Tarek Elguindi, MPA'88, has spent more than three decades working on the front lines of major humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, and beyond with the United Nations. In this first-person account, he reflects on a recent deployment to Lesotho – a small, mountainous nation in southern Africa – and shares what it taught him about resilience, leadership, and the lessons that still guide him from his time at Queen’s.
High in the mountains of southern Africa, where the air is thin and the nearest sea is more than 500 kilometers away, lies a kingdom that exists entirely above the clouds.
Lesotho – the “Kingdom in the Sky” – is the only country in the world where every square metre sits above 1,000 metres of elevation. When climate disaster struck this remarkable nation in 2024, I was deployed as a UN humanitarian and emergency coordinator, facing one of the most challenging yet rewarding missions of my career.
The call came as erratic weather and crop failures pushed Lesotho's people toward a food security crisis. As a Queen’s MPA graduate who has worked in humanitarian emergencies worldwide, I've learned that each crisis has its own fingerprint. But Lesotho's case was unique: a small, landlocked nation surrounded entirely by South Africa, with immense vulnerability yet extraordinary local resilience.
Local villagers – using donkeys and oxen – assist in transporting food rations through rugged, unpaved terrain to reach isolated families. Community solidarity remains essential in overcoming access challenges in remote areas. (Photo: Tarek Elguindi)
Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy occupying just 30,355 square kilometers, making it slightly smaller than Belgium. The lowest point in the country sits higher than most mountain peaks elsewhere. This dramatic topography creates a nation of stunning beauty but also profound logistical complexity. Reaching Lesotho requires a journey through Johannesburg to the capital, Maseru, by air, or a winding road trip.
Despite economic challenges, the country has achieved remarkable social progress. With a literacy rate of 79 per cent and a strong cultural emphasis on education, the Basotho people have built a unified nation where 99 per cent of the population shares the same ethnicity, language, and cultural values.
Upon arrival in Maseru, my first priority was to review the emergency response plan with the UN World Food Programme and government counterparts. Much groundwork was already in place. Most of my work was about fine-tuning coordination and maximizing impact with limited resources.
The real education came during field visits to remote mountainous communities – some reachable only by horseback. Despite facing food shortages and economic hardship, communities supported each other through deep social networks.
These visits revealed that the most effective humanitarian response isn't simply about delivering aid but preserving the social fabric that allows communities to survive and eventually thrive. Food assistance wasn't just preventing hunger – it helped farmers remain in their villages to prepare for the next planting season rather than leave for urban centers in search of work.
The World Food Programme, in partnership with the government, distributes monthly food assistance to the most affected households. Each ration typically includes wheat flour, rice, sugar, vegetable oil, pulses, eggs, tomato paste, and other essential staples. (Photo: Tarek Elguindi)
The mission's success required combining local knowledge with international expertise. Together with national and local stakeholders, we shifted focus from aid delivery to resilience building, emphasizing early recovery alongside emergency response.
My mission affirmed several key lessons. One was that strengthening existing community and local government structures is often more effective than creating parallel systems. Another was that with climate unpredictability now the norm, early warning systems and response mechanisms must be in place before the next crisis. For that, applying AI in humanitarian work would enhance the limited local resources.
The mission also reiterated for me that humanitarian emergencies rarely exist in isolation. While addressing natural disasters (e.g., drought and crop failure), we confronted broader political and economic pressures as well, including dependency on imports and imposing tariffs on Lesotho’s textile exports. Modern humanitarian work requires understanding all these interconnected vulnerabilities.
Another big lesson was that self-reliance is the ultimate measure of success. And we saw firsthand that reducing dependency on external assistance requires fiscal planning, policy reforms, and capacity building far beyond immediate crisis response.
This experience also reinforced lessons that I first learned at ֱ: the power of practical governance applied across cultures, under pressure, and with humility. My MPA training taught me that effective public administration is not about imposing grand solutions – it is about understanding complex systems, listening deeply, building consensus, and enabling sustainable, locally driven change.
Registered beneficiaries – primarily women – receive and manage monthly food rations for their households. The registration process is conducted collaboratively by community chiefs, local government authorities, and the World Food Programme. A dedicated hotline is available for beneficiaries, non-beneficiaries, and local councillors to raise concerns, lodge complaints, or share feedback. (Photo: Tarek Elguindi)
As humanitarian crises become more frequent and complex, Lesotho's story offers valuable insights for the international community. Small nations with limited resources and technical expertise but with strong social cohesion can achieve remarkable resilience when supported appropriately on preparedness and response. The key lies in respectful partnerships, respecting local knowledge, strengthening institutions through investment in local capacities, and a focus on long-term preparedness – not dependency
To my fellow Queen’s alumni engaged in international development, public service, or crisis response: Lesotho’s story is a reminder of why we chose careers in humanitarian service to others. In a divided world, it shows how unity, dignity, and hope can endure even in the face of extraordinary challenges.
The Kingdom in the Sky taught me that sometimes the most important work happens not in conference rooms or capitals, but in villages accessible only by mountain paths, where solutions emerge from the wisdom and tradition of people who have weathered countless storms and always found ways to endure.
I carry with me the image of Basotho farmers, wrapped in their traditional blankets, planning the next season's crops as mountain mists swirl around them. In that image lies both the challenge and the promise of humanitarian work: not just helping communities survive crisis – but emerge stronger and more resilient than before.
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