Biography

Bongs Lainjo

After completing my graduate degree in engineering, I spent about a decade teaching English and French at various universities and colleges in Canada. This was followed by my first long-term assignment working as an M and E Advisor for USAID in West Africa. During this period, in addition to my other assignments, I calculated the first HIV prevalence for the Government of Burkina Faso. Subsequently, I worked for Columbia University as a Senior Data Management Advisor (Theme: HIV) and for the UN as a Program Management Advisor (Theme: reproductive health, Development, Gender, etc.)

During the last several years, I have extensively funded and conducted personal research on Contemporary Challenges in IT, focusing on health and education.

As a Canadian citizen, I have lived and worked in three different provinces – Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario. This experience has allowed me to understand better how diverse and attractive this country is. It has also allowed me to integrate better, respect and appreciate the different cultural sensitivities in Canada. During this period, I worked and lived in the Acadian communities in North New Brunswick and worked with members of the native Indian communities in Betsiamese – northern Quebec, in addition to doing my master’s program at the Ecole Polytechnic in Montreal, where French was my daily language of communication.

During my extensive overseas assignments in Africa, I served as a technical adviser for USAID, Columbia University, and The UN. This role provided me with a unique opportunity to immerse myself in the cultural sensitivities of over forty countries, including Burkina Faso in West Africa, Uganda in East Africa, Cameroon in Central Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe in Southern Africa, Comoros in the Indian Ocean, Seychelles, and Ethiopia in the horn of Africa.

In Asia and based in Nepal, I worked in ten countries, some of which are Nepal, where I served as my Agency’s representative on the UNHCR committee in charge of addressing the painful and long-lasting Bhutanese refugee situation in Nepal; Afghanistan, where I provided Technical Assistance to the Government. This task gave me opportunities to visit communities affected by the Taliban incursion and the destitute quality of life within each community. In Sri Lanka, I coordinated commodities to various regions (including conflict-affected communities) during the tsunami. This assignment included working daily with the nationals and visiting many affected communities. Similar exercises were also conducted in the Maldives, where recognizing cultural differences was a significant component of my responsibilities.

The last few years of my career as an International Civil Servant were spent in the US, where I continued to provide technical assistance globally for the UN.