JPO Stories
Chisa Mikami:
From JPO in Cuba to UNDP Deputy Country Director in Guatemala
Chisa Mikami is a former Japanese UNDP JPO in Cuba (2000-2003) and is now in Guatemala as UNDP Deputy Country Director.
Published in UNDP Bulletin, June 2007.
Vitals:
I was born in Osaka and grew up in Saitama, a town near Tokyo. I have one brother and two nieces. My husband, Rene, is a mechanical engineer.
Current post:
Deputy Country Director, UNDP Guatemala.
Previous post:
Public Affairs and Civil Society Liaison Officer, UNDP Liaison Office in Tokyo.
Her story:
I received my bachelor's degree in Latin American studies at the University of Tokyo. I had a chance to study in Mexico for a year and I learned a lot during that time. I joined Citibank Tokyo in 1994 as an accountant. I enjoyed working for Citibank very much. They were very professional and I learned all my basic business skills from them. In 1997, I received a scholarship from the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development to study international affairs at Columbia University in New York.
I first joined UNDP as a JPO in 2000. I was assigned to the Cuba office where they did not have much core funding. As a result, during the four and a half years that I was there, I became very knowledgeable about resource mobilisation and HIV/AIDS issues. I also met my husband there - he was working for the Cuban railroad company. So Cuba has a special place in my heart.
In 2004, I came back to Japan and joined the Tokyo office. I really liked being back in Japan. It also helped my husband to understand me better. The Tokyo office is also very important in terms of resource mobilisation and partnerships, so the work continued to be a great learning experience. I love moving from one place to another and am looking forward to working in Guatemala.
Crowning glory:
I have some achievements, but they are not what one would call a "crowning glory!" One achievement I am proud of is this. In Cuba, the funding we had mobilised helped build a new HIV prevention centre just outside of Havana. The centre is open now, and the director made a special tribute to our team, which was very nice.
Favorite movie:
I love Steven Spielberg's movies. My favourite was Amistad. I was really moved by the story and thought it had captured wonderfully a lot of what had happened in that period. I also love Kenji Miyazawa's poem "Ame ni mo makezu (Do not be defeated by the rain)." He mainly wrote for children, but the wisdom of his writings is also applicable to adults. In this poem, he talks about how he wants to lead his life and what kind of a person he wants to be, and I find it very inspiring and calming.
Behind the suit:
I love travelling. The most memorable place I had been to was Machu Picchu sanctuary in Peru. It is a city created by the Inca people in the 1400s. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In order to reach the centre of the ruin, you need to walk a lot, and after a while, it looked like the centre was floating - and I couldn't believe that people had actually built such a beautiful place!
Indulgence:
I love dining out. I also enjoy good wine and sake and rum. I'm also an ice cream fanatic. My favourite is Häagen-Dazs chocolate chips. And I loved the Cuban coffees I used to drink in Havana. But if I were to have a last meal, I would have whatever my mother made. Her home cooked meals are the best.
Favourite quote:
"After night comes the day". I was in high school when I first came across this quote in Lee Iacocca's autobiography. The words stuck to me, and they have helped me get through difficult times.
Inspiration:
I learned a lot from Akiko Yuge, my former boss at the UNDP Liaison Office in Tokyo. My colleagues and friends around me also inspire me a great deal.
It seems to me that there is a tendency to get "one correct answer" in achieving things. People want a single answer to become successful and happy. But life isn't like that. There are many ways to achieve something and many ways to bring about progress. There is no single right answer. If you only see where you want to be, and not enjoy the journey, then you will miss out on important experiences.
Why it's all worth it:
Kenji Miyazawa - again, my favourite writer - said that one cannot be happy unless the whole world is happy. I've had a happy life and I want to try to share my happiness with others. I remember when I was in Mexico, I saw so many people who were left behind and I couldn't go back to living as if I hadn't seen anything there. Everyone should have the opportunity to become part of the progress. And UNDP is the best place to do that
