TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 40
#NextGenUNDP
Maleye Diop
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
REPUBLIC OF CONGO
M AY 2 019
“BUSINESS AS USUAL IN
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
IS NO LONGER AN OPTION.”
I
lost my father when I was only 10 years old, and after
that, I was raised by my unemployed mother of five
young children. Growing up in this difficult situation
from such an early age helped build my resilience and
made me work much harder than my peers. My childhood
shaped my character and made me understand that only
hard work and determination would help me achieve my
life objectives.
But despite my challenging upbringing and early
separation from my family when I went away to study, I
showed character and excelled in my studies. Very early
on in life, I was not only resilient, but I also developed
resourcefulness skills to pave my own way in life. For
example, I would build toy cars and sell them to my
classmates and friends to earn pocket money. Being
focused and prioritizing became my motto as I moved
closer to my objectives in life.
To add to my circumstances, my own ambitions, and
the conscious decision to avoid shortcuts in life, which
I perceived as unsustainable, led to a hefty share of
challenges to overcome. While some were looking for
shortcuts, I chose to go as far as I could with my studies
to be the best among the best, and then pay back my
mother who had spent her entire life working hard for her
children. She deserved great returns.
A PATH TO EXCELLENCE
Experiences from my childhood led me on the path to
excellence. Aged only 20, filled with dreams and hopes of
exploration, I was determined, and worked hard to get a
place at Senegal’s elite university – École Polytechnique
de Thiès – which only selects and admits the best science
and mathematics students, following a highly competi-
tive nationwide exam. In my year, I was among the top
fifty selected from across Senegal, and the region to enter
the engineering school at this prestigious establishment,
sponsored by the Canadian Government.
Being admitted to École Polytechnique de Thiès also
came with the benefit of getting military discipline. Apart
from studying engineering, all students had to undertake
military initiation during the five years of training as well.
After completion, it was left to us the graduates, to choose
whether we wanted to join the army corps of engineers,
or remain civilian engineers with links to the army, as
officers in the reserved ranks.
HARD WORK, CONVICTION AND SELF-BELIEF
The lesson I drew from my youth, is that education is
a powerful tool to climbing the social ladder. As such
education should be better enforced as a fundamental
human right. It is said, nothing is impossible until it gets
done. We need to encourage social justice by building a
level playing field, offering equal opportunities for all,
and ensuring that individuals can give their maximum.
Improving vulnerable people’s living conditions is the
key to building a better world and a better humanity.
In my quest to help build a better world, I have been
passionate about justice, and the rewarding of merit.
Growing up, I did not have the chance to be with my
parents. But my mother’s strong belief in hard work
and her desire to succeed, in order to pave the way
for her children, is something that kept me going.
Also contributing, was my passion, ambition, and the
conviction that with hard work, everything is possible.
These ideals, pushed me to never give up. I always knew
better days were coming. Therefore, my mother’s role
on my journey to where I am today, has been vital.
My wife is also an inspiration, as she has the same
convictions and beliefs.
›
UNDP’s cross-cutting
mandate, combining upstream
policy and downstream
implementation, gives us the
opportunity to remain the first
port of call for development
service requests.”
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