Daniel Massamba Meboya - Two years already of volunteering his services for peace in Mali!
MINUSMA was established by
Security Council resolution 2100 of 25 April 2013. Under the terms of the resolution, the
mission is supporting the political process and carrying out a number of
security-related stabilization tasks, with a focus on major population centers
and lines of communication, protecting civilians, human rights monitoring, the
creation of conditions for the provision of humanitarian assistance and the
return of displaced persons, the extension of State authority and the
preparation of free, inclusive and peaceful elections.
Mr.
Meboya joined the Mission in January 2014 and works as a Public Information
Officer in the troubled-northern region of Gao, where many armed groups
operate. His main tasks consist of
providing support to the personnel and activities of all the three Mission
components, including MINUSMA military, police and civilian components. He also handles media relations for the
purpose of informing the public of the Mission’s mandate, policies and
practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner. In short, he works to bring the UN
Peacekeeping Mission closer to the population.
“When
I reached my duty station, Gao, in 2014, and seeing the state of the working
environment, then I realized that a great challenge was awaiting us in the
months ahead. The Mission did not have a
lot of personnel and everybody was working under tents on open space cleared at
the one of the state-owned premises called ‘Camp Elevage’. We used to live and work there” recalled Mr.
Meboya. At that time Gao also known as ‘Cité des Askia’ looked like a ghost city
as the local population fled to neighboring countries to escape the insecurity
caused by the 2012 occupation. Two years later, peace has been brokered under
the auspices of MINUSMA and other international partners, refugees have
returned and life for many has returned to normal.
The
city of Gao, capital of the seventh administrative region of Mali, is located
in the northern part of the country. The
place can be hot, very hot, indeed. In
extreme heat conditions, we can lose a number of litres of water a day through
perspiration, and these need to be replenished by drinking lots of water. Can you imagine with the heat and working
under the tents? Afternoon times were like spending a day in hell, but, despite
the tough working conditions, we remained focused on our goal of fulfilling our
mission – bring peace back to this
beautiful country. Thanks God, two
years later both the working and living conditions have tremendously improved
although a lot remains to be done.
Mr.
Meboya recalled that when he was deployed to Gao, the office of the
Communication and Public Information was inexistent. His primary task was to put in place a
working space as public information office has to play an active role
throughout the implementation of the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in
Mali, issuing guidance on the right or counterproductive approach to media
coverage and visibility.
Internally,
tremendous efforts were to be made towards positioning the Office of the
Communication and Public Information (PIO) as most of the personnel, both
military and civilian, were new. Staff
members tend to ignore the importance of positive and clear communication in an
organization. Thus positioning the PIO was
a top priority. “I am indeed very
pleased to see that colleagues from different Mission’s components do not
hesitate to seek the PIO’s support” Mr. Meboya can observe. “At the beginning, I had to knock on all doors
to seek information, but now things have changed” he added.
Mr.
Meboya recalls that the MINUSMA regional office in Gao was not holding
coordination meetings involving representatives of all the three components,
including military, police and civilians. “I was shocked by the lack of
coordination of the activities of the Mission’s components, especially when it
comes to the information sharing” he said.
Staff members used to work on their own, instead of consolidating team
spirit within the newly-established peacekeeping Mission. Needless to say that communication plays an
important part in the efficient and successfully running of an
organization. “After many consultations
with the Head of the Gao-based regional Office, regular coordination meetings
between all the three components could finally be held and continue to take
place in order to discuss and anticipate difficulties that might arise in the
future” Mr. Meboya said happily.
The next six months of Mr. Meboya’s debut was concentrated on information coverage of the work and activities of the Mission, including police patrols inside the town of Gao, community forums, among others. By the end of 2015, he has written more than 100 success stories posted on the web site of the Mission (You can also read the same stories in my own blog: massamba-daniel.blogspot.com). Many of the stories were picked by the local newspapers and widely disseminated in the media, including the internet.
Mr.
Meboya is well travelled and has a zest for life as well as a variety of
interests. He relates easily with people
from all walks of life and of different cultures. These characteristics have enabled him to be
elected president of the Staff
Welfare and Recreation by many MINUSMA staff members in September 2015. “It is an honor and privilege to be elected
representative of more than 300 staff members as far as welfare and recreation
is concerned. I am happy that I can now contribute to the welfare and morale of
the staff members in Gao” Mr. Meboya said. He also mentors his younger
colleagues, generously sharing the secrets of success with them.
Youth and the media are the Mission’s privileged
partners in this peace process
The
‘mainstreaming’ of a culture of peace also includes the provision of preparing
young people for the future. Mr. Meboya
has been offering free training sessions in English, photography and video
filming for the young people of Gao since 2014.
Mr.
Meboya likes building strategic partnerships with media partners in Gao with
whom he enjoys good relationships both personally and professionally. He provides journalists with guiding
principles on how to best exercise their profession. As a result, the Gao-based media partners
have shown great interest in graciously donating their free space regarding the
work and activities of the Mission.
Being a UN Volunteer has been the most rewarding
work…
Two
years later, Mr. Daniel Massamba Meboya opines that volunteering with the
United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Mali has been the most rewarding work he
has ever done. “It is a great feeling to
use your professional experience and skills to make a real difference” he concluded.
Peace, still a long way to go, but there is hope
The path towards peace and
reconciliation is a most difficult quest, but by continuing to work together we
can build lasting peace and stability in Mali.
Who is Daniel Massamba Meboya
Mr.
Meboya is married to Ms. Brigitte Luyindula Meboya with 4 children. He is from the Democratic Republic of Congo
and holds a degree in Strategic Communication from the University of Missouri –
Kansas City, USA. With more than 25
years of experience, he previously offered his services in the area of
communication and information to the United States Information Agency
(Washington, DC), Save the Children (Angola), UNDP (DR Congo), the Great Lakes
Parliamentary Forum on Peace (Kenya), The Nile Basin (Uganda), and World Vision
International (South Sudan).
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