From Korogocho to the boardroom

For Aisha, a peer educator from Korogocho, Nairobi, chairing a meeting of doctors from different countries might once have seemed like a distant dream.

But when she walked into the office of Dr Benter Opanga, Head of Oncology at AstraZeneca Kenya, she got an opportunity to do just that.

Aisha was not there merely to observe how senior professionals work. She was there to take over.

As part of this year’s Girls Belong Here Take Over initiative, held in recognition of the International Day of the Girl, Aisha stepped into Dr Opanga’s role, gaining first-hand experience of leadership in a professional environment she had never imagined herself occupying.

For the young woman, who works with the Young Health Programme (YHP), educating young people in her community about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their prevention, the experience offered a new perspective on what she could achieve.

“I realised that my dreams are actually achievable goals. Nothing is impossible. I got a chance to chair a meeting of doctors from different countries. I, a simple girl from the slum. I never thought that was possible,” she says.

The significance of the day went beyond occupying a senior executive’s office. It challenged her perception of what was possible for someone from her community and allowed her to experience leadership rather than simply imagine it.

Another participant, Ashley, a Young Health Programme peer educator from Mathare, arrived at a similar realisation through her interaction with senior professionals.

“They are just like me. They did not fall from Mars,” she says.

Her observation reflects a shift in how Ashley views the people whose positions she might one day aspire to occupy.

Rather than seeing them as distant figures whose achievements are beyond her reach, she began to see them as people who, like everyone else, have worked towards their goals.

For girls growing up in communities where access to professional networks, influential spaces and visible role models can be limited, that shift in perspective can be significant.

The distance between wanting to become a doctor, scientist, executive or policymaker and believing such a future is attainable is not always bridged by encouragement alone. Sometimes, it takes an opportunity to enter the room, interact with the people in it and participate in the work being done.

That is the idea behind Girls Belong Here Take Over, which gives girls opportunities to step into professional environments, interact with senior leaders, participate in meetings, ask questions and, in some cases, lead conversations themselves.

The initiative offers participants a practical experience of leadership, allowing them to see how professional roles function while giving them room to contribute their own perspectives.

For Aisha, chairing a meeting involving international doctors became an experience she could draw on when thinking about her ambitions.

For Ashley, seeing senior professionals as ordinary people made the positions they occupy feel less distant.

Both experiences highlight the importance of representation and access in helping girls imagine futures beyond the limitations they may associate with their current circumstances.

The initiative also challenges the assumption that young people from disadvantaged communities should be viewed primarily as recipients of support rather than contributors with ideas and the capacity to lead.

Through AstraZeneca’s Young Health Programme, young people in Nairobi’s informal settlements have been supported to become peer educators and advocates for the prevention of non-communicable diseases and healthier lifestyles.

The programme’s work in Kenya began in Kibera, expanded to Mathare and now reaches young people in Mathare and Korogocho. Its focus includes equipping young people with knowledge they can share with their peers, helping them engage their communities on health issues that affect their lives.

AstraZeneca has also announced a total investment of more than US$100 million in the Young Health Programme between 2010 and 2030, supporting young people across more than 60 countries.

The programme provides an opportunity to develop their voices and engage with issues affecting their communities. It also creates an opportunity for senior professionals to listen to young people whose perspectives are shaped by their lived experiences.

Dr Nelson Otieno, Director for Global Health Equity at AstraZeneca, also participated in this year’s initiative, with Stacey taking over his office.

The exchange creates room for learning on both sides. While the girls gain exposure to professional environments, senior leaders have an opportunity to engage with young people not simply as beneficiaries of programmes but as individuals with questions, ideas and experiences worth considering.

The initiative’s wider message is that girls should not have to wait until they reach senior positions to be treated as people capable of leadership. Giving them opportunities to participate, ask questions and take responsibility can help them begin to see themselves in those roles.

As Margaret of AstraZeneca puts it, “Because sometimes, before a girl can change her community, her profession or even the world, she first needs to believe that she has a place in the room where change happens. And sometimes, all it takes is one day in that room to make the impossible feel possible.”

Taking over an office for a day does not, on its own, remove the barriers girls may face as they pursue their ambitions. But it can provide a concrete experience that challenges assumptions about who belongs in leadership spaces.