'Volunteers always seem to go the extra mile'.

• Author: Gali, Sy Koumbo Singa

FOR 17 YEARS, I HAVE DEVOTED MYSELF to the practice of journalism in my home country, Chad. What motivated me to work as a UNV volunteer was to take advantage of all of this experience and share it with others to whom it could be of service. Chad has been perpetually war-stricken, and it has never been easy for us journalists to work in a country at war. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, unfortunately, has also been experiencing a similar situation for nearly a decade. I felt that there would be similarities in the approach to the job in both places.

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In a peacekeeping mission like the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), any contribution, no matter how small, helps advance the peace process. My contribution as a UNV volunteer is to help make the Mission's efforts towards peace more visible to the Congolese people, so that they understand the importance of its presence in the country. Many do not understand why MONUC is here and, in the context of the elections, parts of the population mistakenly assume that the international community explicitly favours one side. This is not the case since the Mission's role is limited to supporting the peace process. This message needs to be driven home continuously--and that is my job. My...