Today is International Volunteer Day, which was created by the United Nations in 1985 to celebrate the power of volunteerism. It is an opportunity for volunteers, and volunteer organizations, to raise awareness of their contributions to peace and development.

In Afghanistan, reinforced by Islamic injuntions to help one’s neighbor and society. Numerous Afghan tales refer to the value of doing good deeds for community members and strangers alike, irrespective of their gender or faith.

In this multiethnic society, volunteers are a force that can bring people together. And in the face of the great challenges brought about by years of conflict, international organisations rely on these country-wide networks of motivated local volunteers to assist in humanitarian work and alleviate human suffering.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, a partner of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has been working in Afghanistan since 1989. In the last 27 years, over 1,600 UN Volunteers have served in the country.

Currently, there are 70 UN Volunteers from all over the world supporting peace and development in Afghanistan. Here are just a few examples:

• UN Volunteers with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have helped with emergency assistance and the provision of basic services for the displaced. They have also identified specific assistance and protection requirements for returnees and internally displaced persons, in particular children and those with special needs.
• UN Volunteers have supported the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) since its establishment in 2002. More than 300 UN Volunteers have provided technical expertise to UNAMA in Kabul in Kandahar and helped foster local peace initiatives in five provinces across southern Afghanistan.
• UNV and UNDP have provided technical support to the Ministry of Youth Affairs for the development of the Afghanistan National Youth Strategy 2016-2020 and its Five-Year Implementation Plan.
• UNDP and UNV are also working closely with the Ministries of Hajj and Religious Affairs, of Women Affairs, and of Information and Culture to organize a series of caravans of volunteer religious clergy and young people to spread key messages on women’s rights.

To achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and leave no one behind, traditional means of implementation need to be complemented by participatory mechanisms that facilitate people’s engagement, deepen impact and widen reach. Volunteerism embraces these universal and inclusive values.  Volunteers have what it takes: commitment, engagement and solidarity to make Afghanistan a better place for its people and our common planet.

On the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2016 under the theme “#Global Applause – give volunteers a hand”, let us all give volunteers a hand and recognize their contributions in Afghanistan and throughout the world for making peace and sustainable development a reality.

View expressed in this article are of the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Pajhwok’s editorial policy.

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