young african women Archives | She Leads Africa | #1 destination for young African ambitious women

Meet Oxfams Humanitarian Superwomen Making Local Change

While humanitarian work is often portrayed as “Westerners” coming to provide aid, it’s often “local” people who do a big part of the important field work. This is because they understand the context better.

Here are three young women who are inspiring us with their humanitarian work. While working with Oxfam, they sometimes spend weeks working in remote areas to ensure aid is provided to vulnerable communities and families.

In this interview, we learn more about Oxfam’s humanitarian superwomen who are working hard on the field to bring impact to their societies.

Tell us about your job

Umulkhair: I am currently a Food Security Officer working for Oxfam in Somaliland. I love my job because besides delivering food and creating livelihoods to people in need, I get to change the way communities view Muslim Somali women.

Gloria: My first ambition was to become a doctor but I instead became a water and sanitation engineer. As a WASH coordinator for the Burundi Refugee Response Program in Tanzania, my work includes conducting topographical surveys in villages.

I also design and supervise the construction of water supply systems to ensure that people don’t get sick from sanitary issues. Finally, I am a leading advocate for HIV/AIDS and women’s rights in my community.

Aimeline: I joined Oxfam in 2011 and have since been working as a Public Health Engineer assistant in South Kivu, DRC. I was inspired to join the humanitarian field so that I could save lives and make a difference in people’s lives. For the last 5 years, I’ve made an impact on building springs and waste latrines for communities.

As a local NGO worker,what makes you special?

Umulkhair: Despite all the challenges the country is facing, my work at Oxfam provides me with a platform to give hope to people in need. We try to show people that both the local and international NGO world is aware of their suffering and are trying the best to provide relief.

Gloria: It feels different and great to show your own people that it’s possible to make a real difference. More than that, I feel that as a Tanzanian and Swahili speaker, I can relate better to the problems for the host communities.

Have you faced any challenges in the humanitarian field?

Umulkhair: One challenge I’ve faced is the pastoralists lack of support and confidence for young women. However, though they often believe women should lead men when they see our achievements, they apologize for their judgment.

Gloria: I also encountered difficulties leading men as a young female engineer. Many times, it felt as though I was trying to prove myself. Luckily, I had support from Oxfam which places gender equality at the center.

Aimeline: Working in sensitive areas has been difficult. One of these difficulties I faced is the fear of the unpredictable. Recently, in my current zone of intervention, the Tanganyika region, there were ethnic conflicts leading to the displacement of nearly 600,000 people. Safety is always a concern.

What is it like spending significant time away from home?

Umulkhair: As a young, Somali woman, it was difficult to enter the humanitarian field because we often spend many days away from our families in remote areas. Though my father supported me, other family members were critical of this lifestyle.

Gloria: It has been tough to see all family members together and you are the only one away. But knowing that I need to support our communities with food insecurities and emergencies has helped me persevere.

How has this job shaped and inspired you?

Umulkhair: This job built my self-confidence and made me have a positive impact on people’s lives. Dealing with communities who don’t have confidence in young women has also made me more mature.

I also get very inspired by the people I meet on the field. Recently, I met two divorced women who had children but no source of income. After participating in an Oxfam training and receiving a start-up kit, they started their own shop. This helped them send their children to school.

Aimeline: A few victories here and there have truly inspired me to keep going. One of my first victories was when I mastered the operation of the gravity water supply and motor adduction. I had also learned how to build latrines that improved the protection of people against waterborne diseases such as Cholera or Typhoid fever.

Any advice for young women wanting to work with NGO’s?

Gloria: Working with these organizations starts with getting good grades. However, it’s important to work hard and deliver the best. You should also try and find support or guidance from women in the NGO-sector. Because of the gender imbalance in many African societies, it’s important that we support each other as women.

If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.

Winner Ezekiel: Millennials Need to Give Themselves a Chance

by Ugochi Obidiegwu

Winner Ezekiel is a certified speaker, author and business trainer who is really passionate about helping millennial entrepreneurs build influence, grow their business and multiply their income.

She got on this path when she lost her dad at age 17. It was a really trying period for her family and she realized how bad it was to be so dependent on someone because her dad was their strong foundation.

It took a while for her family to bounce back and so she decided to help other people, especially millennial’s, be truly independent whether it be from a husband, a job, a wife or anything that can rock their foundation once it’s gone.

What are the top 3 tips millennial’s going into business need, to get started effectively?

Any Millennial that aspires to go into business must first be very sure about what exactly they want to do. It is important to not just start a business because it is the “thing” that is happening everywhere. You need to start with a ‘WHY’.

Secondly, you need to be well grounded in your field of interest. This includes thoroughly carrying out research on that area of interest in order to understand it well.

Finally, getting a coach is quite important. Coaches are your short-cut to business growth and success. Get someone that has done what you want to do and get associated with them as soon as possible.

What do you wish more millennials knew about the changing marketplace?

The marketplace is changing every single day, week, month and year. It’s very important for millennial’s to always follow the trends in order to build a profitable business. They shouldn’t just take the old route of marketing their business but should focus on automating and installing profitable funnels that work.

They can also make more sales through building personal brands that connect with their audience. This could be through funnels and systems that help them connect or offering incentives that build their audience. It is important to build a community of people who can grow your business.

Getting a coach is important. Coaches are your short-cut to business growth and success Click To Tweet

Are there challenges you encounter while dealing with millennial’s?

Some of them are not ready to give themselves a chance. They always want to seek the opinions of their friends or their spouse before they can make a decision that can most likely change their lives.

Yet when they do seek this information, some millennial’s fail to take action on it because of reasons such as laziness or quitting too soon.

What is your top tip for changing mindsets and escaping limiting beliefs?

My top tip for changing mindsets and escaping a limiting mindset is very practical. First, get a book or diary, write out all the limiting beliefs that you have heard or you have told yourself. Then after that, write out 3 reasons why they are not true.

Read these reasons to yourself every morning and every night and visualize it and believe it. You get anything you want by following this process and you transform your life as far as your mind is fixated on that particular outcome.

How can young millennial women balance not being too forward?

Research has shown that women have more successful businesses than men. This is because while men have sight, women have insight.

It’s so common for a woman to shy away from putting herself out there because of what society will say or what her family will say. But the thing is, women have the innate potential to be more powerful than they take credit for. My single mother raised her children single-handedly with what she made.

Every woman should gradually but surely forget about what society will say and just put themselves out there. It could be through joining a trending conversation about women, lending their thoughts on problems in the society.

As women embrace this process, balance is being created and women get more confident and empowered to contribute more to the society instead of shying away from it.

Do you have any tips for millennials you would like to share with She Leads Africa? Let us know more here.

Chidindu Mmadu-Okoli: Storytelling can Change your Business

by Ugochi Obidiegwu

Chidindu Mmadu-Okoli is a healthcare provider, content creator, and editor. She is the founder and chief storyteller of Story4Strategy.

Story4Strategy is a small business borne out of the passion to help individuals and small businesses create the most compelling brand narratives that connect them with their target clients or ideal audiences.

How did Story4Strategy originate?

Story4Strategy did not come to me by chance. I was inspired by my various experiences from the 13 years where I worked as a secretary, writer, editor, PR officer, and as an inbound healthcare marketing executive.

Currently, the business offers content creation, content editing and content marketing strategy services for individuals, startups and small businesses.

Until the lion learns to tell its stories, history will always glorify the hunter - African Proverb Click To Tweet

Why is storytelling a key component of business in today’s world?

Any business currently operating without a storytelling strategy is like the lamp hidden under the table. The question is, how can any voiceless business make the desired impact?

Any modern day business seeking to build visibility or awareness, influence, and profits must first connect to the minds of their ideal audiences. The only way to achieve this connection and
to build customer-centered relationships is through genuine and persuasive brand narratives.

How can our Motherland Moguls incorporate storytelling into their businesses to give them an edge?

Africa’s history or backstory has propelled a lot of young women to fearlessly pursue lofty dreams that they are neither afraid of nor ashamed of. But, how do we validate these efforts

Young women building great businesses on this continent should see business storytelling as
the tool for showcasing Africa. They can use written, visual or spoken content with calls-to-action, to tell persuasive brand stories. Though, they have to ensure they develop a unique content strategy that aligns with their business goals.

Secondly, through effective use of internet, social and traditional media, women can constantly connect, engage, convert and nurture potentials who will become loyal followers of their brands. Through all this, we inspire, educate and drive positive change.

Attention is the new currency. You have to tell it, to sell it - @iamchidindu Click To Tweet

Can storytelling be applied to young ladies building their careers?

Of course, it can! In this day and age, where Thought Leadership is ever-thriving, young career women ought to see storytelling as a means to stand out.

Also, young women growing in their careers have a lot of stories to tell based on their gifts, skill sets, knowledge, and experience. Therefore, storytelling becomes a wonderful tool for grooming other young women who want to follow their paths.

As long as someone is telling stories that are connecting and helping people, they will always remain relevant.

What careers can young women find in storytelling?

Storytelling is broad. Business Storytelling and Content Marketing are just the tip of the iceberg. Most of these career paths are wrapped around (brand) journalism, mass communications, theatre and filmmaking, arts and literary studies, information and communication technology.

Young women can then take up specific roles such as content creator, editor, speechwriter, graphic designer, film and even research writer among many others. These different roles allow them to solve problems and create value.

What excites you about using storytelling as a strategy?

The first thing that excites me is that storytelling is human. I do not need to go develop complex machines as well as specific instructions to give them. It’s a way to connect effortlessly with people and travels faster than formulas or data.

Wrapping data in a story makes it easier for people to understand a difficult concept. After all, people think in stories and not figures.

The great thing about storytelling it that it’s transgenerational. It’s a strategy that worked for our forefathers and still works in the business world. Businesses can use storytelling to change people’s attitudes about a product and even the culture.

What advice would you give young women trying to carve a niche for themselves?

Every dream is valid! You are the one who validates the dream. When you are persistent enough to begin producing results, others will then start to validate you. So, start small, aim limitlessly. Nothing good comes cheap.

If you show up to your life’s path, life will show up for you - @iamchidindu Click To Tweet

Does the intersection of helping women live their best lives, and telling their stories through the media, events, technology, and data-driven thinking sound A++ to you? If so, think about joining us at the SLA HQ. See Job openings here.

Meet the Young African Women Shaking Up the Global Health Sector

by Global Health Corps

Around the world, women make 75 percent of the health workforce and continue to be the primary caretakers in communities and families. They also experience heightened health risks.

This is thanks to persistent gender-based violence and stigma that prevents access to preventive care and treatment. Despite these realities, women occupy fewer than 25 percent of leadership roles in the health sector.

Adanna Chukwuma, Karen Maniraho, and Favorite Iradukunda are slaying the game when it comes to demonstrating that young women of African descent can lead – and are leading – the global health equity movement.

As Global Health Corps (GHC) alumni, these ladies are committed to playing their part in realizing health as a human right for all.

GHC’s Brittany Cesarini caught up with these ladies to learn about how they’re crafting their own unique leadership journeys. And how they are disrupting the status quo in global health leadership along the way.

Why do you think we need more women leaders in global health?

Adanna: There is overwhelming evidence that diversity of team membership and leadership promotes creativity and productivity in teams. Therefore, increasing the proportion of female leaders in global health will increase our effectiveness at addressing the pressing health problems we face.

One can also make an ethical argument. We know that bias partly shapes the gaps between male-female representation in leadership. This bias does not always reflect performance. It may be a matter of discomfort with the idea of women in leadership. This is a wrong that must be righted.

Karen: Health and who has access to it will always be a discussion of power. Without women in positions of power, we cannot tackle the systemic inequalities that affect women and our communities.

Favorite: I think this is a matter of logic and holding true to what we believe. If global health values equity, equality, and social justice, if we are advocating for these values for other people. Doesn’t it make sense to start at home?

Where is equality and justice, when women make up to 75% of the healthcare workforce but occupy less than 25% of the leadership positions?

We are all leaders and learners - @favourtieiradukunda Click To Tweet

What lessons did you learn from the Women Leaders in Global Health conference at Stanford University last October?

Adanna: In one session at the conference, Laurie Garrett and Agnes Binagwaho shared personal stories about the bias they encountered and overcame to excel in their careers. Their conversation stuck with me because of the understanding that excellence can be female, and it can be black African.

A paraphrased version of my favorite quote, uttered by Laurie Garrett, is:

Women need to shove their modesty through the back door. There are billions of lives at stake - @Laurie_Garrett Click To Tweet

Karen: It was quite inspiring to hear Dr. Afaf Meleis talk about the ways “women are vulnerable and at risk in their productive and reproductive lives.”

There was also a panel titled “How to Become a Change Agent in Global Health” moderated by Donna Shalala. It featuring Ambassador Deborah Birx, Patricia Garcia, and Vanessa Kerry, among others.

They all so candidly discussed successes and the importance of failures in their global health journeys in refreshingly honest ways.

Favorite: Dr. Afaf Meleis brought up the issue of missing nurses. Nurses are continuously under-represented in global health leadership. They have also missed out on discussions meaningful to the advancement of healthcare, yet we all know that nurses are the backbone of healthcare.

What advice can you give young women aspiring to have leadership roles in global health and to those supporting them?

Adanna: We can start where we are to influence the gender imbalance in global health in the right direction by challenging ourselves to take risks and more responsibility in our careers.

Karen: 1. Mentoring at least one girl will help change the status of women in leadership today. Secondly, don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, failure is something we should celebrate. 3. Don’t “lean in” if it’s only to replicate male models.

Our work as women leaders can’t simply be about breaking the glass ceiling. Rather, it must be about rebuilding the whole building so that its doors are open to all.

As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. — Marianne Williamson Click To Tweet

Favorite: We have a lot of female leaders in global health, yet they are not considered as leaders because we measure their leadership abilities against a biased definition of leadership.

We need to redefine leadership and not be intimidated by all the biased definitions out there. We need to realize that women are not just leaders but also innovators.

How are you committing to investing in your own professional development as a young leader in global health?

Adanna: I recently joined a Lean In Circle primarily so that I can be intentional about confronting my fears, taking career risks, and developing strategies for dealing with bias.

Karen: After my Global Health Corps fellowship in Burundi, that I realized elevating underrepresented voices through storytelling had a key role in amplifying health conversations. Also, reconnecting with my homeland and working with people taught me innovative ways of communicating health and social needs.

Favorite: I have always considered professional growth as a result of receiving and giving. receiving 2. giving. My mentors’ help in achieving my goals is part of the receiving.

With regards to giving, I have invested in younger women. However, I need to redefine my mentorship strategies to be more intentional with clear expectations and deliverables on both sides.

Have the courage to use your own reason - Karen Click To Tweet.

If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.