When he was in high school, Emmanuel Agumah was diagnosed with Buruli ulcer. Categorized as a neglected tropical disease, or “NTD,” it kept him hospitalized for approximately three years and bedridden for about a year and a half. The disease, which he could have chosen to view as a disability, has instead given him a cause for which he fights. Agumah founded the Buruli Ulcer Victims Aid (BUVA) Foundation, which focuses on socio-economic support for former Buruli ulcer patients and those with disabilities. Read more: https://goo.gl/xu88yf

Fatma Abdalla is a product of community action. Growing up, her mother would fundraise to pay her tuition. “The community stood by me so that I could gain my degree,” the business school graduate tells YALI Voices. “I feel that it’s my time now to pay back to the community.” Read more: yali.state.gov/yalivoices-education-key-change-professional

Do you see opportunities or obstacles? Listen to Selina Nkoile talk about how she saved the school she attended as a girl and how she promotes education. Read more at: yali.state.gov/yali-voices-selina-nkoile-saves-her-school

At a young age, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Victor Ochen says, “my choice remains peace and will always be peace,” in this YALI Voices podcast. Read more: https://yali.state.gov/yali-voices-victor-ochen-audio

Fombah Kanneh grew up in a makeshift house in the slums of Monrovia, Liberia, during the country’s civil war. As in many other cities, slum life in Monrovia is notoriously hard — plagued by drugs, poverty, hunger and peer pressure to engage in destructive behavior. Learn more: https://yali.state.gov/yali-voices-podcast-education-changed-his-life-now-hes-giving-back/

Volunteering has never been more important than it is today. With the spate of global humanitarian crises and the growing consciousness of alternative problem solving techniques available, volunteering with organizations that are solving societal problems gives people the opportunity to be part of the solution. Volunteering to help people in your community leads to your personal development and to the development of that community and the country at large. Read more: https://yali.state.gov/yaliserves-joy-of-volunteering-2/

Volunteering is the act of rendering selfless service to a cause, oftentimes for free and without coercion. It is about giving time to a good cause, specifically to help an organization, your community or an individual you are not related to. People who engage in this type of activity are known as volunteers. Read more at: https://yali.state.gov/yaliserves-joy-of-volunteering-1/

Before you decide on how and where you will volunteer, it is important to have thought through three key questions. Why do you want to volunteer? What volunteer opportunity best fits your career and/or other goals? And how will you maximize the potential in every volunteering experience? Read more at: https://yali.state.gov/yaliserves-joy-of-volunteering-3/

While you are volunteering, be honest about your skills and experiences. One of the best things you can do for yourself during your period of volunteering is to be completely honest about your skills, abilities and experiences. What you already know you can apply and build on; what you do not know you can learn — but this can only happen when you are honest to both yourself and your employers and superiors.

An excellent way to appreciate the business of volunteering is to first understand how to get the best out of every volunteering experience, and this is what we will be looking at in this section. Read more: https://yali.state.gov/yaliserves-joy-of-volunteering-4/