Irish Aid sponsored UN Volunteer Interns prepare to head off

The Minister of State for Irish Aid, Conor Lenihan TD,  and UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr Peter Piot, today met with fourteen Irish Aid sponsored UN Volunteer (UNV) Interns who will travel overseas next week to work in the developing world for a period of one year. They will gain experience in the field with a UN agency.

The Irish Aid sponsored UNV internship programme was first launched in January 2006, when 11 interns were successful in gaining a place with UN agencies in Africa, Latin America and Asia. This year, there will be 14 interns participating in the programme.

UNV intern, Ms Caragh Munn, who will be working for UNAIDS in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said “this is a wonderful opportunity, which I am looking forward to very much. My role will be to help strengthen UNAIDS’ contribution to effective and strategic national management of HIV programmes throughout the country. The UNV internship provides an opportunity to gain concrete experience in a developing country, which is very important in this field.”

Irish Aid UN Volunteer Interns

Brian Harding from Dublin, who has an MSc in Ethnobotany, will be working for UNDP in Kenya on a Sustainable Energy and Environment Programme.

Michelle Healy will be working on a UNICEF HIV Prevention programme in Kenya.

Peter O’Sullivan from Cork will be working on Human Rights issues with UNDP, in Lesotho, an Irish Aid programme country.

Sheila Long, a social worker with experience in Uganda and Tanzania, will be a Social Policy Intern with UNICEF in Lesotho.

Peter Donelan, an economist from Dublin, will be heading to Sierra Leone to work with UNDP’s Poverty and Human Development Unit.

Caragh Munn will work in the area of social development, with UNAIDS in Ethiopia.

Laura Collins, from the UK, will work on Education and Youth project for UNICEF in the Irish Aid programme country of Malawi.

Eoghan Brady, from Sligo, will work on Child Survival and Development, also with UNICEF in Malawi.

Laura Lalor will work as a Community Development and Recovery Intern in Timor-Leste.

Rachel McKenna, from Dublin, will work for UNV in the area of Information and Communication in Timor-Leste.

Hilary Daly, from Dublin, will be working for UNHCR in Guatemala as a Coordination Assistant.

Victoria Diaz-Garcia, from Spain, will work on a Gender Programme with UNDP in Nicaragua.

Rory Mullan, from Co. Derry, will go to India to work in the area of Disaster Reduction for UNDP.

Kai Matturi will be the Irish UNV intern in Uganda, where he will work as an Assistant Human Rights Officer for OHCHR.

ENDS++

30 January 2007

Press Office