, civil society and volunteers are turning this global commitment into local action.

How will you contribute?

01/08/2026

"I grew up surrounded by people who believed that community is a form of wealth."

For Aissata De, leadership was shaped long before she entered the United Nations. Growing up in Diourbel, Senegal, she learned that service, solidarity and responsibility are among the greatest forms of wealth. Inspired by her mother, Senegal's first woman mayor and vice-president of the National Assembly, Aissata discovered early that leadership is about using your influence to create opportunities for others.

A passionate advocate for women's rights, she helped establish the Conseil Sénégalais des FemmesCOSEF), contributed to the drafting of the Maputo Protocol, and went on to support democratic governance, peacebuilding and development efforts across Africa. Her journey also includes two formative years as a UN Volunteer in Mozambique.

"Volunteers are not a footnote in development. They are central to it." Today, as Deputy Regional Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Africa, that belief continues to guide her work. "I have learned that giving to others does not diminish you. It transforms you."

Discover Aissata's full story and explore other inspiring leadership journeys in the photobook: https://www.unv.org/journeys-inspiration-photobook