Thinking and working politically

Commentary

By Rashid Sesay, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to UAE, India and Bangladesh at Embassy of Sierra Leone in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

It’s not quite common these days given my current job to visit a country and have time to meet and interact with International Development Practitioners. In a rare occasion, this time I am honored and delighted to meet and hear from Counterpart International staff doing incredible job in implementing the USAID funded project - Promoting Advocacy and Rights (PAR) in Bangladesh. The Chief of Party Mainuddin Ahmed and staff took turns walking me through the project in their conference room in Dhaka and they were particularly delighted to mention key achievements including but not limited to:
-increased civic participation;
government responsiveness to accountability;
launching of an online PAR civil society platform;
working with government to enact a law on Solid Waste management; etc.
As a diplomat and a Board member of Counterpart International, I was particularly struck when the Senior Program Manager Sultan summed it all in the statement - Thinking and working politically!!

On the whole, I was reminded of my many years in international development and how that has prepared me for my current career pathway to diplomacy. In every aspect of my life, I will continue to give my best in the service of humanity and my time this morning with those hardworking Counterpart International staff was in fulfillment of that lifetime commitment. Thank you Ann Hudock and team and my colleague Board members. I am hopeful that you will disseminate the results of this Advocacy and Rights project globally and possibly replicate it elsewhere.