3: Mobilizing skills - United Nations Volunteers

Irish UNV volunteer EoinYoung (left), a UNV volunteerPublic Information Officerwith the UN Mission in theDemocratic Republic ofCongo, confers with missionspokesperson MadnodjeMounoubai during a pressconference in Kinshasa.(Myriam Asmani/MONUC,2010)the Equateur Province. She helps institutionspromote and protect human rights throughawareness-raising workshops. “We give civilsociety organizations the tools to betterunderstand their rights and duties,” she says. Inher four years as a UNV volunteer, Charlotte hasbeen able to see the direct impact of her work.“In the community, people are now speaking outagainst sexual violence, and there are moredenunciations of abuses and illegal actions.”UNV volunteers also play an essential rolesupporting the operational needs of the mission‘backstage’. Linda Achieng (Kenya) is a UNVvolunteer Administrative Assistant with theMONUC Transport Section. “Being called avolunteer is a special gift in itself, because it ismore of a blessing to give than to receive,” shesays. “I can bring change to somebody’s life. I, asan individual, can impact someone’s lifepositively by the little things I do.”The protection of civilians and the fullimplementation of MONUC’s mandate would notbe possible without accurate informationgathering, analysis, and distribution. Three UNVvolunteers support the Joint Mission AnalysisCell, an integrated civilian and military structure,in handling information, conducting analysesand providing advice to allow informed decisionmaking.Six others work with the PublicInformation Division, ensuring efficientcommunication from the mission to thecommunities it serves.“Being called a volunteer is a special gift in itself, because itis more of a blessing to give than to receive. I can bringchange to somebody’s life. I, as an individual, can impactsomeone’s life positively by the little things I do.”In 2009, more than 1,000 UNV volunteers wereassigned to UNHCR, representing 17 per cent ofits field presence. UNHCR is the third largestpartner of UNV; the number of UNV volunteersserving with UNHCR every year has almosttripled since the partnership began in 2000. UNVvolunteers often work at the local level, linkingcommunity services to the needs of the people.In Myanmar, UNV works with UNHCR to assistapproximately 200,000 people along the Thaiborder and in the south-east of the country. Thelocal knowledge and language skills of 14national UNV volunteers have helped to buildconfidence among communities anddevelopment partners. Their activities focus onimproving livelihoods for these vulnerablepopulations, in particular women and ‘extremely34 | UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS: ANNUAL REPORT 2009

vulnerable individuals’, such as the elderly andpeople with disabilities.Khin Pwint Oo (‘Ma Pwint’) is a national UNVvolunteer Community Social Services Specialistwho works directly with such communities. Inconsultation with beneficiaries, Governmentofficials and UN agencies, she and her teamconduct needs assessments, leading to smallprojects to help people change their lives. Forexample, Ma Pwint and her colleaguesdeveloped plans to help ethnic minoritiesproduce their own food and generate additionalincome from fisheries, animal husbandry andvegetable gardening.“On-the-job training on organic fertilizerproduction and use was successfully carried outin a displaced community in ThandaungTownship,” adds Saw Terry, also a national UNVvolunteer Community Social Services Specialist.“The UNV volunteers and UNHCR enabled peopleto make use of organic fertilizer on their own. Wealso conducted further discussions withvulnerable women in the Mon region aboutraising pigs, and held discussions with anotherwomen’s group about the benefits to farming ofdraft cattle or even mini-tractors.”In addition, public health specialists “lend theirhands” in support of community-based healthinitiatives, Ma Pwint says. “For instance, nationalUNV volunteers are engaged in the distributionand demonstration of modern child-deliverymedical equipment and offer guidance onhealth needs.”National UNV volunteer civil engineers are alsoinvaluable to UNHCR’s activities, notes Ma Pwint.“This was particularly important after CycloneNargis in 2008,” she says, “when UNV volunteersassisted affected communities in the delta andYangon areas.” The UNV volunteers providedmaterials and helped in building low-costshelters for vulnerable people.Meet UNV volunteers...responding to disastersUNV volunteers are often well-placed to provide immediate assistancein the aftermath of natural disasters. The fact that they work directlywith communities, and often live in their direct vicinity facilitates earlywarning and response.In Botswana, national UNV volunteer Kebonyemodisa Watotastepped in when the communities he worked with were hit by theworst flooding in 30 years. Watota (centre, photo: UNV, 2009) knew thecommunities through his HIV/AIDS awareness-raising activities underthe Community Capacity Enhancement Programme. His localknowledge and language skills thus proved invaluable in assisting theBotswana Defence Force and Red Cross volunteers as they assessedthe situation in the villages of Kauxwi and Xakao.The aid workers also needed Watota to help persuade distressedand confused local people to temporarily move from their ancestralhomes to higher ground. “As a UNV volunteer, I facilitated dialogueduring the meetings,” he says. “This was possible because I had alreadybeen working with the villagers, so I was not new to them and thisaccelerated dialogue. I stayed with them for three nights afterrelocation to assure them that the new place was safe.”In China, national UNV volunteers were quick to offer their helpafter the Sichuan earthquake happened. Liu Lei, the only UNVvolunteer serving nearby at the time of the disaster, was the first tovolunteer as a field interpreter for the International Federation of theRed Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Fellow UNV volunteer Gao Weiwas serving with the Beijing Youth League at the time, andimmediately volunteered to assist its disaster relief mission withequipment supply.Like Watota in Botswana, Lei’s local knowledge proved invaluable.He recalls the first days after the disaster. “My first task was to collectfurther information about the location, population and number ofcasualties, and I liaised between international aid agencies, localauthorities and affected communities.” Lei’s efforts ultimately helpedthe Red Cross work more closely with other NGOs and facilitated thearrival of targeted aid.MOBILIZING SKILLS | 35

Engaging the developmentcommunity online“Online volunteering is a unique way of contributing to the good of mankind without necessarilyleaving your immediate environment. I am a legal practitioner with three little kids. I may not be able toget involved in peacekeeping in war-torn areas or other UN activities in troubled spots around theglobe. However, I feel elated that within the confines of my little corner, I can help in resolving vitalglobal issues by researching and making recommendations on issues concerning women and children.”Gertrude Ene Onuoha, an online volunteer from Nigeria, supported the Saratoga Foundationfor Women Worldwide with research on women and the MDGs in GhanaMobilizing volunteers and engagingcommunities goes beyond sendingspecialists to the field. The UNV OnlineVolunteering service engages the globalonline community, mobilizing people tovolunteer for peace and development.To tap into this vast reservoir ofexpertise, organizations register on theUNV Online Volunteering servicewebsite – www.onlinevolunteering.org –and advertise the services they require,from project design to communicationsand promotional products. Onlinevolunteers then scan theseopportunities to see which they are bestsuited for, and contact the organizationsto offer their support. Developmentorganizations select those volunteerswhose skills and experience best matchtheir needs, and work with them overthe Internet.The process costs the users nothing, andis monitored from UNV headquarters inBonn to ensure quality control. TheOnline Volunteering service alsomobilizes a diverse range of people. In2009, about 62 per cent of onlinevolunteers were themselves from the

South. About 53 per cent of the 9,427online volunteers who completedassignments in 2009 were women, andabout 200 online volunteers reporteddisabilities. The UNV Online Volunteeringservice leverages a wide range ofexpertise, and often builds lastingcapacity for grassroots organizations.In Pakistan, the Grace Association aimsto “empower and improve the quality oflife of marginalized and vulnerablecommunities in the least developed partsof the country” and grew to a stage whereit needed outside help. In response to theNGO’s call on the Online Volunteeringservice website, people from Pakistan itselfto Jordan and the United States of Americaformed a team of 10 online volunteers thatworked on developing grant proposalsand augmenting the Grace Association’scommunications and branding.Their contribution was critical inimproving the Grace Association’sservices, notes founder and volunteermanager Khadim Hussain, as they helpeddevelop projects, access Internet-basedresources and link with internationalorganizations and networks. Forexample, the team helped the GraceAssociation register with the Associationfor Education of Young Children in theUnited States of America. “Theeducational resources to which our staffsubsequently got access enabled us tostart an early learning class at the Gracepublic school,” Khadim says, “and with themoney raised through globalgiving.orgwe were able to purchase wheelchairs.”Laura Gamboa-Cavazos (Mexico) helpedthe Grace Association to research andcontact potential partner organizations.She also worked with Grace Associationstaff, developing their skills andknowledge in teaching young children.“Online volunteering has manyadvantages and rewards,” she says.“Most incredible is the chain of peopleKhadim Hussain is founder and director of the GraceAssociation in Islamabad, Pakistan, which hasbenefitted from the UNV Online Volunteering service.A team of 10 online volunteers supported the NGO bydeveloping grant proposals and enhancing itscommunications and branding. (Waqas Anees, 2010)who want to make a difference. I havetwo best friends who I met throughonline volunteering, and the sharing ofknowledge, information, education andculture has been enormous. Once youstart, you will never want to finish. Youkeep looking for other organizations tohelp.”Another 10 online volunteers, mostlyarchitects and engineers, assisted theNGO Ingénieurs sans frontières (EngineersWithout Borders) in Cameroon. Thesesupported the design of a KnowledgeCentre for Development, for example,researching potential partners andcreating the architectural plans for thebuilding. The Knowledge Centre aims tofoster the promotion of science andtechnology in African development.“Online volunteers played a crucial role inallowing us to better conceptualize theproject and to define our strategy,” saysEmilienne Lionelle Ngo-Samnick, whocoordinated the online volunteers. “Bysharing their skills, the online volunteersstrengthened the organizational andtechnical capacities of Engineers WithoutBorders and its staff.” Online volunteersalso created a modern website for theNGO, and provided online training and amanual so that the Engineers WithoutBorders staff could manage the websitewithout further support.In 2009, online volunteers undertook172 per cent more assignments than theprevious year, completing a total of14,313 assignments. About 6,500 ofthese were in education, includingdesigning and delivering free onlinecourses for refugees. Another 2,500assignments were related to the youthsector, such as the design of a youthaction guide to promote youthinvolvement in communitydevelopment, and 2,000 otherssupported the promotion of the MDGsand researched global developmentissues. About 92 per cent oforganizations rated their interactionswith online volunteers as ‘good’ or‘excellent’. The website received morethan half a million visits in 2009, almostdouble the figure for 2008.Sharing innovationin BrazilUNV supported the development ofa Portuguese-language volunteeringportal based in Brazil that hashelped promote the use of theOnline Volunteering service. Theinitiative, launched by the NGOInstituto Voluntários em Ação(Institute for Volunteer Action – IVA),strengthens the capacity of localnon-profit organizations to mobilizeand manage online volunteers, andpromotes volunteerism.Bruna Bruno, a national UNVvolunteer working with IVA,coordinated workshops to train thestaff of volunteer centres from fiveBrazilian states on the use of theportal and management of onlinevolunteers. She also designedmaterials for volunteer centres touse in replicating the training forpartner organizations in theirrespective states. The number ofNGOs registered on the serviceincreased following the training andvolunteer placement is also steadilyincreasing. More than 80 per cent ofthe organizations involved haveexpressed their satisfaction with theservices provided by the onlinevolunteers.Bruna has also used the portalherself to support an environmentalawareness-raising campaign run byUNEP. “Through IVA’s portal, I wasable to work with 297 onlinevolunteers on the production,translation and distribution of UNEPpromotional materials encouragingcivil society to assume responsibilityfor environmental preservation,”she says.MOBILIZING SKILLS | 37