TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 112
#NextGenUNDP
Aliou Mamadou Dia
Coun tr y o f O r igin :
UNDP Co u n t r y O f f ic e :
Date o f Ap po in tm e n t :
S E N E GA L
TO G O
A P R I L 2 019
“WE ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED
TO BETTER ENABLE
COUNTRIES TO IMPLEMENT
TRANSFORMATIVE DEVELOPMENT.”
I
come from Senegal, the land of Teranga (Wolof for
hospitality). Growing up, I saw and experienced
first-hand the true meaning of poverty. It was all
around me, within my own family, and in my neighborhood. As a child, I was constantly afflicted by the
poor living conditions around me. As such, I dreamed of
becoming someone who would help people have a better
life and live in more decent conditions.
My mother’s words still come to mind. She always
reminded me: “To be able to help people you must work
hard, as working hard is a virtue.” She also always insisted
on the importance of learning to give than asking to receive.
At school, our teachers also always asked us: “What do
you want to be when you grow up?” and my classmates
would say, astronaut, pilot, the president, engineers,
soccer player, doctors, etc. But my answer was different. I
always said I wanted to be an international civil servant so
that I could travel the world and help people.
In case you are wondering how as a small kid, I could have
had this crazy idea in my mind, which most of my friends at
school didn’t even know existed, here is the story:
When I was 12 years old, I went on vacation with my
family to my mother’s uncle, who was then an education
inspector. There, I had the chance to meet one of his best
friends, who was an international civil servant (fonctionnaire international), and I was captivated and fascinated
by a brief discussion I had had with him.
He was a United Nations staff member working in East
Africa helping people during the famine. I was really
fascinated by his story. He was gentle, drove a nice car,
and above all, he was an international civil servant. From
that discussion, I knew my career path was set, and International civil servant was my dream job for the future.
I, therefore, put all my efforts into succeeding at school.
Which I did.
I wanted to study Law at university to be able to engage
in a diplomatic career, which was probably the easiest way
for me to get my dream job. Unfortunately, my grandfather
opposed the idea of studying Law and asked my high school
exam department to change my options for university
to Sociology or Geography. Instead of Law, I was forced
to study Geography at university and graduated with a
specialization in Satellite Imagery Processing, Geographic
Information Systems applied to Disaster Risk Reduction,
and Humanitarian Response. This gave me tremendous
opportunities to work with International Organizations,
including the UN, as soon as I finished my studies.
LIFE’S CHALLENGES AND MOVING ON
Our lives are full of challenges, so my road to finishing my
studies was not easy. But without challenges, I believe,
our lives would be boring and somewhat meaningless. All
my life experiences, challenges, and achievements are,
for me, building blocks that inherently created my paths
to success. My challenges made me stronger.
The loss of my mother at a very early age when I
desperately needed her, was a tough moment. She was
my strength and without her, I felt lonely, weak, and
defeated. I always remember the sacrifices she made for
me. The best way to make her proud, therefore, was to be
the son she wanted me to be. She used to help people all
the time and she wanted me to do the same. I dedicate
and celebrate every success in my life to her.
Through that difficult time and the challenges that
followed, I kept telling myself, “When you feel like quitting,
remember why you started,” and it keeps me going no ›
Our approach to future
of development must also aim
at creating credible
governance systems.”
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