Early windows to the world

Troubled beginningsMy own entry into the UN was as a young tour guide at the UN Headquarters in New York. This opportunity opened a window into a vast and complex institution. Explaining the UN to visitors from around the world helped me see it from the inside – its energy, complexity and extraordinary potential. That experience set me on the path to UNDP.

My mother was a teacher before she became a political trailblazer: Senegal’s first woman mayor and vice-president of the National Assembly. She led at a time when leadership by women was rare. She did not ask for permission to care. She simply did. And she showed me by example, that being a woman is not a limitation, but a source of strength.From her, I learned courage. Not the loud kind, but the steady kind. The courage to be who you are. To stand for others. To believe that leadership is not about status, but about responsibility.

Panyijiar is the southernmost county in Unity State, sitting on its lowest ground, so flights there are often cancelled due to changing weather conditions. But the concerns facing its communities do not pause for the weather: people still need to share what they know about security, flooding, and whether aid workers and supplies can get through. When a visiting team cannot travel, relationships become the way in.

Driven by inner conviction

A good harvest still needs a buyer

Behind each shelter stands a series of decisions that most people will never see. Where should it be built? Will it withstand the next storm? Can it provide dignity as well as protection? 

Development begins with dignityLater, in public service and academia, those instincts deepened. I learned that development is not abstract. It is about dignity. About equity. About whether people feel seen in the systems that shape their lives. Policies matter, but only when they translate into real change.

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.