Photo credit: Sarah Hamm
By Sarah Hamm, MIPP
As I reflect on the last six months of my time in Laos, I cannot believe how fast time went and how much I was able to learn and experience. Privileged is an understatement. When I first arrived in Laos several months ago, I remember feeling quite nervous. I had travelled far from home and while I was excited about the learning opportunity ahead, I was also stepping into a completely unfamiliar place. I knew almost no one and I didn’t know what daily life would look like. Now I am leaving having made the most beautiful memories and a community of people that have made Laos feel like my home away from home.
As a fresh masters graduate stepping into my first professional role, I felt empowered to be entrusted with meaningful responsibilities so early on. A typical day often involved a combination of desk work, meetings, and collaboration with colleagues across the country office. My role involved supporting a wide range of programme activities, including tracking, analyzing, and reporting on project performance against the targets set for the year to help ensure accountability and efficiency across the country office. I was also involved in a number of operational and logistical activities, such as drafting meeting minutes and reports and organizing workshops and consultations with various partners. Through this work, I had the opportunity to attend and support high-level meetings and events, where I observed discussions between UNDP, government representatives, international partners, and other UN agencies. As someone just beginning their career being present in these spaces offered very invaluable insights. Another component of my role allowed me to gain experience in resource mobilization and capacity building for the Small Grants Programme. Working across both the Programme Support Unit and the Environment Unit meant that no two days were ever the same and allowed me to build technical and operational skills in many different areas.
Outside of the office, my time here also allowed me to explore beyond Vientiane. I was fortunate to travel to several different locations throughout Laos, as well as Vietnam and Thailand. One of the highlights of these travels was spending New Year’s Eve in Bangkok. Standing amongst people from all over the world and watching the fireworks from a rooftop overlooking the city was incredible, and a reminder of how lucky I was to experience this chapter of my life, surrounded by new friends and in a part of the world I only dreamed of visiting before. In addition to the many weekends trips I did, my life throughout the week involved playing soccer, attending pilates class and riding my scooter to whatever fun activity or gathering was on the agenda.
I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity I had to live and work in Laos, and for all of those at UNDP Lao PDR and beyond whom have been instrumental in making this a truly memorable and rewarding experience. It has not only shaped my professional identity but also given me the springboard to continue pursuing a very exciting career!
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BSIA, its students, faculty, staff, or Board of Directors.