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In May 2004, the UNICEF Director asked me to temporarily head UNICEF Sudan and energize our response to the Darfur humanitarian crisis. In three months, I built a collective sense of purpose and urgency within the UNICEF team in four locations: the Khartoum headquarters, the Darfur offices in Nyala, Al Fasher, and Geneina. A local plane took staff of UNICEF Khartoum and me to define the 100 days emergency action plan in each of the three Darfur provinces and Khartoum. With partners, we provided potable water to a million internally displaced people (IDPs); mobilized 18 drilling rigs unused in the country; provided toilets to the IDPs who themselves dug the toilets and maintained them. Teachers from IDPs received teaching materials and sport instruments restoring sense of normalcy among children.

During this mission, I secured a meeting in Eritrea between the UN team headed by the UNSG Representative in Sudan and the rebels of Darfur to create a safe zone and days to immunize 500,000 children from measles and polio, and to allow the WFP trucks to travel safely in the rebel territories. Despite obstacles, the team delivered UNICEF’s core commitment in water, sanitation, education, and psychosocial rehabilitation.

Being at the UN, and in New York at that, was an unforgettable experience. Having retired just eight years ago, everything is still fresh in my mind — the pain of settling in, the struggle of finding home, finally thriving, and then, the anxiety of repatriating, with art as my anchor all throughout.

I accomplished so much and was recognized for my merits. But, at this time, all outer accomplishments do not really matter now.

Still, I am proud to have served the world and made it a little better through UNDP.

While working for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat located in Bonn, Germany, as a special assignment, I led the startup of the Regional Collaboration Center (RCC) in Kampala, the second of four RCCs launched in 2013, to help increase projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM enables low-carbon investments while promoting sustainable development in developing countries.

With just one associate from the headquarters, we mobilized resources from regional and international partners to support 24 countries in eastern, northern, and southern Africa. With the Paris Agreement adoption in 2015, RCC roles have since expanded to supporting “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) under the Agreement.