I volunteered for a year almost with caritas uganda in northern uganda war affected region by LRA. infact volunteering is my dream now because I show how people really needed other people support to servive otherwise their lives would be meaningless on earth. when earthquake hit Hiti, surname in japan, I felt sad & there was nothing I could do to help except prayers.
I personally grew up in the war affected and I was the benefactor of some of the reliefs provided by UN Red Cross etc and I studied up to University level due to other people's assistance.
since I have nothing to give to others who really need, my dreams is to volunteer and provide humanitarians assistance through volunteering with NGOs.
I love to Volunteer if given the chance again because that is the only way I can provide to the needy world wide & to give back to WFP, UNICEF etc.
samuel

My Name is Aneibu Rockzine, a Cameroonian based in Cameroon. Father died when I was 16yrs leaving 8 of us and the last was 6 months then. My mum passed away too 2yrs ago. We are from a very poor background. My strong desire to make it through life pushed me through the university despite all odds until where I am now. The consistent progress I had in life made me to help many soar through life minimizing their backgrounds especially the orphans and the vulnerable children. Since 2001, I have been volunteering in structures dealing with needy people like 'Jonathan's house, 'Philip Fongod Foundation', Glim, churches etc just to be there for my community to the best of my abilities working with children, youths, women, old people. I sponsored myself to Zimbabwe and Mozambique just to be with friends I met online to see how together we can help through educative talks in schools and churches encourage everyone not to look at the government for help but to look within themselves and see how they could be of help to their communities minimizing all odds. Right Now I am with HOTPEC orphanage and presently coordinating a project of training OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) personnel. We have started with the South West region and planning to train through the 10 regions of Cameroon. My joy is seeing these personnel trained to broaden the smiles of these children.
I pray my story will help someone one do more for his/her community, continent and the world. AND TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY AMEN!!!!

I do volunteer with regards to pastoral work in our community. There are different kinds of ministries: education, social services, worship and family and life. All programs are handed down by the parish and then bring to our own area/community.

With the help of other officers and coordinators, we are able to strengthen the faith, spirit of volunteerism, restore camaraderie in our village. Being the Area Coordinator I encourage the youth, kids and parents specially mothers to partificipate in the activities and programs not only for the religion but specially for the environment. By keeping all the recyclables materials and sell to the junk shop, keep the sales as fund for future programs. We had also outreached program specially when there was a devastating typhoon in the Southern Part of the Philippines.

Being a volunteer in the church I noticed that almost are women, I wish that there will be more employment for women, specially mothers who are still capable of working to support their family...even at the simpliest form at their own backyard and then tie up with bigger businessmen..women's cooperative worldwide and the like.

Thank you very much, I wish that I could contribute more in our community and better outside my country thru UNVolunteers group.

Nelia Macaraeg-Nasol

I was involved in heping asylum seekers in the Netherlsnds with intergration. My tasks included organising social awarrness and building capacities. Most of these asylum seekers eventually are well intergrated and are Dutch citizens. They have seen the sense of belonginess and the responsibility of sharing their cultural heritage with others like the Dutch(their guests). I feel fullfilled to help people who feel that they were nothing but eventually found out that they have important roles and responsibilities in their communities. Today, most of them are role models for others in their communities.

I have been participating in development programes like teaching local people computer lessons, hygiene, saving cultures and the importance of education to children without discrimination on sex.

samuel ibanda

In Tanzania, Tanga region Tewe village working with World Vision Tanzania provide food to families affected with HIV/AIDS, also before providing it we used to educate the families about the disaster.

As Future UN volunteer, I would like to share my experience in the field of strengthen Community. Youth education in community should be world paramount focus as some part of the world e.g Sierraleone's youth and even student needs multi culural interaction amonsgt other youths nationals, breaking boundaries access the culture and nutural coherence and learning in cross-cut country, inspiring views and aspirations for youths. I have concluded a survey in my Community oarganization Youth Initial For Development and Social Actions (YIDSA) SL.Statistics Survey have shown that more youths amongts them student are less previdge, realised that freedom to associte in the braoder sense is lacking. Tyhis inner vacuum has coaused a siegh mind to think poorly. The minds of our youths needs education and the only way I think is to bring national and international friendly interaction down to youths in Communities.
The issue of our glabal chaos and conscripting young people in combatant is because not that they feel revenge or poorverty i their face but also they feel neglect theenjoing their youths life with others glbally.
Let us have a restrospect, who are the youth that stirs violence canage in glabal society in terms of turning against their government with the guns? one could picture our 'AFRICAN YOUTH' unlike which occursas them talking of drugs cocain but committed crime individually. African Governement cant provide the needs to address the view and issues. and I would like this message to be reflected in UN seriously as we tacle the yourhs issues and melleniom Development goal 2015.
I THANK YOU.

My name is Alain Romain Saintilus, I'm Haitian I speak Haitian Creole, French, Spanish and English, I'm lisenced in Business Administration, since 2006 I'm working so hard with young group to change my comunity first, my society and my country, we organize us around a legal Organization for help the person in:
- Education
- Environment
- Decentralisation
- Social Integration ...
Usually we participate in international and local conferences and United States simulations, come back to our comunity, our society and our country we try to educate them about ours knowledges took. Each December First we have activities in our local for the international aid day, March 8 too.
January 10, 2010 we had a bad experience thanks God everybody of ours was well but the country was crushed,so tomorrow January 11, we might to take the street to remove death and rubbles it was so sad and so difficult cause everybody had a parents under rubbles. We helped the children during 8 months to ate and drunk.
After we have a problem a cholera who killed so much person, right now we working with the person under cap how they can keep theirs health. For give an answer with this bacteries we can find in non-treat water,we elaborate a good project to set up an Osmosis Reverse System in Plateau central, center of Haiti where the cholera was born. I approvechate this moment to demand your help in the realisation of this, I can give more information if you are interesting. I want to show the pictures of ours work.
Thanks for accept me like volunteer of UN.

Fortalecimiento Organizativo para las comunidades indígenas del Valle del Cauca en Colombia. Mejora de la participación de la mujer en dichas comunidades.

VILLAGE FOCUS
1. INTRODUCTION
As Mwalimu Julius Nyerere said" … development brings freedom; provided it is development by the people". For the development by the people themselves to take place there should be strong efforts to strengthen social and administrative structures below the District levels and more so in the villages. At the village, there should be formed a strong Village Governing Council (VGC). The villagers themselves, from time to time elects committee members in the villages e.g. after every two years. The elected Council chooses its secretariat, responsible for the day-to-day running of the village affairs. The Council works through Village Development Committees which is formed in line with day to day government ministries to ensure community government partnership e.g. Village Health Committee (partnership with health ministry).
It is in the villages where people know each other by names and are bound by common values, needs and hopes .It is where they feel a sense of belonging of unity and trust that leads to caring for each other . It is in the village community where people shares responsibility for the well being of the neighborhood. This therefore calls for a strong village administrative authority to help the village opinion leaders come together to share and discuss problems affecting their village; identify needs ,priorities the needs ,examine the resources available ,and find possible solution. The Council will encourage villagers to think. It will encourage villagers to make decisions. It will encourage villagers to take action and solve problems.
2. PROBLEM BACKGROUND
The concept of a village does not have real recognition in the planning and service delivery systems in Kenya. The sub-location is often seen as the lowest unit for development planning, but a sub location may be too big in terms of size, population, and diversity of interest groups or communities. This raises the need to define the lowest spatial unit of community organization, and how that unit fits in the established planning processes. All communities, especially in rural Kenya and in urban informal settlements, know their village boundaries. One option would be to formalize the concept of village as understood in the respective communities, with self-selected leaders rather than a downward extension of official administration. Countries that have clearly defined villages ( such as Uganda &Tanzania ) have expanded and consolidated community participation using participatory techniques. Without a definition of a village grassroots developers use a looser and amorphous concept of “community” which shouldn’t be, this demands that the spatial definition is important for scaling up and achieving an institutionalization of participatory processes.

3. CONSTITUTIONAL BACKUP
Chapter Eleven of the Constitution of Kenya notes the objects and principles of devolved government as;
a) To promote democratic and accountable exercise of power
b) To foster national unity by recognizing diversity
c) To give powers of self-governance to the people and enhance the participation of the people in the exercise of powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them
d) To recognize the right of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their development.
e) To protect and promote the interests and rights of minorities and marginalized communities.
f) To promote social and economic development and the provision of proximate, easily accessible services throughout Kenya
g) To ensure equitable sharing of national and local resources throughout Kenya
h) To facilitate decentralization of state organs, their functions and services from the capital of Kenya; and
i) To enhance checks and balances and the separation of powers.

The county Bill 2012 emphasizes the establishment of decentralized units at county, Sub County (constituency) and the ward level. It notes that county legislation shall make further provision as to structures, administration and operations of further units of decentralization within the county, that administrative locations and sub locations shall comprise units of further decentralization in each county.

4. REASONS FOR DECENTRALIZATION
The objectives of decentralization in Kenya have been shaped by both economic and political imperatives. At the economic level, decentralization entailed an effort to create institutional mechanism for economic reform. At the political level, it was a new response to new international pressures for more participatory development process. Consequently, decentralization was intended to groups and civic organizations and to increase the responsibility of communities to finance services through local resources.
The decision to decentralize is a pragmatic response to a shrinking central government budget and poor targeting of programs that have left most of rural Kenya on the margins of development. At the same time, decentralization conformed to the emerging development principles of popular participation that was rekindled in the 1980s, mainly at the behest of bilateral and multilateral donor agencies who were frustrated at the government inadequate capacity to stem the tide of structural poverty that was becoming deeply entrenched in the rural areas.
Kenya’s current economic blueprint Vision 2030, proposes a democratic process aimed at decentralizing decision-making and distributing resources equitably. It adopts the devolution as “a shift in power, authority, resources and responsibilities from the center to other lower levels of government”. Vision 2030 defines decentralization as ‘’any change in the organization of government which involves the transfer of some powers from the national levels, or from one sub-national level to another lower level”.

5. VILLAGE
A village is herein defined as the jurisdiction of a village Elder. A village comprises of a number of household and families from different clans with an average population of 200 people. The village Elder is the government’s grassroots administrator who assists the sub chief at the sub location level. The Village Elders is thus the Key link between the government and the villagers. Villagers thus share a particular geographical area and not necessarily cultural or historical backgrounds. In this concept all members of a village form the Village Constituent Assembly.

6.

7. FUCTIONS OF VILLAGE STRUCTURES
VILLAGE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
This is composes all members of a village under the jurisdiction of a village Elder. This is a geographical area of members of a community of a number of households and families from different clans. They participate in all development programs within the village and elect all their leaders during annual general assembly
VILLAGE GOVERNING COUNCIL
This is the village leaders, who sit regularly to set the development agenda of the village and deliberate on issues that affect the constituents. They strategize and prepare the development plan of the village in consultation with all interested partners and within the village priorities. This comprises thirty members who are elected after every two years of a maximum of two terms.
VILLAGE SECRETARIATE
This is the administrative unit of the village. It collects analyses and records all the data related to development within the village. It works on day to day basis; reporting to the village governing council to ensure that all the community correspondence efficiently reaches the right parties. Their daily work is based on the village action plans prepared by the respective village development committees. The secretariat includes the Village Chief Executive Officer, Village Administrative Secretary and a Village Accountant.
VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Every key sector has a Village Development Committee that works daily through a Village Action Plan prepared by the respective VDC in consultation with community members. For example, the Village Agricultural Committee will prepare a Village Agricultural Action Plan. This means that all Agricultural Initiatives in the village must be managed as projects with standard documentations. The Chairperson of a particular VDC is a member of the Project Management Committee that sits in the Governing Council to regularly report on projects progress. They compile the village sector policies. Members of a village Development Committee must be at least ten with not more than two thirds of the same gender.
VILLAGE THINK TANKS
These are members of a village who have professional skills and experiences in different fields. They thus act as advisors of the Village Governing Council. They connect the village with development partners and strengthen development programs in service delivery. They advice on policy issues beyond the village and ensures that the village plans with national and international development priorities. Village think tanks can be as many as possible.
DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
These are all parties who hold development interest with the village. They can include civil society, faith based organizations, community groups, international development partners, companies, research organizations, individuals and government agencies. They work directly with the Village Governing Council in prioritizing development projects in the village. Development partners should be as many as possible.
GOVERNMENT
The government trough the civil servants are key partners of the village organization. They work closely with the Village Governing Council in mainstreaming development priorities in line with the national vision. All government ministries must have grassroots programs.

8. CONCLUSION
Village development and community development planning encourages the participation of local people in analyzing their problems and opportunities, and finding out solutions. This method contributes to community development by improving capacity of local people and strengthening the roles of commune leaders; promoting local participation and ensuring transparency and equity among different community groups and contributing to efficient and effective use of resources in community development.
Strengthening village structures ensures sector-wide, multi-stakeholder and integrated development that promote citizen involvement in decision making and promotes rapid and massive development with greater impact on the people.
We need strong institutional framework at the village level to ensure resources reach community at the grassroots based on their priority needs. Let us empower the office of the village elder for prosperity and coordinated development.