TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 26
#NextGenUNDP
Nicole Flora Kouassi
BURU N DI
My upbringing shaped me into an introvert. But while am calm and
quiet, I possess resolute inner strengths and a strong sense of leadership. My
colleagues have referred to me as “la force tranquille” (the quiet force).”
zone – that is, listen and barely speak. I remember during
one evaluation when I was a junior professional, this
was viewed as incompetence. But over the years, I have
gained confidence in who I am and what I am capable of.
REBUILDING CONFIDENCE
When I arrived in Burundi in late April 2019, I was in
a positive state of mind, while being aware of the many
challenges to be confronted. I arrived at a time when
Burundi was on the agenda of the Security Council
following the 2015 political crisis, controversial elections
were coming up in 2020, and then when the COVID-19
pandemic hit, the country was facing issues including
coronavirus denials, pressures on the population, staff,
and the international community at large.
But since taking on my current role, my focus has been,
and remains, to ensure that the Country Office shines in
all ways possible. The Burundi Country Office needs to be
fully integrated into the global UNDP and RBA strategy
to be part of the global initiatives and to ensure financial
sustainability, as well as reaching its programmatic and
operational goals, and to be among the first to do so in
RBA.
As one of the new #NextGenUNDP RRs, rebuilding
confidence among national partners, donors, CO staff, is
very important to me, especially as our relationship with
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the previous government in Burundi was a difficult one.
LIFE IN A PANDEMIC
The crisis period, that is, elections and COVID-19,
turned out to be an opportunity. First, we were able to
build strong bilateral relations with influential national
counterparts and donor partner counterparts, on the
COVID-19 socio-economic response and other joint
plans. This experience at this critical time, has allowed me
to improve on my leadership skills. And, there are also a
few lessons that I have learnt in the two years that I have
been a Resident Representative: creating confidence with
partners, keeping your promises, diplomatically telling
the (hard) truth, negotiating, and being patient!
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
In my life, I try to focus on three things: God, family,
and career. Through my Catholic education, scripture
readings, and community exposure, I have learnt to work
and excel for God, and my aspirations come from God
and the local communities. It is the power of prayer that
keeps me going amidst the challenges and joys of life.
One of my favourite quotes is “Life is Beautiful”. It
comes from a movie that I have watched several times,
which is about a Jewish man (his wife and son), in a
concentration camp, who in the middle of all the suffering