Stories
The UN family - through its funds, programmes and specialized agencies - carries out activities to improve the lives of people around the world.
Read some of these inspirational stories.
IOM
Success through braille in South Sudan
Sitting around a conference room table in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, Julius Onisente uses a stylus to emboss dots that form patterns to make a sentence. Julius is one of 20 people who attended a three-week Grade II Braille training organized by IOM to help participants build on existing braille reading and writing skills.
OHCHR
Leave no one behind during COVID-19
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in East Africa, UN Human Rights’ regional office, based in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, has taken the lead in ensuring that disadvantaged groups have access to information on COVID-19 through various platforms.
UNRIC Brussels
COVID-19: stories told over the phone
The lockdown is a particularly challenging time for people with disabilities. Among the many initiatives emerging, Belgian association Ligue Braille is helping blind and partially sighted people cope with isolation by reading them stories over the phone and sending audio books in the post.
UNHCR
Helping a blind boy focus on his dreams in Turkey
A UNHCR-funded braille writer is helping visually-impaired Syrian refugees in Turkey, like Ashraf, to express themselves and follow their dreams.
UNDP Sierra Leone
Protecting every ballot
In 2018, a few weeks before elections in Sierra Leone, 19 Training Officers working with the National Electoral Commission ensured, with UNDP support, that persons with disabilities knew how to vote on Election Day.
UNESCO
Supporting Ghana to produce HIV Alert materials in Braille
UNESCO, in partnership with Ghanean authorities, has produced and distributed HIV and AIDS alert materials for visually impaired students.
UNICEF
Giving children in Cuba room to grow through inclusive education
Nearly 10,000 children with disabilities study in mainstream schools in Cuba. The lack of specialized schools prompted UNICEF to provide inclusive training and teaching tools to educators.