10. Interaction

UN peacekeepers have always helped the local communities in ways that go far beyond their official functions. Peacekeepers have used their military and logistical capabilities to help build schools, playgrounds, orphanages, and medical facilities. It is not uncommon for peacekeepers to pool together their own money to rebuild homes and community centres, donate school supplies to students and countless other small gestures and projects that go virtually unnoticed by the wider global community, but have a great impact in the areas where they count the most.

Peacekeepers also participate in sports with members of the local communities, especially children, as well as teach classes ranging from languages to yoga. Along the way, the goodwill that takes root in local communities helps to ensure that when the blue helmets leave, peace stays behind.

UN assists Congolese youth volunteers to rebuild the 'Road of Hope,' between Leopoldville and Sanda, Republic of the Congo. United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) Leopoldville, Republic of the Congo, 17 April 1962, UN Photo/BZ, 114341	Peacekeepers play tug-of-war with a group of local children during a civic day event in Cité Soleil, Haiti. United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 18 October 2007, UN Photo/Logan Abassi, 158571