In places where Soviet-era communications infrastructure was in bad shape, for example, rather than repair it we helped them leapfrog to wireless technologies. In Vietnam we helped develop the private sector, han- dling trade negotiations, working with business schools, and creating information-technology zones. It’s thrilling to work in countries before McDonald’s establishes a foothold and where peo- ple have a thirst for knowledge. In Baghdad I managed a $60 mil- lion contract relating to reconstruc- tion. One day, shortly after leaving our makeshift office in a former convention center and returning to my quarters in a built-out shipping container, a rocket attack began. I will never forget the sound and feeling of big missiles being launched. Worse yet was learning that the Al Rashid hotel had been hit: 20 minutes earlier, I had declined an invita- tion to join colleagues for dinner there.
I was fortunate to visit remarkable places such as Angkor
Wat in Cambodia, Danang and Halong Bay in Vietnam, pyra- mids in Egypt, and Bedouin camps in the Sahara. But sounds and smells usually trump visual marvels. There’s nothing like
“SUCCESS” IN FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE IS A BIT LIKE A WALTZ: A FEW STEPS FORWARD, ONE SIDE- WAYS, AND ANOTHER BACKWARD.
hearing a mullah’s call to prayer. And, oh, the food! But also the stench of open sewers. And far too many sad, sad, sad things. My heart just aches when I see what some people do to animals, women, and children. Also, extreme poverty leads many people to try to earn a living in ways that harm the planet. One of our missions is to promote alternative livelihoods with sustain- able logging and fishing, to combat poaching of elephant tusks and Asian tigers, and to target coca plantations in Latin America used for cocaine,
poppy fields in Afghani stan used for heroin, and diamonds in Af ri ca sold to fund civil war. I have a framed piece of the Berlin Wall in my office. It reminds me to not accept the status quo and to remember that profound change is possible. “Suc cess” in foreign assis- tance is a bit like a waltz: a few steps forward, one sideways, and another backward. I take great pride in the few strides forward I may have made in human capital development, both within USAID’s workforce and in our partner coun- tries. Because in the end, it’s all about people and giving them the tools they need to succeed.
AT USAID, REBECCA MAESTRI ’79 HAS HELPED REBUILD IRAQ, PROMOTE BUSINESS IN VIETNAM, AND TARGET POACHERS AND SMUGGLERS FROM ASIA TO AFRICA.
SPRING 2015 SCOPE 33
HILLARY SCHWAB
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