A Welcome to Our Visitors from
UNV Programme Officer

It is with pleasure that I can introduce to you the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) in Botswana and the activities carried out by the volunteers serving in the country.

The UNV programme has been in operation in Botswana since 1973 and the

country has been one of the main hosts of UN Volunteers in Africa in the past.

In 2000, a National UN Volunteer (NUNV) Scheme was set up in Botswana to harness the knowledge & expertise of qualified nationals in order to strengthen community and national capacities.

In line with the Government of Botswana’s commitment to strengthening capacities for a multi-sectoral and gender-sensitive responses to tackling HIV/AIDS, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Government, the UNV Programme has engaged National UN Volunteers (NUNV) to implement the Community Capacity Enhancement Process programme (CCEP) in the country as facilitators.

The following pages should give you a greater understanding of the significant roles that the UN Volunteers have played in the programmes that they are attached to whilst contributing to the social and economic development of Botswana as a whole.

Sarah Wimaladharma (2008)

United Nations Volunteers is the United Nations focal point for promoting and harnessing volunteerism for effective development. UNV is a strategic source of knowledge and advice about the role and contribution of volunteerism and the benefits of civic engagement in development programmes. UNV is dedicated to using Volunteerism for Development (V4D) to make distinctive contributions to the effectiveness of development.

UNV was created by the UN General Assembly in 1971 at the request of UN Member Countries in order to be a development partner for the UN system. It is based in Bonn, Germany, and is active in more than 140 countries. UNV is represented worldwide through the offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

UNV Mission Statement

• "Volunteering brings benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer. It makes important contributions, economically as well as socially. It contributes to a more cohesive society by building trust and reprocity among citizens.
  
  The United Nations Volunteers is the UN organization that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism and the mobilization of volunteers. It serves the causes of peace and development through enhancing opportunities for participation by all peoples. It is universal, inclusive and embraces volunteer action in all its diversity. It values free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity, which are the foundations of volunteerism."

Guided by the principle of Volunteerism For Development (V4D), the UN Volunteers programme advocates the benefits of civic engagement, integrates volunteerism into development programmes, and mobilises thousands of volunteers every year in pursuit of distinctive contributions to development effectiveness.

These contributions take the form of increased access to opportunities and services, and better delivery of services, greater inclusion and participation in development, and the mobilization of communities.

UNV directly mobilises more than 7,500 UNV volunteers every year nationally and internationally. More than 75% of UNV volunteers come from developing countries, and more than 40% volunteer within their own countries.

UNV Botswana

The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) became active in Botswana in 1973 with UN Volunteers focusing on activities in various sectors of the economy. Through the years, UNV has continued to provide development assistance to Botswana. By the mid-1990s, the UNV programme in Botswana was one of the largest UNV operations. At that time, more than 60 UN Volunteers assisted non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) in skills training for income-earning projects, organized exchange programmes and mobilized funds for the host organizations to support development activities.

The UNV programme in Botswana works closely with government ministries on national and district level, in particularly with the Ministry of Local Government and the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA). Currently, there are 14 nationals and 6 international UNVs serving in Botswana in a variety of areas such as governance, environment, refugee issues as well as on the issues of HIV/AIDS. Host agencies for the volunteers in Botswana include, Ministry of Local Government, UNHCR, UNFPA, UNICEF and UNDP.

As focal point for volunteer-related activities in the country, UNV Botswana takes a lead role in facilitating collaboration and coordination between and amongst volunteer agencies in the country. Through various joint efforts, significant accomplishments have been made by the volunteer agencies in the promotion of volunteerism, which are highlighted every year during the celebrations of International Volunteer Day on 5 December.

National UN Volunteer (NUNV) Scheme in Botswana

The National UN Volunteer Scheme was set up in Botswana in 2000 in order to harness the knowledge and expertise of qualified nationals to build and strengthen community and national capacities. The scheme has been viewed as an innovative and effective approach to harness the use of nationals to promote national volunteerism and national volunteer contributions to development efforts in the country. As a result of the overwhelming response of development partners a national Steering Committee was established to provide guidance to the Government of Botswana, the UN system and NGOs/CBOs in the identification and effective use of national volunteers and review the organisation’s approach in light of the human resource requirements of the country.

Currently, the majority of NUNV’s are serving in the Community Capacity Enhancement Process programme (CCEP) as CCEP facilitators in the various districts of Botswana. The CCEP programme is one part of a wider initiative relating to the Programme Support Document signed between the Government of Botswana and UNDP in 2003 on ‘Strengthening Capacity for Gender-Sensitive Multi-Sectoral Response to HIV/AIDS’. The focus areas of the whole programme include leadership development, mainstreaming of gender and HIV/AIDS and strengthening alongside the CCEP programme.

Who is a UNV volunteer
A professional recruited for her/his professional qualifications and her/his readiness to serve under volunteer conditions without regard to financial benefit. She/He works for the realization of the broad objectives laid down by the United Nations Charter for the economic and social advancement of humanity.

How Do I become a UN Volunteer?
Becoming a volunteer expresses your support for the principles at the heart of the United Nations: that by working together we can make the world a better place for all. Volunteering benefits society at large and improves the lives of individuals, including those of the volunteers themselves.

UNV volunteers are helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by reducing poverty and contributing to economic, social and political development, peace and security, and the health and welfare of millions of people worldwide. They are improving opportunities and participation and making unique contributions to societies locally and nationally.

The options include:
• International UNV volunteers
• National UNV volunteers
• Online volunteers
• Other opportunities

Basic requirements for International & National Volunteers
To become a UNV volunteer one should fulfill the following minimum requirements:

• A university degree or higher technical diplomas;
• Several years of relevant working experience;
• At least age 25 (no maximum age limit);
• Good working knowledge in at least one of the three working UN languages: English, French and Spanish or local languages where applicable;
• Strong commitment to values and principles of volunteerism;
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment;
• Ability to adjust in difficult living conditions;
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills;
• Prior volunteering and/or working experience in a developing country is an asset.

Vacant National UN Volunteer positions are advertised in the local newspaper and on the UNV Website.

For further information on the NUNV programme or to collect an application form to join the national roster please contact the UNV Unit:

UNV Unit
c/o UNDP
UN Place
P.O. Box 54
Gaborone
Tel : 395 2121 ext. 224

Or visit the offices on Tuesdays (9.00 - 11.00) and Thursdays (15.00 – 16.00)

Should you want to learn more about UN Volunteers, the types of assignments and was to become involved please visit our website at: www.unvolunteers.org

Where do UNV volunteers work?

Support to the Southern African Capacity Initiative (SACI)
SACI is aimed at responding to the impact of HIV and AIDS on human resources and the unfolding capacity challenge in Southern Africa. It is designed to bring coherence to UNDP’s response to governance, capacity development and HIV/AIDS-related development initiatives by introducing a systems thinking approach and focusing on the appropriate policy environment, the quality and quantity of human resource capacity and public sector reform. It focuses on the following nine most affected countries in Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

SACI aims to assist the participating countries in four key areas namely i) Policy Support; ii) Service Delivery; iii) Capacity Stabilisation; and iv) meeting the demand for new skills. SACI represents the core of UNDP’s strategic response to creating conditions for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and supporting the above Governments to plan for and manage development activities, taking into account the challenges created by HIV/AIDS. One international UN Volunteer is working as SACI coordinator within the Governance programme of UNDP.

SACI activities in Botswana have been subsumed under the Government of Botswana/UNDP National Governance Programme 2006-2008 enabling continuation of SACI work in support of the Government’s agenda on service delivery. Through this Programme the Government of Botswana, in partnership with the UNDP aims at strengthening and deepening initiatives, programmes and strategies for improved service delivery. The programme is premised on the need for creative and innovative service delivery methods. Specifically, this program focuses on three areas;
• Human Capability (People): Emphasis is on building the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes of public service providers and, capacity for greater citizen engagement in service delivery.
• Processes: Emphasis on increasing the efficiency of existing systems to enhance the delivery of services.
• Structure/Culture (Systems): Emphasis is on strengthening and informing the development of appropriate systems and structure in a coherent and integrated manner for service delivery.

Support to the Community Capacity Enhancement Programme
The Community Capacity Enhancement Programme has remained the vanguard of the commitment and pillar of support by the UNV programme towards enhancing capacities of communities through community conversation. This is one of the strategies for integrating transformation and development practice to halt and reverse the negative effects of HIV/AIDS. SACI supports the CCEP through the provision of National UNVs.

At present 15 National UN Volunteers are deployed under this programme, all serving at district level and working in close collaboration with the District Aids Coordinators. The NUNVs facilitate community conversations at the district and village level to enhance communities response to HIV/AIDS, gender and other social issues effectively.

SACI/NUN Volunteers’ contributions to the CCEP roll out in the districts have been significant. Through their combined efforts, a cadre of over 350 trained volunteer facilitators have been created at the local level in rolling out the CCEP. The Community Conversations have been conducted in over 40 communities and more are being reached.

Support to Care and Maintenance of Refugees in Botswana (UNHCR)
Two UN Volunteers are attached to UNHCR to assist in providing protection to refugees in Botswana in accordance with the provisions of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugess and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Protection in Africa.

One National UNV is based in Gaborone and is providing support as Database Administrator to the refugees’ database maintained by UNHCR. An international volunteer is based in Dukwi Refugee Camp as Community Services Officer providing technical support to the refugees in the camp.

Support to Resident Coordinator of UN System
One international UN Volunteer provides support to the UN Resident Coordinator in her coordination mandate in order to achieve a coherent, efficient and effective UN. The UN Volunteer ensures the strengthening of the capacity of the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Botswana, within the framework of the UN programme of reform and in accordance with UN Development Group Office Guidelines.

The UN Coordination Specialist supports the development of common UN strategies and programming through the Common Country Assessment (CCA) process and the development and implementation of a high quality, focused and strategic United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), and through support to development of national strategies related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Support to UNICEF Botswana as Civil Society Focal Person
One UNV liaises with civil society partners, identifies capacity building needs and advice on capacity building initiatives to be supported by UNICEF Botswana. She assist the Program team in the general and content-specific organization of capacity building initiatives for civil society partners, also by identifying external training opportunities to link the CSO partners. She liaises with religious organizations countrywide for establishing a partnership for children. She liaises with Academia for partnership initiatives related to capacity building for civil society partners, and research opportunities. She provides technical support for child-focused civil society networks, including virtual knowledge-sharing networks on children’s issues among non-state institutions. She supports additional related civil-society UNICEF activities for CAPP (Child/Adolescent Protection and Participation) and YCSD (Young Child Survival and Development), under Planning and Advocacy. She supports UNICEF advocacy events countrywide, including Launch of SOWCR, Day of African Child (CAC), UN day, International Day of Child Broadcasting (IDCB) commemorations. She participates in the UN theme group on Governance and Civil Society (UNTG-GCS), in support of all UN initiatives related to strengthening civil society in Botswana.

Support to Social Policy programme of UNICEF

One international UN Volunteer provides support to the UNICEF Social Policy programme in her capacity as the Focal Point for the following areas:
• Sports, Development and Culture
• Private Sector Engagement
• Human Rights and Gender

The Social Policy Project Officer liaises with local Ministries, schools, coaches, and community to advocate for the use of Sports, Development and Culture in enhancing child and adolescent protection and participation as well as launches life-skills activities in selected districts. The Social Policy Project Officer also supports Private Sector Engagement and Fundraising by promoting corporate social responsibility through the development of ongoing partnerships with private companies to co-implement various projects that benefit children and youth. She also collaborates with other UN agencies to promote gender mainstreaming and a human rights based approach into all areas of UN programming through the planning of workshops, presentations and other advocacy events.