The road into Lesotho’s mountains offered no comfort and even less certainty. For almost six hours, Francesca Conte and her colleagues traveled to Thaba Tseka, a hard-to-reach community council. The paved road changed to gravel. There were a few signs, and near the end of the trip, they had to stop and ask villagers for directions. Yet as they arrived, uncertainty melted away. Smiling community members welcomed them, and relief swept through the group.
For Francesca, the winding road showed much of what she had learned about service. You do not always know the way. You cannot assume you have all the answers. Sometimes, the only way forward is to listen to the people who know the area.
Francesca came to Lesotho from Italy as a UN Volunteer Social Policy Officer with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). She had worked in a country office before, but she wanted to move closer to the work in the field.
I really wanted to go to the field. I wanted to experience directly what United Nations agencies like UNICEF do at the grassroots."
That choice took her away from the routines of home and into a new role supporting Lesotho’s Ministry of Social Development. Her mornings often start at a desk, arriving around eight, talking with colleagues, checking her emails, and yes, coffee. Her work is about reporting and collecting data. Every number represents a child, a family, or a problem that must be understood before it can be solved.
The biggest challenges facing children in Lesotho won't always show up in a spreadsheet. Francesca's job is to find the gaps before they become crises, helping direct support to vulnerable families through access to food, education and livelihoods. But the most important tool she uses isn't data. It's listening. Working alongside the Ministry of Social Development, she relies on the insights of people who see these struggles unfold every day. They often know what's happening long before the statistics catch up. That's why Francesca doesn't arrive with ready-made solutions.
As international volunteers, we always have to remember that we are guests in someone else’s country. We do not come here to teach anything to anybody. We come here to serve and to learn from them."
Expertise does not begin with being the loudest voice in the room, she shares, it begins with listening. Whether working alongside ministry officials or visiting remote communities in Thaba Tseka, she relies on local knowledge to understand context, cross language barriers and build trust. In doing so, she has learned a simple lesson: humility is what takes you farthest.
Then came a milestone that changed everything: leading a major climate adaptation proposal in Lesotho. Managing competing priorities across several UN organizations, Francesca took charge from start to finish. When the proposal secured funding, it not only opened the door to climate action for vulnerable communities, it marked her arrival as a leader. “It was a chance to take the lead on a project and to show my managerial and collaboration skills.”
The experience changed how Francesca saw her future. She hopes to keep working in development and humanitarian areas. One day, she wants to lead a team. But her time in Lesotho has taught her that leadership is less about being in charge and more about knowing when someone else knows the way better than you do. It is about bringing people together without forgetting why the work is important. And it is about taking responsibility while staying open to learning.
Her growth has also been personal. Living far from Italy meant leaving behind familiar places and people. There have been times when she has felt distant and unsure, but Francesca has found support from her colleagues. “I feel like I found a sister in my colleague. I feel like I found family around me.”
That sense of belonging helped Francesca build a life in Lesotho and reshape how she sees volunteerism. To her, volunteering is a choice: to give your time, skills, and energy in service of others. It is not always easy. Progress can be slow and setbacks inevitable. Her advice is simple: when the work gets hard, remember why you started.
“Always remind yourself why you started. Even when you feel tired, even when you feel you have no more patience, remind yourself why you started.”
Francesca also believes young professionals should get more chances to show what they can do. “We bring fresh ideas. We bring a lot of energy. We bring expertise. Give us a chance.”
The winding roads of Lesotho taught Francesca more than how to reach remote communities. They taught her how to listen before speaking, learn before leading and trust the wisdom of those who know the terrain best. What began as a search for field experience became something deeper: a lesson that the path to leadership is rarely a straight line.
