Personal stories

My experience as a junior technical assistant (JTA) in Senegal, the land of Teraanga, began in October 2022. However, I had found out about the JTA programme at the age of 19, when a member of my family saw the advertisement in the newspaper and sent it to me. Since that day (and in fact always), I had wanted to work in the field. So far, I have changed countries every three to four years. Despite some initial difficulties, I have always enjoyed arriving in a place where everything is new, where I feel completely out of my element. It is at those times, I think, that I give the best of myself and learn the most. When I first saw the JTA job advertisement, I was still too young and in the middle of my studies, but I knew that recruitment took place every year and that I would have the opportunity to apply when the time came.

Once I arrived in Senegal, I was particularly touched by the warm welcome of the Senegalese. Everyone could learn from their way of being, and it’s something I won’t forget. Whether at home or at work, there are no limits to the generosity of Senegalese, especially when it comes to sharing a meal or chatting over a glass of tea (‘ataya’). A smile and a lot of mutual respect makes everything possible. Since my arrival, I have discovered many different cultural features. For example, I quickly realised that work meetings are conducted in a totally different way from what I was used to. I had been warned that meetings could be late in starting, but you have to experience it to really grasp what that means, because the times set are often just an indication. That is how I learned that it is always wise to leave room for the unexpected and for improvisation. Another striking experience is linked to being left-handed. Having lived in several Muslim-majority countries in the past and being aware of the symbolism associated with the right hand and the left hand, I realised that this distinction is even more pronounced in Senegal. When I eat with others, the use of my left hand can prompt some comments. When I’m on a mission, I frequently find myself the only woman, as well as being foreign and not speaking the local language. This regularly puts me outside my comfort zone, and ultimately that’s what I love, and what I’m looking for.

This JTA experience has been everything I hoped for, because every day, as soon as I step outside, I learn an enormous amount. I work on the health and social protection programme, so I have an office at the LuxDev Senegal premises and another office at the Ministry of Health and Social Action. I am therefore in constant dialogue with local partners for the implementation and monitoring of programme activities. My tasks include monitoring the programming of the programme, designing and facilitating capacity-building workshops, monitoring agreements, preparing diagnostics, learning lessons or providing support for the formulation of the new Indicative Cooperation Programme between Luxembourg and Senegal. To carry out some of these tasks, I go on missions on a very regular basis, giving me the opportunity to visit all the regions of Senegal in a short period of time.

The current situation of political instability makes me particularly concerned, and every day I am inspired by the commitment of the Senegalese people to a just political system and to maintaining Senegal as a beacon of democracy in the region.

My interest in diplomacy and development emerged very early on, and I knew from my studies that I wanted a career in this field. That’s why after my first degree, I took a master’s degree in intercultural management at ISIT, followed by a second master’s degree in international relations and humanitarian action from ESCD 3A in Paris.

During my studies, I had the opportunity to do an internship in the cultural service of the Embassy of France in Luxembourg, after which I left for a six-month internship at the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations in New York. Having enjoyed this first experience in the world of diplomacy and development, I continued at the United Nations, working as an intern and then as a consultant in the Natural Sciences Sector at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Before becoming a junior professional officer (JPO) for UNAIDS in Rwanda, I had already worked for LuxDev, the operational agency of Luxembourg’s bilateral cooperation, as a junior technical assistant (JTA) on the Employment and Employability programme in Cabo Verde. That rewarding experience gave me the opportunity to familiarise myself with the work of the Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation and, in particular, the JPO programme.

As part of my work for UNAIDS in Rwanda, I support the local office in their knowledge management and communication tasks. In particular, I help to publicise this joint United Nations programme in the country by promoting the activities of the office with institutional partners, civil society partners and all those seeking to combat HIV in the country by communicating, among other things, about the various key processes that have enabled Rwanda to achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets (95% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95% of people who know that they are living with HIV are on life-saving antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people who are on treatment are virally suppressed.)

I support the office to organise high-level events, notably during the “Women Deliver” conference, one of the most important gender equality conferences in the world. As part of this conference, we had the privilege of organising a visit for the “Elders” group, a group of leaders created by Nelson Mandela and composed of former presidents and ministers such as Mary Robinson, Graça Machel and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. They participated in the visit to a clinic delivering care and treatment to HIV patients.

I am in charge of organising awareness campaigns around key dates for the UNAIDS mandate, such as 1 December, World AIDS Day, 1 March, Zero Discrimination Day, or 17 May, International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. These days are crucial opportunities to convey the UNAIDS messages of prevention and combating the stigma that affects the most vulnerable populations and those affected by HIV.

By creating informative content and disseminating it on the various social networks and media, I make my contribution to the global fight against this pandemic, which continued to affect 39 million people in 2022. And every advance not only in treatment (including long-acting injectable treatments) but also in prevention and protection of the rights of the most vulnerable (children and girls, sex workers, people in prison and people who inject drugs) is, for me, a collective victory and yet another step on the road to eradicating HIV as a public health threat by 2030.