Sept 21 is International Day of Peace, established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. LILEI CHOW looks
at how volunteerism can help to nurture a culture of peace in a divided world

The civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has disrupted farming as well as trade and the country lacks infrastructure to provide adequate food, clean water, healthcare and education for its people.

Singavaram Gopal (squatting, left), or Velu to his friends, raises money outside of office hours to donate much needed milk, rice and cooking oil to nutrition centres in Congo.

Saiful Mohd Ariff and other UNV volunteers take a breather near the Darfur refugee camp in Sudan.

TODAY, the world is struggling with uncertainty about the economy, the environment and global security.

In a colourful publication titled, Two Degrees of Separation - Between Hope and Despair, which draws from the perspectives of the youth on climate change, young people write about thel fear that they will leave the world in worse shape than they found it.

The introduction reads: "In the middle of this century, the readers of this book will no longer be young -- you and I will be old and grey and full of sleep.

"Where would you want to live then? Would you, seated by the fire, nod in agreement when your grandchildren ask whether you did anything to reduce your carbon footprint?"
Carolina Santiago from Malaysia writes: "It has become unbearably hot. It is around 34 Celsius each day and by 5pm, the evening is darkened by storms.

"Climate change impacts upon our human rights by jeopardising our health and security."

Despite the ominous title, the booklet serves not merely to warn others of the impending dangers of global warming.

More than anything, it calls on the Millennial Generation to take ownership of the issue by highlighting what young people can do, in their own capacities, to translate the rhetoric into action.

Fortunately, there are positive signs that we are entering a new age of volunteerism.

National service has been an important means of nation-building in many countries, and there are now unprecedented opportunities for committed and talented individuals to channel their passions and energies toward building a better tomorrow through organisations such as the United Nations Volunteers (UNV).

The philosophy behind the programme is that volunteerism is a powerful means of promoting solidarity in action, social cohesion and peace.

Since UNV was initiated, the number of applicants has witnessed steady growth.

In 2007 alone, 7,500 UNVs served in 140 countries around the world, often under very difficult and dangerous circumstances.

Today, volunteers support many critical functions of the UN system, perhaps most notably peacekeeping and disaster recovery.

Currently UNV volunteers comprise 30 per cent of the international civilian personnel engaged by UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN-DPKO).

In the aftermath of a conflict or natural disaster, UNV is often one of the first humanitarian agencies on the scene.

Their rapid deployment, skills and prior experience in disaster response deliver immediate assistance to communities overwhelmed by the destruction at hand.

Over the past 15 years, for example, UNV has supported 43 UN peacekeeping missions and more than 50 elections, for example in Nepal and Timor-Leste.

It has deployed 8,300 UNV volunteers on 16,000 assignments with the UN-DPKO.

But away from the media's eye, volunteers are also involved in creating enabling environments that can sustain peace and by supporting the integration of peace and development interventions on the ground.

Peace building activities aim at fostering understanding and tolerance between individuals, communities and societies and establishing new structures of co-operation.

The work of UNV volunteers in this area ranges from protecting the rights of refugees, women and children to feeding the hungry, from rebuilding homes and schools to strengthening the rule of law in fledging democracies.

According to Donna Keher, chief of the UNV Partnerships and Communications Group, the nexus between peace and development is increasingly apparent, and volunteerism can support both.

She believes that war and violence are intrinsically linked with poverty, and achieving sustainable peace and development requires a "multidimensional approach" geared towards building societies at all levels and targeted at the grassroots.

This is where volunteerism comes in.

"Volunteerism supports this approach: it is a key means of engaging people in post-conflict reconstruction and in the longer-term development of communities," she stresses.

Citing the need for greater recognition of the role of voluntary action in promoting peace, Keher said that in situations of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of ex-combatants (DDR), as an example, combatants must voluntarily give up their weapons while communities must voluntarily take the soldiers back.

"These kinds of extraordinary acts of volunteerism need to be recognised and sustained," noted Keher. "If not, the DDR process is put at risk and the vicious cycle of violence will likely continue.

"Voluntary participation also has the potential to move disadvantaged populations, such as those living with HIV/AIDS, away from being passive recipients of aid and towards becoming engaged in local development efforts."

Keher said t that about one-third of UNV volunteers are engaged within their home countries, contributing important indigenous knowledge and providing a degree of legitimacy when dealing with local communities.

"UNV also plays an important role in bringing external expertise from neighbouring countries and from around the world.

"Many UNV volunteers have lived through war and civil strife in poorly developed areas. They have valuable experience to share."

For Saiful Mohd Ariff, 31, from Shah Alam, it was the 2004 Asian tsunami that motivated him to become a volunteer.

He became a part of a team involved in the initial set up of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Emergency Response and Transitional Recovery in Banda Aceh.

What awaited him was a city that was completely engulfed in mud, debris and rubble.

"Looking out from the window of the plane for the first time, I thought, what has God done to this place? But I moved from wanting to help to being horrified and then to becoming strong," he says.

"We were the first line of the relief efforts there. This included the recovery and burial of thousands of dead bodies.

"I co-ordinated the delivery of emergency shelters and equipment by using any means possible -- planes, choppers, ships, fishing boats and motorcycles."

Saiful adds that although he suffered injury during a subsequent earthquake that rocked the city, the strong spirit of the Acehnese people spurred him on.

"We challenged ourselves in a dangerous and critical situation where hope is futile and you are the rescuer."

With his previous experience in the oil and gas industry, the rock fan who is also a loving husband and father now works in logistics with the UN missions in Sudan, connecting the older United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) with the hybrid United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), to support the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

The UN estimates that since the fighting broke out in 2003 between government forces, allied Janjaweed militia and other armed rebel groups, more than 200,000 people are estimated to have died and at least 2 million have fled their homes in Darfur.

Additionally, atrocities such as the murder of civilians and the rape of women and girls have been widespread while aid workers continue to be the target of violence.

Recognising that any enduring peace must address the many humanitarian and environmental dimensions of conflict, Saiful is among the 12,000 aid workers that are deployed in the region, one of the largest relief efforts in the world.

Saiful's day to day responsibilities entail managing the movement and operations of convoys and cargo.

"Whatever has four wheels, I'm involved," he says.

He also has to deal with financial and contractual matters.

UNAMID, accepted by the Sudanese government last year, is still in its start-up phase, and requires timely procurement of essential building materials and supplies to support the UN operations on the ground as well as the larger peacekeeping process.

Saiful's role is thus essential - without him and others like him, the logistics chain would grind to a halt, leaving the peacekeeping mission without the necessary infrastructure to function.

After three years of service, Saiful believes that volunteering has given him the chance to realise his full potential.

"I hope UNMIS and UNAMID will strive through the challenges ahead of us in order to achieve our full mandate and help Sudan restart its economy which will start getting much needed relief to its people in terms of healthcare, education and infrastructure."

Not too far away, Kedah native Singavaram Gopal, or Velu, as he is known among friends, serves with the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democractic Republic of Congo (MONUC), which is currently working to restore peace in the volatile eastern region.

UNV volunteers make up about 40 per cent of the mission's international civilian personnel.

They have helped identify, localise, disarm and repatriate foreign combatants in remote areas, monitored and raised awareness about human rights violations, and acted as spokesman for the mission.

Partly inspired by the Ba'hai faith, the father of three, 44, set on the volunteer course several years ago, working first in Papua New Guinea to offer "basic education" on agricultural and health and subsequently in Cambodia, where taught communities how to read and write.

Another inspiration was his uncle, a civil servant in Malaysia who went on to work as a UNV volunteer after retirement.

Formerly a mechanic with a shipping line, Velu first served as a UNV volunteer in Afghanistan.

Since childhood he harboured the wish to go to Africa and work in the field of humanitarian aid.

"I'm very happy to finally be in Africa," he says. He admits that it is difficult to be away from his family but he returns home once in four to five months.

Even outside his job he carries the volunteer spirit with him, raising over US$2,000 to support an orphanage, a children's prison and hospital.

His job entails dealing with all the passengers who travel on UN aircraft in the DR Congo, which has been the centre of what has been described as Africa's "world war".

DR Congo is striving to recover from a five-year war, which has left millions dead, mostly through starvation and disease.

Velu has to monitor and manage the passenger manifest and is far more difficult than working at a commercial airline.

"Things frequently go wrong, aircraft are cancelled or delayed and essential UN staff, military officers, civilian UN police, and high-ranking officials, find themselves late or stranded."

Velu thus has to exercise tact, diplomacy and initiative in dealing with their problems, especially when there are last minute changes.

On top of this, he has to deal with dangerous goods, checking that soldiers and police for example do not take loaded weapons on board by mistake, something that could easily cause a fatal accident.

It's hard and essential work - he has worked seven days a week for five weeks now without a break.

He says that the stark contrast between the life that his children now enjoy in Malaysia and the suffering before his eyes has been the driving force that has kept him going.

Despite the challenges of facilitating travel around DR Congo's underdeveloped terrain, Velu feels that the UN's presence is by far and large welcomed by local communities and that the mission has helped to restore a sense of security in the fragile nation.

Mahatma Gandhi, the embodiment of peace and non-violence in this world, once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

The quiet volunteerism of Saiful and Velu illustrates how the action of ordinary people can lay the foundations for peace in countries torn apart by decades of conflict, poverty and civil strife.

It is about harnessing one of humanity's greatest assets - the human spirit - as a force to serve others in their hour of need and to help shape a world where everyone can live in peace, freedom and harmony.
for its people.

UNITED Nations Volunteers is the United Nations focal point for promoting and harnessing volunteerism for effective development. UNV is a strategic source of knowledge and advice about the role and contribution of volunteerism and the benefits of civic engagement in development programmes. It is dedicated to using Volunteerism for Development (V4D) to make distinctive contributions to the effectiveness of development. For more information, please visit http://www.unv.org/