When Dr. Khadija Owusu speaks about leadership, she speaks from a place of deep understanding and commitment to change. Her work with Akaya Foundation in Ghana is redefining what it means to empower young girls through education and leadership development. Join us as she shares her experiences and the profound work of Melanin Medics in the UK, highlighting the importance of diversity and support from the ground up.
Navigating the nonprofit sector is no easy feat, and this episode doesn't shy away from the trials faced by those on a mission to serve. From the reliance on archaic communication methods to misconceptions about funding and professionalism, Dr. Owusu and her team's dedication shines through. We unravel the stories of resilience in the face of societal pressures, emphasizing the influential power of role models, and the role mentorship plays in inspiring and uplifting the next generation of leaders.
Wrap up your earbuds for a closing chapter that connects deeply with anyone who's ever faced obstacles or carried the weight of expectation. Dr. Owusu recounts her personal journey, drawing on experiences from her recent trip to Ghana and the preparation for her TEDx talk. We delve into the lessons learned from setbacks and the pursuit of purpose, rounding off with an invitation to continue the conversation and support the vital work of Akaya Foundation. Don't just listen; join us in this movement of empowerment and leadership.
Watch the video episode of this on YouTube - https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds
When Dr. Khadija Owusu speaks about leadership, she speaks from a place of deep understanding and commitment to change. Her work with Akaya Foundation in Ghana is redefining what it means to empower young girls through education and leadership development. Join us as she shares her experiences and the profound work of Melanin Medics in the UK, highlighting the importance of diversity and support from the ground up.
Navigating the nonprofit sector is no easy feat, and this episode doesn't shy away from the trials faced by those on a mission to serve. From the reliance on archaic communication methods to misconceptions about funding and professionalism, Dr. Owusu and her team's dedication shines through. We unravel the stories of resilience in the face of societal pressures, emphasizing the influential power of role models, and the role mentorship plays in inspiring and uplifting the next generation of leaders.
Wrap up your earbuds for a closing chapter that connects deeply with anyone who's ever faced obstacles or carried the weight of expectation. Dr. Owusu recounts her personal journey, drawing on experiences from her recent trip to Ghana and the preparation for her TEDx talk. We delve into the lessons learned from setbacks and the pursuit of purpose, rounding off with an invitation to continue the conversation and support the vital work of Akaya Foundation. Don't just listen; join us in this movement of empowerment and leadership.
Watch the video episode of this on YouTube - https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds
When we say leadership, it's not you come and we want to make you a leader of however many people, leadership for yourself, and if you are able to lead yourself, you will be able to lead others.
Speaker 2:Number one business and self-development podcast, Connected Minds podcast. Humanity cannot forget its leaders and dreamers, and these are the people who dare to change the world. Today's conversation with dr kadija it's about leadership and how she's doing amazing work in ghana through her foundation akaya. You're welcome once again thank you for having me yes, how you been been good, not too bad, very busy, but yeah yeah, um, when we're speaking, you're saying that there's a lot of things going on right now your timetable?
Speaker 2:yeah, it's full, very full and my time here is quite short you've got some experience um ngos yeah, for profit, yeah um through melanin medics. Now what role do you play um in that organization that allowed you to be able to set up a career?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So Melanin Medics, I like to say, is one of my adopted babies, initially started by my really good friend, dr Alamadey Dada, who we were all medical students at the time. I think we were halfway through our five six year program and in the UK it's known that, I guess there, there's a lack of diversity amongst black healthcare professionals in medicine. So when we were in medical school you can literally count on your hands the number of medical students that would be in the lecture hall with you that were also black. So she, I guess, poured out that sort of pain into a blog called Millennium Medics and later on, I think, there were about five of us. Not too long after she started the blog, five of us came together and we thought, okay, let's make something out of this, turn it into an organization where we help support other individuals like ourselves who aspire to become doctors in the UK, help them move their journey into medicine. Initially it started off with outreach.
Speaker 1:Let's simply go into schools and show up that, yes, we are, we look like you and we are on our way to becoming doctors, so definitely you can do it too, targeting schools that have a high ethnic minority population, um in lower, I guess, socioeconomic areas within london. And fast forward.
Speaker 1:This year, I believe we turned seven years old and well the amount of work we do just goes beyond helping getting students in it helped. We assist medical students, we assist doctors, we advocate on various issues relating to race health inequalities within the UK. We work with some of the medical giants in the UK and serving on their advisory boards. So yeah, it's been a journey, but my role at the moment, aside being one of the co-founders, is director of programs, so all our mentorship programs, outreach workshops, falls under my umbrella no, that's beautiful.
Speaker 2:Um, you guys have done amazing. Thank you, you know, in ghana, right, I've heard stories of, you know, teachers sleeping with young girls for sanitary pads, and you know this is awful. There's a lot of things going on in the schools. Now, what made you focus on young girls, especially for your foundation, akaya?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think generally, you know you can include Melanin Medics, the Melanin Medics experience. But I think over the years, just since I guess I was young, I've always had an affinity or been drawn towards helping people, but especially young people. I think that time period is very crucial for, I guess, creating a very strong, strong foundation, creating positive imprints into the minds of young people, because that will then determine their trajectory moving forwards. I mean, we can also apply it to, I guess, how we function as adults. Some of our previous experiences, especially within childhood, have a really, I guess, have a huge impact in the way we navigate our lives as adults. We can especially say that with some of the traumas that some people may experience. But when you look at, I guess, individuals who may have committed certain crimes or need certain I guess therapy or help a lot of the issues stem from within childhood.
Speaker 1:So that time period is very crucial, which is why, at Akai, we focus on young women and girls, especially because we know that young females here experience a lot of challenges you mentioned. You know, access to sanitary pads is still an issue here in Ghana, unfortunately, and other parts of the world, and that, I guess, has a knock on effect on girls accessing education, going to school. And if you don't have that education, how are you then able to, I guess, have a fulfilling career in life, or even have the education to know what's wrong, what's right aside, you know, getting a job and having a bright future ahead?
Speaker 2:interesting how you mentioned education because, um, you know, traditionally right, um, especially around here, women were, you know, made to be at home, um, helped their husbands in most cases. I remember my grandma, you know, farming husband, you know there wasn't really, uh, proper development in terms of education for the ladies yeah now. My mom doesn't have very good education, neither does my grandma. In fact, within our family, the women don't have very high education. They only started from our time.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:From the millennials. So you know how is Akaya going to help. You know changing that narrative, because it is changing rapidly. Yeah Around here. What's your foundation's role?
Speaker 1:I mean that as well definitely, I think, uh, things are all times are very much changing where we are now sort of starting to see women, I guess, on the equal playing field. Yeah, it's not to say that, you know, because women get an education, some of them will neglect, I guess, the traditional roles that they may have. A woman can do it. However, we just believe that women shouldn't be shut off to the opportunity of getting access to an education and also fulfilling her potential dreams that she may have. So how we play a role in that, we sort of, I guess, fight for that cause across the various projects that we have, um, and I guess, to name the projects that we have, we have the like her project and that's the initial um secondary school, or senior high school, as you guys say, or junior high school, basic school workshops that we deliver to the young girls in the schools and that focuses on menstrual hygiene. It focuses on communication, it focuses on confidence, because, aside, you know, in order to empower a young woman, you need to have, or you need to meet her basic needs, and if getting access to a sanitary pad is her basic needs and she's not being able to have that, what's confidence, what's communication? You don't care about that. She needs the pads for her basic rights, you know, as a woman. So we make sure that we tackle the two and through those workshops that we do. And today, I think you know, we went to do about 200 girls last week in a central region and to date we've done just over 3,000 girls across Ghana through that, like her projects.
Speaker 1:Secondly, last summer we launched an internship program. You know, um, it's young women, especially in higher education or tertiary education in Ghana, don't have access to certain opportunities, um, I guess, internships and if you do, you're not likely going to be paid. So we thought why not set up a program where we can actually have a small number of ladies come on boards to actually help us not only run Akaya but experience a very intense mentorship leadership program two and a half months. Aside that, you also have to work together to propose a social action project that can potentially be invested into. So we had five young ladies, um, from various universities, uh, join us fulfilling different roles, working very hard. It was very intense. They, if you ask them, they said, oh my gosh, like tough experience, but they enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:It's that sort of push that you need um, and following on from then we have project AC Issy. Myself, I'm a diaspora. I wasn't born and raised in Ghana, which is a very key point in relation to the foundation, because I don't know what it's like to be a young girl in Ghana.
Speaker 1:I don't know and I can only assume how it feels to be a young girl in Ghana. I can only assume what you need. So I make sure I place emphasis on the team who have such lived experiences to suggest okay, this is what it's like, this is what we need. Maybe we should implement this in Akaya. I see myself as, I guess, the body that helps pull the resources together to make sure that we actually get what needs to be, get it done, basically get the work done. So, being a member of the diaspora, December is a very popular time for us all and notoriously party, party, party, party.
Speaker 1:But we want to change that narrative a little bit. Yes, party, but also give back. You probably come to Ghana, experience the glitz and glam, but the reality of the situation of this country is actually something that needs everybody needs to be aware of. So we have members of the diaspora come on board with us, volunteer um and project isi is part, is partnered with um, an amazing gentleman called harold or fori and um. What we do is we do an annual school renovation development project. So last December we contributed towards continuing to finish building a school and we had Diaspora on board, went to see the waterfalls nearby you know a bit of tourism and also come along, you know, fix some bits of bobs, paint the school wall, play sports with the kids, interact, all that. So it was an amazing day and everybody really had good fun and we plan to do that every year.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful when you have grown up abroad. When I moved to Ghana five years ago, I'm still going through the cultural differences that we have and sometimes you're thinking to yourself will they ever end? Will I ever get to understand how things work here. After five years, I'm still asking myself that how has it been for you trying to do business here?
Speaker 1:What a question. You know, I used to think, oh my gosh, maybe one day I want to live in Ghana.
Speaker 1:Every day, my mind is like I'm starting to think maybe I actually can't, maybe I think the hybrid right now is working for me because I think the challenge is I grew to understand them more through the work that we do at Akaya Sometimes, and also when we're used to a certain way of running things. Okay, like, communication is quick. Yep, I'm sending an email. I'm going to get a response in, you know, 24, 48 hours, maybe within the week.
Speaker 1:Absolutely fine, in this setting email, you'll be lucky yeah and when we work with institutions for example, you know the education service because we work with schools. So we want to formalize some of the work that we do, so we need to build that partnership, especially with the conference. I would say you know a lot of challenges and just why. You just think why is it? There's something so simple. Where is the sense? Oh, my gosh. Um, it's working with schools. It's you know you need to. For example, there's no email, so hand letters, my team are scattered across majority across um. So it's like now having to take hand letters to a school when this conversation can easily be had on email. And then when we want to do follow up, contact number you refuse to provide. And then when we do go back in to follow up, it's oh sorry, we lost the letter. Really, yeah, so it's these unnecessary hurdles that you have to experience.
Speaker 1:And then when you talk to or when you are trying to engage with the bigger bodies, it's always OK, well, what's in it for us? Why should that even be a question? This is a charity, this is a nonprofit organization. What do you mean by what's in it for us? Already, we experience challenges with funding and we are funneling all our funding towards the beneficiaries, towards the people who need it. So what does a big corporation need? Why do you need to think selfishly about some of the things that we are trying to accomplish here? So those are a few of the challenges you know that we've experienced, but we are. You know, we've tried to navigate our way. You know, sometimes it makes me very frustrated, but the team look at me like you don't know we are in Ghana.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, that's, that's how it's been you know, this is where the opportunities are yeah because we see so many problems? Yeah, and if all the systems were aligned like the west? There will be less opportunities for some of us who come into the business. We see these opportunities and it presents uh serious challenges to us to work and fix them. Last year we did some work in my my hometown.
Speaker 2:We did a huge health screening, got people come through from rwanda wow from the UK and just before the screening, in fact, we had fixed everything for six months in advance. Two weeks before we had a huge challenge from one of the chiefs. They wanted to sabotage it, put that down the line. And then we had phone calls from the health workers. This that Basically look. The whole top and bottom of that is that they wanted to find out whether we've gotten some money from somewhere and what can they get out of it. So when you were saying it, I was smiling. It is what it is. Here you see problems, you want to help fix it and people think you've got millions of dollars from somewhere.
Speaker 1:Why is that? It's honestly, I think the challenge lies with, I guess, maybe with the way that we try to plan or organize things. It comes across as okay, wow, super professional, high quality, meaning there's a lot of funding behind this. Um, and if, like you mentioned, you had people coming from all over, okay, wow, and if they're coming from all over, then they have a lot of money, so what else can we?
Speaker 1:get out of this meanwhile, the actual duty that you are there to fulfill, they overlook it. What about the health of the people that live within your community? Is that not paramount to you as opposed to the money that you will get out of it? And then you just think what's going on in the connections in the brains?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, it's true, and you know. The other thing as well is always the people within the team. You face huge challenges on that side as well, within the same team that you work, that you work with. I'm not sure whether you've come across any my team.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I would say they are godsend, wow. Without them, nothing literally. Um, everyone is based, no, actually, bar one and myself, everyone is based here, um, and they are incredibly hard working, honestly, and just the passion that they have, the work that they put into it is amazing. I'll be texting them anytime in the day and I'll they'll respond like that they'll be able to get anything done like that, um, and it's just the best thing ever.
Speaker 1:That's beautiful I'm I'm happy to hear that at least on that side you're good yeah yeah, developing leaders is at the core of your foundation.
Speaker 2:Um, what sort of role models did you have growing up?
Speaker 1:so with role models. Personally, I think I like to categorize internal and external, and this is where I also encourage other young ladies as well, or anyone to be honest. Internal is somebody within your reach, somebody within your circle. You can have multiple, but growing up as a young girl, for me, that was my mom, noticing how hardworking she was whilst also trying to, I guess, take care of her three young kids she was very, or she is, a huge role model in that sense. Externally, I will always say Michelle Obama, and an external role model is somebody you may not necessarily meet in life. Thankfully, I've engaged with her quite a few times. However, somebody you look up to, maybe you see in the media or you've read about and you potentially aspire to be like, and for me, like I said, it's definitely michelle obama how she carries herself, how she's been able to accomplish, um, the many things that she's been able to do, and just the woman that she embodies we have spent hours of time and resources putting this content together.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately, many of the people we get on this channel are viewers and not subscribers. Please subscribe and become part of the family, as this will allow us to produce even better content for you. I guess, for you right to even get to the point where you get to even speak to Michelle Obama. It's been your mom, it's been, you've seen her as giving you the life, giving you the upbringing. You know the tools that you needed to be able to come out.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then now shine for people to see who you are and then identify yourself within other people as well. He's done a great job. Yeah, done a great job. Um, these young girls that you speak with, you know um engage with what are some of the things you see within them that you think are lacking and, for that reason, needs development in terms of leadership.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is a very, very good question, um, so when we go on our like her project visits or the school workshops, uh, I always it may be good, it may also be bad I always tend to draw a comparison in relation to a young girl that is probably 13 14 years old, compared to a young girl 13 14 years old in the UK. A huge difference is confidence, um, in the UK, I think we are raised to be inquisitive, we are raised to ask questions, um, we always say why, why do we have to do this? Or you know, we want a question, um, but in Ghana is very different. It's, you are told, xyz. Therefore, just take it as xyz, no question, that's it, which, yes, in some situations can apply. However, it puts young children or individuals in a box where you feel as though you can't set yourself free and maybe open your minds to different possibilities out there, especially for young girls, where you are then also facing these stereotypes of you are supposed to be at home, you're supposed to cook, you're not supposed to, you're supposed to not necessarily dream. It also dampens the confidence that these young girls have, so they just quiet.
Speaker 1:When we're going to the schools, our sessions require a lot of engagement and interaction. In the beginning we notice the girls aren't as open as they should be, but as we progress through the session you can literally see them come out. The confidence just shines bright. It's like they have it within them, but it's about unleashing it, giving them that room or the space to know that, okay, actually I'm fine, it's okay for me to speak up, um, so confidence is one big thing, I think. Education wise, maybe the word is comprehension as well. There is a bit of a gap, um, but then again different context, so I feel as though I can't draw, you know, too much of a comparison there. Another difference I would say is, you know, I think it's mostly the confidence, um, in order to be able to speak up, because I guess here the, the voice of the woman is deemed not necessarily significant.
Speaker 1:But with the workshops that we do, we incorporate communication and public speaking skills, and that's where the girls are given the chance to actually stand up, deliver a speech or a talk on any random given topic in a set period of time, um, to, I guess, share your voice, share your opinion, and that's where we see a lot of girls, I guess, come out, come alive and it's very, very crucial that you know we develop these aspects and we do um what's necessary, and I think that's what's missing from a lot of the work that you know I guess ngos or similar ngos do a lot of the time. I mean, everybody is doing menstrual hygiene education and donating sanitary pads, but once we provide the girls with that, what else? What's next? They're still going to be the shy, closed off girl who we then expect to somehow make it through to senior high school university.
Speaker 1:There's no way you can navigate university without a sense of self-confidence. How can you navigate relationships? Because that's when you encounter boys, when you encounter men. Your sense of self is within them. You seek approval from them. You don't believe you're beautiful unless somebody else tells you you're beautiful, which is a huge problem. So I guess that's where we come in and highlight the importance of leadership. And when we say leadership, it's not you come and we want to make you a leader of however many people, leadership for yourself, and if you are able to lead yourself, you will be able to lead others.
Speaker 2:That's true. Yeah, that's true. These days, we are seeing a lot more I like to use ladies rather than women Ladies who are taking on leadership roles. I'll be surprised if you know in the next eight years, ghana gets a president who's a lady. Um, you are not only seeing this lack of confidence in the ladies, though, because I speak to a lot of men as well. Like, I'll go to the pharmacy and then I'll say, hey, this is what we're trying to do yeah and I've got a bunch of men and I'm trying to hear someone speak out and nobody's speaking.
Speaker 2:So there must be something cultural yes about this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, definitely. I think when you grow up, you just just keep quiet and listen, do as you're told. And, like I said, in the UK, yes, that can apply within our households because maybe your first generation, your parents, came from that same environment and they want to apply how they grew up to the UK setting. But that's when the UK environment, especially school, will bring that whole or unleash that, I guess, confidence or inquisitiveness of okay, well, why or how do I do this? Well, I don't like it like this, but can we do it this way? Or, you know, creating spaces where it's okay for you to speak up. That doesn't apply here, because if you do, it's okay for you to speak up. That doesn't apply here, because if you do, it's seen as you being disrespectful and we need to change that narrative absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2:I mean, my kids are downstairs, right, and if you spend three minutes with them after here, they will ask you a lot of questions. They would want to know who you are yeah, they'll ask you so many questions, but that's because we allow them to be able to do that. But then they step out and somebody says hey.
Speaker 2:And then I told a person you don't speak to my kids like that yeah you know, it's very difficult trying to let these kids, um, you know, behave in a way where they are curious about life itself being in this environment.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I spoke to a mutual friend of ours and you know she wanted to know how you appear so fearless and confident. Now I think I guess the question really is what are the cues Give us?
Speaker 1:I would say you know, I've not always been, I guess, this way. Growing up I used to be very shy. I got to secondary school and I think we can say I found my calling, or it was an avenue where I thought this is where, or this is where I realized that I really want to help people, aside the traditional medicine route of being a doctor and helping people that way, but also speaking up for others who necessarily aren't able to speak up for themselves. So I saw myself taking up leadership positions right from, I guess, the get go in secondary school when those opportunities became available. School when those opportunities became available, for example, mentoring the younger students sitting on various committees, you know, for programs at the secondary school that I went to. So I think having that space of being able to grow and do what you want to do, whatever you set your mind to, was really key to me, building my confidence as well.
Speaker 1:Surrounding yourself with individuals who I guess have a similar mindset or that go-getter attitude as well, really helped.
Speaker 1:And I think, also knowing the circumstances from which I came from which lower socioeconomic household, single parent household you are always, I guess, told or you feel as though.
Speaker 1:Well, if these are my circumstances, then I will not amount to anything, or it's going to also be my circumstances as well, and it takes a certain level of, I guess, belief in yourself, determination and confidence to tell yourself that, yes, those are my circumstances, but that those were my circumstances in the past that doesn't mean that the same thing is going to happen to me. I need to break free of those circumstances that I was experiencing in order to change my own narrative. That came in the form of getting a scholarship to a private sixth form where I did I wasn't even thinking of private education because there's no way we could afford that. So, getting the scholarship being put in a different environment where it's like obviously everybody around you has heavy pockets, but then looking at the education that you receive in a private school compared to a public school, you've always been to your whole life like wow, there's huge, huge difference you know, government school, there's like 30 of you in the classroom.
Speaker 1:Obviously, in Ghana it's a different story, but in the context of the UK, 30 to like seven of you in a classroom, which I've never experienced. The one-to-one time, the support that they give you, knowing that that you want to become a doctor, so your university applications, the examination support, all of that really, I guess, opened my eyes to the differences that we encounter and it just taught me there are so many young, bright people like myself who more than qualify to receive this type of education. However, it's the lack of finances that stops them from getting access to this and then ending up on a different trajectory. So I guess that also stemmed or I guess, brought the seed of Melanin Medics into play, where we bridge that gap and provide that extra support. But yeah, the question was on confidence. I think it was the early stages and then just growing up, navigating different challenges and just telling myself well, okay, this is another one, let me cross that bridge as well.
Speaker 2:Um, so yeah, I would say yes so you get um invited to do a ted talk and then you prepare the speech and then you sit with someone and then they wanted you to do it again and again, and again until you get it right now. How do you feel? How did you feel at that point where you thought you did your best to be able to go and stand and then give that talk?
Speaker 1:oh so the TED what?
Speaker 2:year was it? Oh my god my God, 2023?
Speaker 1:Or 2022? I've lost. My years are all jumbled up now, but that particular time period was very crazy hectic. I think I found out I was going to be giving the talk in, let's say, april of that year. The June, july, was when I came back to do the second visit with um we Akai wasn't born yet, but I came back to do the second visit of the 300 400 girls that I mentioned earlier.
Speaker 1:Right after that, right after coming back from Ghana I think it was not even 48 hours later, I had to go to the US for a speaking engagement, um, and within that time span, I was supposed to obviously work on my speech, but the time, the challenges I couldn't. And my um TEDx mentors uh, you get given mentors to help you um, they were like are you sure you can do this? What's going on? I managed to find time to do a first draft and I read it out to them. They were like it's okay, but we don't really feel anything like. And then they started to ask me some deep questions, um, and it was through a major conversation where I was like okay, I'm gonna actually go away, sit down.
Speaker 1:Um, I think I did my second draft whilst I was in the US in the hotel room and I put everything into it. So then we came to do a second reading and I gave my speech and they started crying and they were like this is what we needed. I said, okay, fine, um, so I guess that time period is just memorizing the speech, um, and I guess putting your all into it until the big day and the TEDx is called representation will create medicine, saves lives, which is an area that I'm very, very passionate about, especially through melanin medics and just growing up, where you have a lot of role models who look like you. The narrative is, of course, changing. We're starting to see more black healthcare professionals in medicine Still a bit of a way to go, but since Melanin Medics, we have seen huge changes and, yeah, the TEDx experience was one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences ever, and it's definitely something that has really shaped my speaking career as well.
Speaker 2:Wow, great, yeah, and I watched it. You did well.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as a leader in your field. How do you take failures and disappointment? How do you take it?
Speaker 1:Good question, I think for me, I've always seen failures, disappointments, rejections. It's cliche to say, but I always see it as redirection. I think I'm very much of a person that believes everything for a reason. Maybe God says this was not your particular destiny, maybe this wasn't for you. So I'm always like, fine, you know, we've encountered this rejection or this disappointment. Use example of maybe some of the funding opportunities that you know Akai wants to go for.
Speaker 1:Maybe growing up, I would have applied for leadership programs or anything like that. Maybe I would get rejected from them, um, or if something doesn't go right or as the way I planned it and it's always for me, okay, well, this opportunity isn't. Maybe it's my time to go back, reflect, rework it and apply again. Or the next opportunity will come knocking sooner rather than later, and another thing or another way I like to think about it is well, it's inevitable in life. Life is hard for everyone. You will encounter failure, you will encounter disappointment, you will encounter challenges. So I guess it's don't be surprised when it comes knocking on your door. Yes, it will hurt. We are human, we have to experience the emotion. But once you get over that period, what's next? How am I going to go again, or what's the next opportunity that I'm going to go for, even bigger and better?
Speaker 2:wow, that's good, I'm empowered. Um, when you were speaking, you mentioned about coming from a single parent home. Now, we were speaking earlier and then I was saying that I know a few young guys who came from a single parent home and there's usually a misconception that well, I don't know if it is In some cases.
Speaker 2:You see that it's true, especially with the men, that they really don't grow up to become very, very much like what their society expect people to be. Um, you're very different, right? You've come out awesome. You're a doctor, you know, in leadership roles trying to help other people really enlightened in that, that level. Now, how was life, like you know, growing up in that single-parent home?
Speaker 1:yeah, um, I would say, very early period of life it was a full household. Then, um, circumstances changed where it became a single-parent household and, um, everybody speaks about the eldest daughter syndrome, whereby you, as an eldest daughter, there is a lot of responsibility. But being an eldest daughter in a single parent household, the responsibility next level, you become the second mother and, especially when there is only one parent in household, it's much more of a heavier duty that you have to now experience or put yourself into or fulfill that role as a young girl whereby, if you compare it to another household, as a young girl full household you're, I guess, princess of the family, um, and not a mother in the household. So that sense of responsibility has been there from the get-go, being able to look after my brothers whilst mum is out trying to make a living so that we can actually eat. So the eldest daughter syndrome is very, very real and, growing up in a single-parent household, I have that responsibility, whilst also trying to navigate life in relation to well, I want to become a doctor. I know these challenges exist, but I'm still going to try my best, um, and, you know, do extremely well in my academics, try and get into medical school, navigate medical school whatsoever, um.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I think that's the major impact that being in a single parent household had on me. But a lot of it is also dependent on the parents as well and how they parent their children, because, like you mentioned in your experience, individuals who do come from single parent households had a different pathway. We could also, I guess, align that with parents and how they parent their children and how they empower their children, but it's not easy, so you can't always place the blame on the parents, um. But yeah, I think for me, the the main impact was having that responsibility from early, would I say it robbed me of actually having time to be a child, maybe a little bit, but yeah, it is what it is.
Speaker 1:My dad has always been in the picture from a distance going, especially as an adult, and since I started coming back to Ghana as an adult, I've always been seeing him. Unfortunately, last May he passed, so again, yes, I come from a single parent household, but losing a parent that you still love and had a connection with um and a parent who you know wanted to try and build that relationship again, is tough. So going through grief also another what I'll on the side as well yeah, sorry about your loss.
Speaker 2:I've got questions from the previous guests, and the first in fact. Usually it's just one question, right, but my friend decided to give you two, and he was wearing white as well.
Speaker 1:So maybe there's a connection there somewhere.
Speaker 2:So the first question is if you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Speaker 1:Nothing, nothing To be honest, like, like I said, I'm very much everything happens for a reason, and if this is how things are today and thank god everything is not perfect, but thank god things are going okay, um, and amazingly well across melanin medics, across acai, across whatever else I'm involved in, then if I'm to change something only god knows what it would have become um, so for me, I don't think I will change anything right, then his second question is money health and relationships.
Speaker 2:Which one would you prioritize? Why?
Speaker 1:I'm going to say health, okay, not just doctor, but I think without health.
Speaker 1:How are you able to, I guess, be yourself, to make money? How are you able to be healthy enough to have healthy relationships? And health doesn't necessarily mean physical health, but also mental health. If your mental health is impacted, it will affect the relationships you build. If your mental health is impacted, it will affect you, either working whether it be setting up your business or whatever or making money. In whichever way you do, that's also going to be impacted as well. So I would go with health awesome um motivation or discipline I'm gonna say discipline for me.
Speaker 1:I ask myself why am I doing what I'm doing, especially with Akaya? Because we are relatively small, although our impact is huge. And I could say, well, I'm a young woman, I just, I mean, I've got almost three years experience working as a doctor. Why not focus on building wealth? Experience working as a doctor? Why not focus on building wealth? Why am I quote-unquote, maybe wasting my time, um, trying to help others, whatnot, but you could say that with melanin medics as well.
Speaker 1:But I find myself questioning like why? Why do I, you know, come back from work, from the hospital and I'm, you know, working with the team bunch of admin that we've got to do for Akaya? Why am I in? Why am I in all these meetings, having all these discussions, building up all these partnerships? Um, am I getting paid at the moment? No, but it's fulfilling my heart's desires, it's my purpose, it's my calling, and this is what, if this is what god has called me to do, no money in the world will, I guess, shift my mindset. And so, for me, I would say it's the discipline that keeps me going. Yes, you have the motivation, but motivation will fluctuate. Motivation will fluctuate and discipline will help you wake up in the morning and actually log on to this meeting. Send this email, ask this team member to do something and actually get the work done. In my opinion, my opinion- I agree it's well put.
Speaker 2:What's the best advice you ever received?
Speaker 1:Best advice, I would say keep going. And that's the advice I always give to young people whenever I engage with any of them, or even in majority of my talks that I give. My advice is to keep going because of the fact that, like I said, life is challenging. There's ups and downs. We all go through something. However, don't beat yourself up over the fact that you may be encountering challenges and think the world is ending or life is over. You still have to finally keep going I like that.
Speaker 2:You just, you just uh motivated me. So what's your favorite personal development book?
Speaker 1:oh favorite hmm, I'll. Maybe I'll name a few. I like um, everybody mentions rich Dad, poor Dad. Michelle Obama's Becoming was very interesting for me, and then also the name of the book. It's by Stephen Bartlett.
Speaker 2:Dare Oversee you.
Speaker 1:No, the one before that happy, I forgot the title.
Speaker 2:Oh, I forgot the time, but it's his book prior to diary okay, great, I like the fact that you mentioned rich. That for that first. That's, that's one of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was I think it was one uncle that I read it at a very young age. My uncle was like, yeah, take this, must read it yeah, that your uncle is a clever man oh yes, very impactful in my life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, have you got a question for our next guest? I'm ready to write.
Speaker 1:Yes, my question would be how do you? Okay? So everybody talks about balance and I feel like nowadays we're questioning whether balance exists. So I want to know from the next speaker do they believe balance in life exists, where you can have it all in relation family relationships, money, business, that sort of you can construct it nicely, but, yeah, okay well, I anyway, I'm not the one that's supposed to answer that question. I have another one, okay how do you stay sane and look after yourself? How do you stay sane and look after yourself?
Speaker 2:How do you stay sane?
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, great. Wow Funny how the two white people we're white, they both have had two questions. Anything you want to tell our audience on Connected Minds?
Speaker 1:I would like to say thank you for having me first of all, and also thank you to the listeners who tune in to Connected Minds If they want to find out any more information about myself. It is Dr Khadija Owusu on LinkedIn at Khadija Owusu. On instagram and twitter, slash x. If you're interested in finding more about akaya, it's akaya on linkedin at akaya foundation. On instagram and twitter, slash x as well.
Speaker 2:We would love to appreciate all the support we can get we've been speaking to dr kadija and if you haven't subscribed, please do share this and become part of the family. Hey, stay connected.