Sierra Leoneans are making a Mark around the world as they are committed and dedicated to making the presence of the green white and blue known and Milan Victor Dawoh from Sierra Leone is no exception, he has become the first African to be elected President of the United Nations Field Staff Union on the 9th September, 2023.
Milan Dawoh started his UN career in 2001 with UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone. As a university dropout during the civil war, he went to the UN Headquarters at Mammy Yoko in search of a job.
He started off at the UN by washing cars he was spotted by the Chief Transport Officer Norris Jorsling from Trinidad & Tobago who noticed that Milan could do more than just washing cars. Months later he was made Transport Dispatcher and he was recruited as a national staff, he was transferred to Afghanistan as a UN Volunteer. Again, while in Afghanistan, Milan gained an appointment with UNOPS.
From Afghanistan, Milan went to East Timor as the Head of the Transport Road Safety for the UN Mission from (2007 to 2012),
In 2008 while in East Timor, Milan was elected as the Chairperson of the UN Field Staff Union.
In 2015, Milan was brought to the Central African Republic to setup the Road Safety Unit and was elected as the Chairperson of the UN Field Staff union in C.A.R.
His story of resilience, hardwork and perseverance has inspired so many Staff members at the UN around the world that they unanimously elected him and his team to the executive office.
Milan Dawoh came from a humble beginning in Bumbuna and he used to walk daily, barefooted with a total 26 kilometers returned trip from his mother’s village (Bassaia) to Bumbuna for schooling. When he had his first job, he built a school in his village to prevent the kids from the surrounding villages from going through the hard life he had experienced. The school was opened in 2012 and has approximately 200 children who are attending for free.
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Milan Dawoh was elected with Vice President CatherinebSarah Ojwang Omondi from Kenya, and Vice President Paul Smith, from New Zealand. The trio will form the Executive of the United Nations Field Staff Union and will run the organization from 2023 to 2025.
Milan Dawoh has made history as the first African and Sierra Leonean to head the world's most represented union and the first person to be elected unopposed. He is certainly the pride of the Nation and has put Sierra Leone on the map.
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The United Nations Field Staff Union (UNFSU) defends the rights and supports the welfare and well-being of Internationally recruited United Nations staff, who are assigned to and work in UN Field Entities.
These entities include the UN Peacekeeping operations and Special Political Missions, amongst others.
