11 August 2009

Western Afghanistan: “This time,” says Shiringi, a UNV volunteer working with UNDP-ELECT to support the Independent Election Commission, “we are in the co-driver’s seat. The work we are doing with our national counterparts is really building capacity for the future.”

A Regional Public Outreach and Electoral Advisor with the UNDP ‘Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT)’ project, Shiringi is no stranger to this kind of work. Having worked with the electoral commission at home in East Africa, he first came to Afghanistan with UNV in 2004.

It was while working at a university in his home country that Shiringi decided that he wanted to help refugees and displaced people. In search of a volunteer opportunity, he discovered the UNV website and 18 months later headed to Kabul for his first UNV volunteer assignment. He says he can see some very positive changes since that time.

“It is a great opportunity for me to come back now,” he says, “and look back at the work we started then. Our national counterparts in the Independent Election Commission [IEC] are taking the lead in running the electoral process, while we in the UN continue to advise, offer technical support and build capacity.”

The UNV volunteer also strongly feels that Afghanistan is changing for the better. As an example, he cites two girls’ schools he knows of. “I see those girls coming out of school in their hundreds,” he says “and it gives me a picture of a society that is really changing. These girls can read and write and their future will be different – this is real progress since 2004.”

Shiringi was among the first group of UNV volunteers to arrive in Afghanistan to assist with the 2009 elections, and has thus gained a broad overview of how the electoral process is taking shape. “I took part in the preliminary work during the ELECT project start-up phase,” he expands, “working with Election Commission staff to carry out field assessments, information gathering for briefing new arrivals, and liaising with stakeholders. I really am a witness to some significant efforts and can see the impact the implementation of the ELECT project is making.”

A typical day for Shiringi starts with joint working meetings with Afghan national counterparts: agreeing on priorities – “what we need to do and how we are going to do it” – and ends with reporting back on activities. The activities of the day are all about implementing work instructions through which the ELECT team builds up the skills required for national counterparts to run a credible election on 20 August – Afghanistan’s first election organized by Afghans themselves.

For example, the provincial offices recently received kits for training of District Field Coordinators and polling staff, and the UNV volunteers in the ELECT team advised the Afghans on the verification of materials inside and how to use them. “We fill in the gaps in their knowledge,” Shiringi comments, “and help them to improve their skills.”

The ELECT team also helped in guiding  District Field Coordinators on how to arrange training and conduct training sessions for polling staff, since it is they who will have to coordinate and run the ballot at the polling centres and stations.

Though Shiringi is unable to travel widely due to security considerations, sharing an office with national counterparts means that he gets to know the people he is here to assist. “I find Afghans to be very friendly people, who are eager to know about my own country,” he remarks. “I have many Afghan friends, both from 2004 and new ones.”

“I have a living principle that guides my actions,” he concludes. “I believe that tomorrow’s happenings are a result of today’s efforts. Those who expect a good tomorrow should say or do it today – and that the time to act is always now. That’s why I chose to become a UNV volunteer, and to come here and make a difference to democracy in Afghanistan.”

For security reasons, the full names and locations of the people mentioned are not disclosed.