In DRC, a young UNV tries to make a difference in people’s lives
Having worked in Europe for the European Union, NGOs and think tanks, Tommaso Ripani knew that what he truly wanted was to be part of the UN in the field. “Studying international relations is one thing; putting it into practice is a completely different story,” he said.
A public affairs specialist, he was working with the UN Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) in Brussels – after stints in The Hague and Rome – when he decided to upload his profile into the UN Volunteers (UNV) database. One night, while walking home with a colleague, he received an email asking if he was interested in joining OCHA’s sub-office in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “I wasn’t convinced I could make it to the end of the selection process. It sounded like a tough job and yet here I am, a year later, working for OCHA as a humanitarian in North Kivu, loving my job, battling the challenges and knowing that we – OCHA – make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”
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