Ten years ago, a political power struggle turned my peaceful country into a regional war zone. I experienced the devastating effects of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo: many people died of hunger and diseases - either because medicine was not available or we could not move from one place to another to get treatment.

Since then, I have used my skills to help lay the foundation for democracy. This is my passion; it inspired me to first join the United Nations Mission in my country in 2002, and it is the reason why I am serving as a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) in Cote D’Ivoire today.

As a Research and Development Assistant in the Electoral Assistance Division of the United Nations Operations in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI), I manage the Division’s database. The Division is providing technical and logistics support to the National Electoral Commission to organize elections. Building a proper foundation for a credible and sound election is a very important part of the peace process in Côte D’Ivoire.

The Mission is extensively involved in the electoral process: from helping to compile a credible voters’ register and providing advice on electoral reforms, to the delivery of election materials and the transportation of local election officials. We are also building the capacity of local authorities for long term management of the electoral process.

My job is to develop, design and implement the electoral database. We are working on a new electoral map and voters list. I carry out training on the database for the Mission’s Electoral Advisors in the field who then feed the database. I also advise local election officials on how to manage the system to ensure credibility of the voters list.

My satisfaction comes from knowing that my work helps the people of Côte d’Ivoire to build the foundation for democracy.

Working with the United Nations has also been a great learning experience. When I was recruited as an Information Technology Technician for the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was a new challenge for me: I had worked as a trainer for several years with a private technology firm prior to joining the United Nations. Some of the technologies I found in the Organization, however, were not available to me before. The position helped me to learn and acquire new skills.

Had I not left the United Nations Mission in my country, my desire would have been to share the knowledge I had acquired working in the Organization by organizing free information technology training for young people in Kisangani, where I was based.

The opportunity to work with the United Nations has been very gratifying. It is a great feeling to be part of an Organization that is dedicated to maintaining international peace and security, while building the foundations for democracy, human rights and good governance.

Without doubt, the experience of working in a multicultural environment and with people from different countries is very enriching and inspiring. You learn how to work with different people in a team to achieve results.