52 JULY-AUGUST 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL I am a USAID Foreign Service officer from New York and have served for 13 years in Ecuador, Haiti, India, and Washington, D.C. I managed people, budgets, and programs. I built partnerships with local governments, large and small businesses, communities, and other donors. I wrote memos, articles, and reports so that Washington, the ambassador, our local partners, Congress, and the American people knew what we were doing and why. Always working as a team, we sought to solve problems like malnutrition and air pollution, illegal poaching, lack of electricity and water, or the difficulty of getting a loan to start a business. We attacked these issues because we believed that all people should be able to attain a decent standard of living. In a world with billionaires and unthinkable luxury for the very few, is access to clean drinking water or safe classrooms an unreasonable hope? I recently worked on a large contract supporting trade and investment across Africa. The abrupt halt of foreign assistance and termination of the contract meant that the small African businesses we’d agreed to invest in were unable to complete their expansion plans and were left with inputs they could no longer afford. These are mortal blows for entrepreneurs operating in highly challenging environments. Our goal was to build the economic base of multiple countries so that they no longer required outside assistance. This path to self-reliance is a longheld, bipartisan development approach that we are suddenly undermining like secret saboteurs. In an earlier assignment, I worked to increase regional cooperation among the countries of South Asia (including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan) through energy trade and infrastructure. Bangladesh has long been one of the poorest countries in the world and has witnessed explosions of violent extremism in the recent past. Bangladesh is not only on the verge of “graduating” to a lower-middle-income country (a huge development success), it is also undergoing a democratic transition. USAID partnered with Bangladesh for decades to support democratic institutions and improve working conditions within garment factories. But now, at this moment of immense change, when transformation for good is so possible but the potential for a collapse into factionalism and corruption hangs like a sword over the future, USAID’s support has suddenly disappeared as the U.S. announced major tariffs on Bangladesh’s leading export industry. I am reminded of Mother Teresa’s observation: What you spend years building someone can destroy overnight. Her conclusion? Build anyway. In USAID’s Foreign Service I worked for the American people, with resources provided by the American people. Foreign assistance asks our country to invest in others so that we can reap the benefits of a more stable and prosperous world. Without it, we will need to increase spending on defense, immigration, pandemics, and disaster response. We will face a devastating human toll from abandoning the generosity and compassion we once championed. USAID’s destruction was quick and deceptively easy. The rebuilding, which is sure to come as the pendulum swings, will be long, arduous, and costly. Build anyway. —USAID FSO n As a USAID Foreign Service engineer, I’ve had the unique privilege of supporting infrastructure projects and programs that improve lives, advance local economies, and embody American generosity. My work has ranged from building latrines in Angola and modernizing health facilities in Namibia to establishing an infrastructure delivery team within Angola’s Ministry of Transit. What ties it all together is a deep commitment to working alongside our stakeholders—not just to build things but to build rapport and long-term partnerships. When American engineers are in the field, we’re not just managing projects, we’re mitigating risks, promoting U.S. quality, and ensuring that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely. We hold contractors accountable. We mentor local engineers. We bridge the gap between infrastructure and diplomacy to deliver results that matter. Our presence is irreplaceable. Since the suspension of U.S. foreign assistance, dismantling of USAID, and the subsequent elimination of its engineering staff, we’ve already seen critical programs delayed, downsized, or completely halted. Clinics in South Africa have been Build Anyway When Engineers Stop Working shuttered, high schools in Mozambique left unfinished, and partially repaired municipal water systems in Jordan have been abandoned. These open pits and shells of buildings still bear USAID branding and the American flag. We are literally advertising failure while undermining the very goals of U.S. assistance. This loss affects American credibility. When we deliver smart infrastructure, we show up as a reliable partner. When we don’t, we leave a vacuum that other global powers are eager to fill. Engineering is quiet diplomacy, and our tools are trust, quality, and results. I want Americans to know that the work we do in USAID engineering is not just technical, it’s strategic. It’s nationbuilding in the best sense: helping build resilient communities while reinforcing the U.S. commitment to shared prosperity and global stability. Losing that presence isn’t just a staffing or resource issue, it’s a retreat from our leadership role in the world. —USAID FSO
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