OLD LYME — On Thursday, April 10, at 6 p.m., Connecticut resident David Hess will highlight his 48-year-career with the U.S. Agency for International Development as he discusses what has been lost now that the organization is being dismantled.
The talk, presented by the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC), is titled “Burnin’ Down the House: The Unexpected End to a Career in USAID.”
The council in a press release said Hess joined the USAID foreign service in 1980, serving in its regional office for West Africa. He went on to serve in country offices in Peru, Bolivia, Guinea, India, Rwanda, and Mozambique.
“He thought he was blissfully retired in bucolic Connecticut when he was recruited and hired to lead USAID/Tanzania’s project that helped the Agency monitor program progress, evaluate effects and defects, and learn and adapt to achieve greater impact with U.S. taxpayer dollars,” the council said.
Hess and his wife flew to Tanzania on Jan. 20 to begin the two-year-engagement, just four days before the new U.S. administration froze all USAID and other foreign assistance. His contract was soon terminated along with over 5,000 contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements to monitor disease outbreaks, teach farming skills, feed starving people, improve education, and strengthen democratic institutions in over 100 countries.
The talk will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. It will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.
SECWAC members are free. Non-Member attendance is $20. Non members may register through this link.
A post presentation dinner will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Lyme Country Club. Register here. Space is limited.
For more information on SECWAC, visit their website.
Leave a Reply