17 September 2008

Pristina, Kosovo:
This was a dream came true. Prior to my joining the United Nations Integrated Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), way back during my boyhood in Kenya, I used to see people and especially Westerners in our area building schools, hospitals and so on. I didn't have more information about them, but upon enquiry I came to realize they were volunteers, and I would ask myself how I could be one of them.

That desire lived in me for a very long time, even after I left school and got a job. I also had a very strong desire and determination to drive a train in a foreign country. It all dawned on me one day in February 2002, when I got the information that the UN was looking for volunteer Train Drivers.

Since I had the qualifications and experience required, I immediately forwarded my CV to the recruiting office despite a lot of criticism from my friends in Kenya, who unlike myself had never dreamed of going beyond the borders of their mother country. Some could not imagine a black man driving a train in a white man's country.
 
Soon I found my self onboard a British Airways aeroplane all the way to Heathrow Airport, London, then to Gatwick by road. There I boarded another flight to Pristina Airport in Kosovo.

As if it was a welcome, as soon the flight touched the ground in Pristina airport, it started thawing. It was still not an easy environment for me, coming from a tropical country: it was terribly cold. Thank God, I endured all the chilly and very cold weather very well and with much ease.

As I started my driving in Kosovo, to some it was like a miracle and others couldn't believe their eyes seeing a black man driving a train. In fact I encountered many questions from local people and even from some international staff as to where I trained, only to surprise them with the very simple answer that I did my training in Kenya.

For a train driver on a new line, I only needed a few days to acquaint myself with the line formation - the geographical layout of the tracks - signal positioning and level crossings. It is always the responsibility of the train driver to be mindful of the welfare of others and not to cause accidents.

However things were not very easy, and it was a challenge to me. There were a lot of threats: tracks were blown up with explosives; trains were stoned by youths and even elderly people who were opposed to the presence of UNMIK in Kosovo; tracks were blocked by boulders, car parts and all sorts of things.

Despite all those challenges, my happiest moment was when I realized that my work and courage had caused an impact in helping the majority of trains users to be able to travel freely and without any dangers, thus encouraging many who feared using the train to begin forgetting their differences bit-by-bit.

Initially it was just like a ghost train with only two or one people travelling, but later we had to add more coaches as the number of travellers went on increasing, thus giving me a sense of having united a nation.

My being a volunteer really made a difference. Thanks to the UNV and UNDP programmes - long live volunteerism!