TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 82
#NextGenUNDP
Alka Bhatia
NAM I B I A
for transitioning into my current role as UNDP Resident
Representative.
THE NAMIBIAN JOURNEY
My time as Resident Representative in Namibia has so
far, been extremely satisfying, exciting, and challenging.
Guiding a team during the devastating COVID-19
pandemic, has been replete with highs and lows. But as a
team, we have navigated these with agility and creativity.
The advent of COVID-19 again brought home the
necessity of prioritizing the most vulnerable. The threat
to their lives and livelihoods, underscored the need to
build resilience, to ensure socio-economic stability. The
pandemic has been nothing short of a lesson in empathy,
connectivity, kindness, and a reminder that it is only
through the coming together of people, that the hardest
battles can be fought, and the toughest wars are won.
My 12-years’ experience in UNDP has only strengthened my belief that development has to be integrated and
concomitant across social, economic, environmental, and
political dimensions. The pandemic has underscored the
need for the repositioning of the United Nations Development System to ensure that the development model is
tailor-made for each country.
If we are to transform lives, it is critical to blur the turf
lines, and to get the UNDS to work coherently and collaboratively. There is still a lot of work to be done on this,
and I am looking forward to the road that lies ahead. It
has indeed been a transformative and rewarding journey
so far, and I wouldn’t trade it in for anything else in the
world.
In the words of Robert Frost and my personal favourite
quote: “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have
promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep.” n
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